Operational guidelines for the design, implementation and harmonization of monitoring and evaluation systems for climate-smart agriculture

Book excerpt: Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is recognized as critically important for tracking progress, whether it serves the purpose of accountability to donors, informs future improvements to CSA practices, or contributes to the aggregate global progress toward meeting the SDGs or the global stocktake under the Paris Agreement. There has been a growing chorus acknowledging the need to align the indicators and M&E frameworks of major donors with those of the three global agreements. Monitoring and reporting has begun on the SDGs, although the development of methodologies for various indicators is an evolving process. The development of specific indicators for the agriculture sector is also well underway for the Sendai Framework. The organizations conducting this work have recognized the need to streamline these processes. For example, they have already attempted to align several of the indicators between the SDGs and the Sendai Framework.These operational guidelines aim to address the core constraints and needs of FAO Member States on both the design and implementation of M&E systems that can simultaneously address CSA and sector reporting requirements for the 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework and the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. First and foremost, the guidelines acknowledge the principal need expressed by Member States that M&E systems and indicators be simple and not onerous. The challenges that have always existed with regard to M&E for CSA are still present, and are particularly pronounced for pillar 2, adaptation and resilience. These challenges to the development of indicators for pillar 2 have exhibited the greatest need for attention.