Project objectives

This project is to measure the impact of the Sustaining Poverty Reduction through Agribusiness Development in South Shaanxi (SPRAD-SS) on households livelihoods and cooperative.

The overall goal of the SPRAD-SS project is to contribute to the national poverty eradication strategy in Shaanxi Province. The development objective is bring and maintain the target population in selected areas out of poverty through the development of inclusive, equitable and sustainable value chains.

The project of this Impact Assessment was implemented in three nationally-designated poor counties within the two municipalities of Hanzhong, Ankang Mountains poverty block in south Shaanxi province (i.e. Zhenba, Nanzheng in Hanzhong City; Hanyin in Ankang City). For the project SPRAD-SS, the three key components of the project will be evaluated: Pro-Poor Value Chains and Agribusiness Development, Public Infrastructure and Services and Program Management and Capacity Building respectively.

Project methodology

The survey and impact assessment will follow the Theory of Change and can be divided into three stages as in the Working Plan.

In the first phase of the independent assessment, the work begins with project design by engaging value chain experts, project management experts, and other subject matter experts to brainstorm and design project programs. And then specify the project program and write the outline of the project report based on the expert's judgment. At the same time, on the basis of the experts' discussion, combined with the industrial characteristics of the independent assessment project area, and supplemented with the problems found in the pilot, questionnaires at the level of farmers and cooperatives will be designed accordingly.

This impact assessment uses a multi-stage sampling approach for the quantitative data collection. In the first stage, we selected AEs, both treated and untreated located in Nanzheng District, Zhenba county and Hanyin county. This first stage consisted of statistical matching and random sampling of organizations to guarantee internal validity and to obtain a control group of viable counterfactual organizations. We relied on a feature of SPRAD in which not all eligible AEs that submitted plans for the program were selected. These organizations were rejected largely due to limited implementer capacity and/or funds. After having matched treatment and control AEs, we randomly sampled 60 treatment organizations. Household and AE level surveys were then implemented with the resulting sample of 120 treatment and control organizations. 17 households per AE had to be selected for household surveys for a total target sample of 2040 households.Survey data were then collected in August 2024, resulting in a realized final sample of 2149 households and 113 AEs.

In the second phase, field research was conducted in three counties, namely, Nanzheng district, Zhenba county, and Hanyin county, which have been implementing the project well and with strong continuity from the base period to the present stage. At the data collection stage, electronic questionnaire was collected by using Survey Solutions; at the same time of data collection, five rounds of data checks were carried out for data quality control. First, each enumerator should make sure that the questionnaire has been completed and there are no missing questions before leaving the survey site. Second, the survey team leader should check each enumerator's questionnaires before leaving the survey site to ensure the completeness of the questionnaires; third, each enumerator will check the logic of the questionnaire; fourth, the survey group leader organized the enumerator to cross-check the group's questionnaires; finally, the questionnaires were exchanged between the groups for inter-group checks.

After the data collection, data cleaning and data analysis will be conducted in knowledge product outputs phase, followed with reporting. Firstly, in addition to delivering independent project evaluation reports, a database will be established for monitoring vulnerable populations in project areas.

Project findings

The survey aim to assess whether public-private partnerships allow for a strengthened position and bargaining power of small producers in the value chains which in turn will generate increased and sustainable flow of income for these producers. It will also focus on the woman empowerment and youth empowerment in Pro-Poor Value Chains and Agribusiness Development.

The survey and impact assessment followed the SPRAD Theory of Change. The starting point of the theory of change is that market opportunities in agricultural products exist in the project area and these can be tapped by small farmers through partnerships with other value chain actors (mostly collectors and agribusiness processors). Public and private funding will be combined into long term profitable and equitable business plans jointly implemented by producers and agribusinesses. Project interventions will allow to correct failures such as insufficient access to knowledge, capital, natural resource and markets by small producers. In this way public-private partnerships will allow for a strengthened position and bargaining power of small producers in the value chains which in turn will generate increased and sustainable flow of income for these producers. On the other hand, The theory of change linking public infrastructure and services is as follows: improved food safety systems as well as cleaner and climate-smart production will (i) attract higher-income and larger client basis that are willing to pay a premium price for better and safer agricultural products; (ii) that will translate into higher sale value and income for enterprises and cooperatives supported by the project; (iii) improved benefit-sharing mechanisms within pro-poor public private partnerships will ensure higher portion of this increased income to project beneficiaries; and (iv) this will ensure more sustainable poverty reduction for beneficiaries.