Impact evaluation of policies and projects for agricultural and rural development
August 31, 2015, Italian Pavilion (6:20 pm - 9:30 pm)
Goals
Several projects and policies for rural development are funded by international and national organizations and private donors; however, their impact is seldom evaluated. Implementers and donors have developed a wide range of approaches; which include, among others, detailed logical frameworks, econometric models, design of experiments, counterfactual analysis, and in situ observation of agro-environmental parameters. Some approaches are discussed in the first session of this conference. The second session focuses on methods for monitoring the impact of agricultural intensification on the environment. In fact, in the next decades, agricultural productivity will need to increase considerably in order to feed future generations. However, some intensification approaches may have an impact on land degradation, ecosystems, biodiversity, pollution, CO2 emissions and so on. A methodology, accepted by the scientific community, for monitoring the impact of intensification on the environment has not been developed yet; although some experiences are being made. The status of the art concerning what, how and where to measure is discussed in this session of the conference.
Organiser
Elisabetta Carfagna - Full Professor of Statistics, Department of Statistical Sciences - Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna
Opening
6:20 pm Welcome - Gianluca Fiorentini - Vice Rector for Teaching and Education of Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna
6:30 pm Message from Simonetta Di Cori, representing the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
First session – Evaluating the impact of agricultural and rural development policies and projects
Chair: Elisabetta Carfagna - Full Professor of Statistics, University of Bologna
- 6:40 pm Statistics for food security: FAO’s assessment of countries’ capacities for evidence-based policy making - Minà Dowlatchahi - Deputy-Director, Office for Strategic Planning and Resources Management, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- 7:00 pm Challenges to impact evaluation, solutions for IFAD - Paul Winters – Director of Strategic Planning and Impact Assessment Division of the Strategic and Knowledge Department of IFAD – International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- 7:20 pm Uncertainties in impact assessment of policies or external drivers on agricultural markets, the case of the Russian crisis - Fabien Santini – Scientific Officer, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission
- 7:40 pm Crop monitoring to support food security policies - initiatives by the European Commission - Bettina Baruth - Researcher, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and Felix Rembold – JRC
- 8:00 pm Discussion
Second session - Monitoring economic and environmental impact of agricultural policies
Chair: Minà Dowlatchahi - Deputy-Director, Office for Strategic Planning and Resources Management, FAO
- 8:10 pm Common agricultural policy and agro-environment preservation - Giuseppe Blasi – Head of European and International Policies and rural development - Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies
- 8:30 pm The use of Time series of Remote Sensing data to monitor the impact of agricultural intensification at global scale - Sven Gilliams – Researcher, Vlaamse Instelling Voor Technologisch Onderzoek N.V. (VITO)
- 8:50 pm Agricultural prices and inflation measurement - Gabriel Quirṓs – Head of Macroeconomic Statistics Division, European Central Bank
- 9:10 pm General discussion and concluding remarks
