Overview
In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, in December 2004, ACIAR funded a series of soil-related projects in Aceh Province, Indonesia. The projects sought to help farmers recover from the tsunami and then to develop diversified, resilient and more profitable farm-based livelihoods. Each project worked closely with local agricultural research and extension services and sought to build technical and organisational capacity within those agencies.
This impact assessment focused on 4 post-tsunami projects that ran from 2005 to 2012. It found both direct and immediate benefits from these projects for both farmers and partner agencies, as well as ongoing impacts in the 10 years following the projects’ completion.
In addition to the intended impacts of the projects, such as improved income and living standards among smallholder farmers and reduced or optimised input use, this assessment also found that the influence of the projects had spread much more widely that anticipated. Techniques that were introduced, tested and proven effective through the ACIAR projects were taken up as provincial policy, promoted throughout Aceh Province and adopted by a large segment of farmers.
