Calls for projectsfor formative evaluation
The “4 per 1000” International Initiative is not intended to manage funds to finance projects on the ground. Funders, whether they are Partners or Members of the Initiative, manage their funds and selection procedures in their own way. Nevertheless, it seemed useful to the Executive Secretariat to propose an innovative process designed to link project leaders seeking funding with donors seeking projects to be funded.
For this reason, each year the International “4 per 1000” Initiative launches a call for projects for formative evaluation by the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) of the Initiative.
The objective of this evaluation is twofold:
- Modality 1 concerns new projects seeking funds for implementation. In this case, the aim is to improve the project’s actions and increase the chances of approval by funders. The “4 per 1000” initiative does not foresee any commitment to fund the projects.
- Modality 2 concerns ongoing projects seeking “recognition” in the framework of the evaluation by the Scientific and Technical Committee of the “4 per 1000”. In this case, the aim is to help projects, through expert advice, to achieve objectives in line with the “4 per 1000” goals and to set up methods to monitor progress during project implementation.
The procedure is applicable for the implementation of an agricultural practice, for the development or implementation of a project (e.g. soil restoration in a given region) or for a policy proposal. Research projects can be assessed if they include an implementation aspect. This may include project coordinators (individuals or organisations) from different regions and conditions.
A set of criteria, indicators, methods and units of measurement has been developed by the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) of the”4 per 1000″ Initiative and approved by the Consortium, to guide project proposals and evaluate projects.
The evaluation will be carried out by the STC of the Initiative with the help of external reviewers if necessary, using the defined set of indicators.
Once the evaluation process is completed, project coordinators receive a report with the results of the evaluation and the recommendations of the STC. A short description of the projects that comply with the “4 per 1000” objectives is then presented on the Initiative’s website.
Self Assessment
Before a project is assessed by the CST, it is recommended to use carbon assessment tools such as the Carbon Benefits Project or the FAO ex-ante carbon assessment tool: FAO EX-Act. These are available free of charge after registration.
Information, consultations and submission
The Executive Secretariat of the International “4 per 1000” Initiative is the contact point between project coordinators and the “4 per 1000” Initiative for all general questions related to the Call.
Questions concerning the submission of projects and other general issues, as well as the finalized submission package, should be sent to the Executive Secretariat at:
secretariat@4p1000.org.
6th Call for projectsfor formative evaluation in 2024
The 6th Call for formative assessment of projects by the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) of the international “4 per 1000” Initiative was launched in July 2024 on the AFRIS collaborative platform, following the digitalisation of the procedure as a novelty to make the call more intuitive and attractive for project managers. The submission and registration of applications closed on 31 August.
We received applications for projects from 26 countries around the world: Pakistan, Nepal, Somalia, France, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Greece, Netherlands, Switzerland, Madagascar, Mali, Rwanda, New Zealand, Australia, Pacific Island Countries, Ecuador, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Libya, Burundi, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Following the submission and registration of applications in July, project managers have been submitting project information for evaluation by the STC. During the month of September, the Executive Secretariat reviewed the information on the applications and assign an international expert to review the projects, with the project information to be completed by 15 October 2024.
The individual results report to the project promoters will be prepared around 20 December 2024.
5th Call for projectsfor formative evaluation in 2023
The fifth call for projects for formative evaluation is open from 15th May to 15th July 2023.
4th Call for projectsfor formative evaluation in 2022
The forth call for projects for formative evaluation was open from 1st April to 1st June 2022.
Seven projects were received and evaluated by STC Members.
Taking into account the summary report and the recommendations from the assessment of every project, the Scientific and Technical Committee and the Executive Secretary of the “4 per 1000” Initiative have considered that three projects are in line with the objectives of the “4 per 1000” Initiative.
They are:
• PFA_47_2022_HESOP_MALAWI – Submitted by the NGO “Simpson Foundation”, this project entitled “Health soils for prosperity project in Malawi”, is planned to address the problem of hunger, food insecurity and poverty in Malawi by reversing natural resource degradation and exploitation of forest resources which result in negative impacts on land condition and soil health.
• PFA_49_2022_CASSH_INDIA – Entitled “Sustainable Soil Health Management for Food Security Through Biochar and Other Organic Soil” the project was submitted by the ‘BAIF Development Research Foundation’ NGO. In order to address crop residue burning and low SOC, the project will be implemented in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, India. The project tries to convert the crop residues into biochar and apply in the soil.
• PFA_50_2022_LimaCARBONE – Submitted by the company SELIA the project, entitled “Développement d’un outil d’évaluation du stockage du Carbone” proposes providing the members of the Cooperative LIMAGRAIN with references and tools for evaluating and valorizing the carbon stored in soils.
The STC and Executive Secretariat of the Initiative hope that these projects will be supported by appropriate funding from funders compatible with the goal of the Initiative.
Other four projects received recommendations to improve the project in order to be in line with the objective of the “4 per 1000” Initiative
3rd Call for projectsfor formative evaluation in 2021
The third call of projects for formative assessment was launched on May 15, 2021 and closed on July 18, 2021.
17 projects were received, 12 of which were complete.
At the end of the selection process, four projects were selected as being in line with the objectives of the “4 per 1000” Initiative. The Scientific and Technical Committee and the Executive Secretary of the Initiative hope that these projects will be supported by appropriate funding from donors who share the Initiative’s objectives.
These projects are:
- PFA_30_2021_Nursery Demo Farm_MOZAMBIQUE : Namaita Central Food Security Nursery and Demonstration Farm (N.C.F.S.N.D.F.).
Main aim is to promote agroecology/agroforestry farms with a cashew orchard at its core. - PFA_35_2021_REGAGR _THE NETHERLANDS : Soil Heroes Foundation – Champ d’expérience en agriculture régénérative.
The aim is to prove to farmers that adopting regenerative farming practices will solve their most pressing issues, among which is soil’s water retention capacity. - PFA_40_2021_HELLERUD _NORWAY : Conventional to Carbon: Updating Hellerud Farm’s Paradigms (C.C.U.H.F.P ).
The project is the conversion of Hellerud Farm in Skjetten in Norway (30m NE of Oslo) from conventional grain and grass production to regenerative (carbon farming), with a focus on documentation and optimisation of the process to benefit others. - PFA_41_2021_AZURA _MAROCCO : Composting and recovery of agricultural waste in the Souss-Massa region to ensure low emissions from the tomato production system in AZURA farms in order to adopt a circular economy approach and rehabilitate the argan ecosystem (AZURA 4 ADAPTATION ATTENUATION, A4AA).
The objective is to compost of annual waste which totals 83,000 tons.
2nd Call for projectsfor formative evaluation in 2020
Following the success of the first call in 2019, the International “4 per 1000” Initiative and World Agroforestry (ICRAF) launched the second call for formative evaluation of projects.
It aimed to generate field projects in the spirit and framework of the “4 per 1000” international Initiative’s objectives to be submitted to the STC for evaluation. The call was opened on 15 May 2020 and closed on 15 July 2020 and 15 projects were received.
At the end of the selection process, four projects were selected and will be proposed to major international donors who will be able to submit them to their own selection criteria for funding:
- PFA_14_2020_Ecuador_Guayraloma Forest Rehabilitation. Forest restoration: replacing eucalyptus with agave and broom.
- PFA_20_2020_India_Soil fertility restoration: Integrated soil restoration management ~ 1000ha – Agri-horti-forestal (Wadi) ~ 2700ha
- PFA_24_2020_Iraq_Planting a million trees: Research for desertification control through afforestation in Iraq
- PFA_26_2020_Mexico_Soil rehabilitation: soil restoration and agroforestry
1st Call for projectsfor formative evaluation in 2019
13 projects were received in the first call which closed in September 2019. The projects were evaluated by the members of the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) of the international “4 per 1000” Initiative and the summary report of the evaluation and recommendations for improvement were sent to the project leaders at the end of January 2020.
Based on the synthesis report and recommendations from the evaluation of each project, the STC and the Executive Secretary of the international “4 per 1000” Initiative consider the following four projects to be in line with the objectives of the “4 per 1000” Initiative and hope that each of these projects will be supported by appropriate donor funding consistent with the purpose of the Initiative.
The remaining nine projects received recommendations on how to improve the project in order to be in line with the objectives of the International “4 per 1000” Initiative.
The selected projects are (details in the final report):
- PFA-01 Feed the Future Resilient Agricultural Markets Activity-Beira Corridor (RAMA-BC)
- PFA-03 Land for Life
- PFA-06 Wheat for climate and people (WPC)
- PFA-07 Soil Restoration and Multifunctionality of degraded forest lanscapes in Ivory Coast (TERRI4SOL).