HomePortfolioMonitoring & EvaluationThird-Party Monitoring Services (Baseline/Beneficiary Verification, PDM, and PHM/Outcome) for UNFAO

Third-Party Monitoring Services (Baseline/Beneficiary Verification, PDM, and PHM/Outcome) for UNFAO

An in-depth look into the rural microcosm of Afghanistan. We provided insight into farmers’ lives, struggles, and perseverance across Afghanistan through an inclusive monitoring approach beyond simply M&E.

Client

UNFAO

Date

October 2020 - September 2021

Services

Third-Party Monitoring Services

Agriculture is both the lifeblood and backbone of Afghanistan. Farmers make up the bulk of the Afghan population. They lead very humbly, though difficult, lives carrying out work that has existed since time immemorial, despite undergoing numerous transformations and reforms. However, the natural and economic environment has not been very kind to them recently. Fortunately, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO) has given these farmers a lifeline through their agricultural assistance packages.

AACS consulting had the privilege of being a part of UNFAO’s mission to improve the lives of these farmers by assessing their needs, the effect of the assistance, and their future expectations to identify the gaps that need to be filled and the shortcomings which need to be addressed. AACS Consulting designed an approach that ensured all beneficiaries, including minority groups, were included in the monitoring process. This enabled AACS Consulting to draw samples representative of the population, accurate and of meaningful insight.

We successfully carried out the third-party monitoring in a very tumultuous and uncertain time for Afghanistan. Through our baseline, Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM), and outcome surveys, we were able to assist UNFAO in all stages of its implementation. We helped UNFAO ensure that the right people received the right aid at the right time. Our talented enumerators put full effort into ensuring they reach everyone. They went beyond the required due diligence to ensure that the data showed an accurate and fair view of the farmers’ lives and needs. Our project staff made a considerable effort to compile, clean, analyze, and report the data. The result was a comprehensive set of reports used to evaluate previous activities and design better interventions and policies for the future.

Project Highlights

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Provinces Covered

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Enumerators Deployed

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Reports Delivered

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Surveys Conducted

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PDM Surveys

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Outcome Surveys

Client Testmonial

Success Story

2021 was a tumultuous period for Afghanistan, full of uncertainty and apprehensions. It was challenging for humanitarian organizations and socio-economic research firms to undertake their activities. Despite these challenges, AACS Consulting team was able to manage and coordinate its field deployment in a manner that minimized the risk to the enumerators as well as ensured the quality and accuracy of data. Our team, through their persistence and determination, were able to complete the expansive project within its tight time frame, gaining valuable knowledge and experience which will be reflected in all future projects.

Photos From Data Collection

Neither heavy rain nor blizzards can deter our team. Our staff is prepared to go through thick and thin to fulfill their duties. We deployed enumerators throughout the year in every imaginable weather condition to ensure we deliver on our promises. — Neither heavy rain nor blizzards can deter our team

We ensure our respondents feel at ease throughout the surveys. Maintaining a balanced ratio of male-to-female enumerators enables us to improve our response rates significantly and gives us access to people from all walks of life. — We ensure our respondents feel at ease throughout the surveys.

At AACS Consulting, our employees will always go the extra mile to connect with the respondents and establish bonds that transcend the enumerator-beneficiary dynamic. We try our best to give our employees and the respondents an experience they will never forget. — At AACS Consulting, our employees will always go the extra mile to connect with the respondents and establish bonds that transcend the enumerator-beneficiary dynamic.

AACS Consulting Enumerators’ Testimonials

Ahmad Zia Hemat

Logar Province, Khoshi district, AACS Consulting Enumerator

I went out to the field at a very uncertain time for the nation. The government had collapsed, and the new government had yet to make any moves toward easing the anxiety among the people. When I went to collect the data, I came across remote villages with little to no access to the media or other sources of information. When I met the respondents, all of them bombarded me with a myriad of questions about the current situation. I took this opportunity to disseminate some vital information to these people in the hopes of easing some of their apprehensions. The experience was overall quite sublime. It gave me a great deal of joy knowing that I did more to help these people than simply collect information about their lives.

Suhrab Zaman

Badakhshan Province, Wardooj district, AACS Consulting Enumerator

Winter has its own fair share of hardships. Moving between two neighboring villages can prove to be quite a challenge. I got caught in a snowstorm when I went to visit a certain village in Badakhshan. The village was engulfed in deep snow and the dirt roads between going in and out of the village felt like the vestiges of distant dreams. I had no choice but to stay the night in the village as the villagers informed me that it will take at least two days for the storm to subside and for the roads to become traversable again. The hospitality of the villagers was something I will never forget. I remember at least three of them tugging at my body, fighting over whose house I would stay the night in. I had never felt such intense, hostile hospitality in my life.

Habiba Paikan

Bamyan Province, Yakawlang district, AACS Consulting Enumerator

As one of AACS Consulting’s female enumerators, I feel that it is my duty to work extra hard to show that we can be as effective as anyone. I made extra effort into ensuring that I reach as many female respondents as possible as they are often underrepresented in projects like these. Through the course of the project, I had the pleasure of getting to know women from all walks of life. Some of these women led extraordinary lives; They were heads of household, worked on the fields, foraged in the mountains, collected wood in the woodland, and so much more. I also met some whose lives were quite depressing. Meeting these women, if nothing else, really made me put my life into perspective.