The Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project (NAPP) delivered a 3 – day virtual training on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) to the staff of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) and its national agricultural research institutes (NARIs) and the Federal Colleges of Agriculture (FCAs) between 2 – 4 September 2020. The training had 26 participants in attendance including 14 females and 12 males. The training was jointly facilitated with staff of ARCN and the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), both of whom had previously benefited from such Project’s-organized trainings. This was to support the sustainability of M&E activities after the exit of the NAPP.
The training highlighted the concepts of M&E and various steps involved in the M&E system. Specifically, the training focused on development hypothesis, data collection and management, the development of result and logical frameworks, and the development of Performance Indicator Reference Sheet (PIRS). The training was facilitated in a style with evidence-based examples to assist the targeted beneficiaries improve on their understanding of the subject-matter. The knowledge imparted to the participants is expected to lead to an improved service delivery in their respective institutions. Also, an efficient research institute can assist in driving evidence-based collaborative research to support both federal and state government agricultural policy formulation and improve food security in Nigeria. Improving the capacity of these national agricultural institutions is in line with the USAID support to improving the performance of its project stakeholders.