The objective of the African Cashew Initative (ACI), which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is to strengthen the global competitiveness of cashew production and processing in five pilot countries in Africa: Mozambique, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin. The support activities will assist 150,000 small scale cashew producers to increase their productivity and gain subsequently $15 million additional income per year. It also aims to support activities that will develop 5,500 new jobs in local, medium, and large scale cashew nut processing industries.
NORC is implementing the Monitoring and Evaluation system for the African Cashew Initiative (ACI) in the five countries listed above in an effort to achieve the following results:
(1) monitor on a regular basis the implementation of project activities to assess whether milestones are met and to steer subsequently the support strategy
(2) to continuously monitor and evaluate the achievement of ACI objectives, as well as the overall purpose of the project
(3) to assess the positive and negative impact of the support strategy, especially impact on poverty reduction and gender balance, as well as environmental impacts
(4) to develop a good understanding of the external parameters that influence the cashew production and industry
(5) to identify and elaborate best practices and lessons learned.