Overview of Agriculture Joint Sector Review (JSR) Outcomes

and Lessons Learned

Greenwell Matchaya, Coordinator for ReSAKSS Southern Africa (SA), International Water

Management Institute (IWMI), South Africa g.matchaya@cigar.org

What is Mutual Accountability? Mutual accountability is a process by which two

or more parties hold one another accountable for the commitments they have voluntarily made to one another

Mutual accountability (MA) is a core principle of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP)

A mutual accountability framework (MAF) for CAADP was developed by NCPA in 2011 to guide mutual accountability processes at continental, regional and country levels

Principles of Mutual Accountability

A share vision or agenda among the cooperating parties

Common objectives and strategies aimed at achieving the vision

Jointly agreed performance indicators based on mutually agreed performance criteria

Genuine dialogue and debate process based on consent, common values and trust

Elements of an Effective Mutual Accountability Process

Evidence-based: need technical credibility to minimize biases

Ownership: all concerned stakeholders need to be involved from the start

Debate: open and transparent discussions

Behavior change – towards better performance outcomes based on evidence, ownership and debate

What is a Joint Sector Review (JSR)?

A joint sector review (JSR) is one way of operationalizing the mutual accountability framework at country level

The JSR process creates a platform to:» assess the performance and results of the agriculture

sector» assist governments in setting sector policy and

priorities» assess how well state and non state actors have

implemented pledges and commitments (laid out in NAIPs, and other agreements)

Purpose and benefits of the Joint Sector Review

The primary purpose of a JSR is to determine and evaluate observed results of sector performance and their comparison with the intended results or targets

Therefore, the JSR:» allows diverse stakeholders to get insights into and

influence overall policies and priorities of the sector

» serves as a management and policy support tool for inclusive stakeholder planning, programming, budget preparation and execution, monitoring and evaluation, and overall development of the sector

Existing country JSRs need strengthening in terms of design, stakeholder inclusion, data analysis, dialogue and improved quality of implementation.

Principles of a Joint Sector Review

National ownership and leadership Relevance to NAIP or cooperation agreement Inclusive participation Commitment to results by all participants Impartiality and evidence-based Enhance national planning Sensitivity to gender Learning experience

What the JSR process does for a country

Describe and analyze the structure, conduct and performance (SCP) of the sector against mutually-agreed milestones and targets

Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) in the sector

Based on the results and findings in the above, make recommendations for improving performance in the sector.

What is monitored in a Joint Sector Review Development results e.g. income growth, poverty and

hunger reduction, food and nutrition security, etc

Overall agricultural sector growth target, with specific subsector and commodity targets

Required financial and non-financial resources to effectively implement the plan

Policies, programs, institutions, and implementation processes

Linkages (including pathways to achieve the development results), enabling environment and assumptions

Roadmap for undertaking a Joint Sector Review

Set up a JSR steering committee chaired by Ministry of Agriculture

Establish JSR secretariat Develop terms of reference for the JSR Mobilize resources Constitute review team Undertake the review and dialogue Draw implementation and follow-up plan

for the recommendations from the JSR

CAADP-relevant “cooperation agreements”

CAADP Compact

(e.g. Burkina Faso)

CAADP Country NAIP

(e.g. Ghana METASIP)

GAFSP

(e.g. Rwanda)

Country Strategy Papers

(e.g. Tanzania)

New

Alliance Coop Framew

ork

(e.g. Mozam

bique)

Other Agreem

ents

(e.g. Senegal)

JSR Assessments Across Africa

AUC-Led processes• Process led by Policy and Planning Directorates-at

MoA• IFPRI/ReSAKSS and AfricaLead provided technical

support through JSR focal persons in the countries• Country level experts engaged

Assessment Methods• Analysed previous review and consultative

processes in these countries - the stakeholders involved and their roles• Reviews of earlier reports • Supplemented with information collected from

stakeholders: key informant interviews; data collection templates; and consultative and validation workshops • Identified gaps in the review processes, possible

improvements that could be made and developed stakeholder-specific action plans

Completed JSRs Assessment in 2014

West Africa East and Central Africa

Southern Africa

Burkina Faso Ethiopia MalawiGhana Tanzania MozambiqueSenegal

Completed JSRs Assessments in 2015

West Africa East and Central Africa

Southern Africa

Benin Uganda Swaziland Côte d’Ivoire Kenya Zambia Togo DRC

Burundi

ECOWAS Regional JSR

Outcomes

Countries are using outcomes of the JSR assessments as well as ATORs» to support policy review and dialogue

processes.

JSR assessment has stimulated demand for more data and hence, strong M&E

Outcomes • Tanzania – early preparations; technical studies

planned; and involvement of sector ministries and non-state actors• Uganda – early preparations; effective and early

involvement of non-state actors with a JASAR statement paper (“private sector review”); smaller sub-national meetings• Kenya – has embraced strengthened JSR and is

planning to implement it through the Country SAKSS• DRC –expressed willingness to conduct a

strengthened JSR after the assessment but no concrete action yet

Outcomes

Results from the JSR assessment reports used in compiling the New Alliance report for 2013-2014 in Mozambique

In 2015, Malawi JSR followed the JSR assessment recommendations by ReSAKSS

Swaziland’s demand for more technical support in M&E increased following JSR assessment that revealed gaps

Served as a basis for several sectoral meetings in Zambia

Outcomes

Senegal used the outcomes of its assessment to design and implement a new JSR process, which is currently implemented without major support of ReSAKSS-WA.

In 2015, Ghana JSR was planned and implemented in a more participatory way with more involvement of the NAIP (METASIP) steering committee, following the assessment recommendations

Outcomes

In Burkina Faso, the permanent secretary has introduced some amendments in the draft of agriculture ministry’s decrees for organization of the sector review in order to respect the mutual accountability principle:» Development partners; Civil society;» Farmers organizations; Private sector.

Countries demanding more work on linkages of policies, indicators of investments to development results

Lessons

Political anchorage by African Union, NPCA is critical

Buy-in at country level is very important for rallying the Agricultural sector

Inclusivity from the beginning increases acceptability of recommendations» Inclusivity in terms of development constituencies-

Government, DPs, CSOs, Private Sector Acceptance of JSR------Effective

communication and consultative approach informing stakeholders of the importance of JSR has helped to array the challenges

Lessons

• Inclusiveness is an issue: Government and DPs engage but NSAs are not fully engaged • Strong ownership by governments and development partners;

not so by Non-State Actors (NSAs - private sector and civil society organizations)

• More sensitization to NSA for their effective participation especially is necessary

• Need to mobilize funds to support the next JSRs• Countries running SAKSS nodes more likely to implement JSR

without major support from regional level