Irwin Grayson Associates
Review & evaluation

Maendeleo Agricultural Technology Fund

MATF> operates in Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda. IGA, in partnership with Annabel Jackson Associates, was commissioned by the funder, Kilimo Trust to undertake an evaluation.

The goal of MATF is "to improve the livelihoods of rural and peri-urban communities in East Africa through agricultural innovations while enhancing productivity of natural resources". Its purpose is "to generate and promote socially and economically profitable agricultural models that can be replicated in other areas for wider impact". MATF is managed by FARM Africa, from their office in Nairobi, and supports projects in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

It was launched in 2002 with funding from Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. GCF's contribution is now channelled through the Kilimo Trust.

Since its launch, MATF has provided 66 grants to 55 projects.

MATF had been evaluated on many occasions and, at least at project level, appeared to have been pretty successful; Kilimo Trust was keen, however, "to evaluate MATF's success in spreading the lessons of the project more widely and to explore the extent to which MATF might have achieved transformational impact".