Value-add assessment of the AgriFin Digital Farmer 2 (ADF2) Program

Genesis Analytics was contracted to undertake a value-add assessment (VAA) of the AgriFin Digital Farmer 2 (ADF2) with the purpose of examining the value ADF2 offers its partners by augmenting their ability to deliver digital services to small-scale producers (SSPs) in a gender-transformative and climate-sensitive manner. This report defines "value-add" as technical support from Mercy Corps to enhance partner organizations' capacities and improve service to SSPs. As part of this, the VAA aimed to validate ADF2’s theory of change (TOC) by mapping out the process of collaboration between ADF2 and its partners and by understanding whether key milestones were met and why, and documenting evidence of changes in terms of partners’ technical capacity across various dimensions, and partners ability to achieve growth across various indicators, as a result of Mercy Corps’ support through the ADF2 program. Out of the total 72 partners and 122 engagements, the VAA team sampled 20 partners and 42 engagements as the focus of this VAA. Given the number and diversity of partners and engagements, as well as the sampling characteristics proposed by EVITA for consideration, the VAA team used a purposeful sampling approach, where we identified and selected diverse information-rich cases for their inclusion in the VAA. However, of the 20 partners that were sampled, only 14 participated The support provided by Mercy Corps under ADF2 varies depending on the specific engagement circumstances, with most partnerships lasting around one year. Short-term engagements are noted for promoting innovation but could potentially limit long-term impact. Mercy Corps offers a range of support services to partners, including grant funding, partnership facilitation, climate support, training content, advisory services, and gender support, all aimed at enhancing partner operations and overall impact. Despite the positive impacts of ADF2 support on partners in achieving engagement targets, increasing product adoption, refining offerings for small-scale producers, improving distribution channels, enhancing agent performance, and expanding reach to small-scale producers, challenges persist in meeting broader engagement objectives. There is also a recognized need for a more systematic gender approach and the development of a partner-facing climate toolkit to increase engagement intentionality. Additionally, while ADF2 has supported partners in integrating climate-smart approaches for small-scale producers through digital content, further partner-focused climate initiatives are deemed necessary to enhance overall engagement impact. Although Mercy Corps' ADF2 support has positively influenced partners by enhancing their distribution strategies, fostering enduring relationships, and improving reputations, the limited impact at the organizational level is attributed to a focus on engagement-level activities, constraints related to timeframe and duration, and the necessity for deeper, long-term relationships between Mercy Corps and partners to maximize impact. This evaluation was commissioned under EVITA (Evaluating Inclusive Transformation in Agriculture), which generates evidence on the outcomes and impacts of investments made by the Agricultural Development Team (AgDev) at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and aims to increase the efficiency of and maximize collective learning from AgDev's evaluations.