Malawi, Evaluation of Tsogolo la Thanzi - Healthy Future Home-Grown School Feeding Project from 2020 to 2023

The evaluation was commissioned to understand the extent to which programme objectives have been achieved and to inform the design and implementation of future HGSF programmes. It was intended for both accountability and learning purposes. The evaluation focused on assessing the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability and coherence of the HGSF programme. The overarching evaluation question focused on “the extent to which the TSOLATA objectives achieved and how effectively were they achieved.”  The evaluation covered the HGSF programme implemented with the Ministry of Education (School Health and Nutrition department), in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS, and the Ministry of Health.

Key evaluation findings included:

• TSOLATA-HGSF aligns well with the WFP Strategic Plan, UNSDCF, SDGs, and the Government of Malawi’s national implementation plan (2021-2020).
• The programme’s targeting is generally gender-sensitive, incorporating many gender-focused activities. However, there are significant gaps, such as insufficient monitoring data and the absence of sex-disaggregated output data.
• The programme prioritises children with disabilities but faces challenges such as lack of specialised teaching materials, inadequate disabled-friendly facilities, and bullying, highlighting the need for better facilities and services.
• TSOLATA-HGSF has significantly enhanced school enrolment, attendance, and retention rates among boys and girls in targeted schools and communities.
• Smallholder farmers (SHFs) in the intervention area have increased crop production, with many cultivating multiple crops per season, and have benefited from stable and alternative markets.
• The programme’s focus on building local capacity and supporting the local economy through agricultural resilience has established a strong foundation for sustainability, aligning with the commitments of WFP and the Government of Malawi. However, climate events have posed challenges, leading to setbacks in food security.

Key recommendations from the evaluation included:

• Support the Government of Malawi in creating an enabling learning environment for children with disabilities by building the capacities of teachers and Ministry of Education representatives for disabled-friendly teaching methods and school facilities.
• Strengthen programme monitoring through management information systems by designing and implementing a gender-disaggregated M&E framework, integrating gender and protection indicators, and supporting the Government of Malawi in digitizing home-grown school feeding management processes.
• Integrate TSOLATA-HGSF with climate resilience programmes to enhance food systems resilience, strengthen education, health, and nutrition services, and promote livelihoods, especially for women and marginalized groups, to better cope with climate-induced vulnerabilities.
• Integrate community-driven alternate learning approaches within HGSF, with support from partners like UNICEF, by conducting awareness campaigns and organizing training sessions for parents to encourage the enrolment of out-of-school children, especially girls. 
• Strengthen linkages with formal financial institutions to design financing instruments and engagement models for smallholder farmers/ farmer organizations to address delayed payments from the schools and alleviate cash flow issues faced by the farmers.