ME&A Begins Evaluation of USAID Agricultural Project in Georgia
The USAID Mission in Georgia recently selected ME&A (Mendez England & Associates) to conduct the Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of the Restoring Efficiency to Agricultural Production (REAP) Project. Fieldwork began on September 28, 2015 and will continue through to mid-November.
The Project seeks to increase incomes and employment in rural areas of Georgia by providing tailor made technical assistance to agribusiness enterprises that provide inputs, services, training and cash markets to smallholder farmers. At the same time it facilitates firm-level investment to help strengthen supply chains and increase farmers’ access to markets. The Project’s focus on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) seeks to bring sustainable benefits to Georgian entrepreneurs to create lasting economic growth to average Georgians. The Project aspires to increase sales for 135,000 small holders, create new cash markets for 2,500 producers and provide consultations/technical trainings to 150,000 individuals including 37,500 women.
ME&A will evaluate the progress of the Project through its first two years of operation. The evaluation will examine how successful the methods used during the first two years have been in creating new jobs and raising incomes through increasing access to capital for SMEs, increasing productivity of agribusinesses through training and increasing their access to markets.
Since 2010, ME&A has conducted some 60 evaluations and assessments for USAID and the U.S. Department of State in over 25 countries worldwide.