Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation Practices for Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation, and their Limitations: A Case of Coffee Farming Households in Southwestern Uganda

Abstract : Effectiveness of Climate change adaptation programmes and projects is anchored in Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) approaches. A Qualitative study was therefore conducted in Ntungamo district, southwestern Uganda to: i) establish the PM&E practices used by the district Local Government (LG) on programs in enhancing climate change adaptation among coffee farming households, ii) identify the bottle necks in PM&E practices for interventions focused on improving climate change adaptations among coffee farming households in the district. The study was guided by Citizen’s theory of Involvement. A Key Informant guide was administered to 12 key informants from LG Administration and Agriculture Departments. Data were analyzed thematically. Results showed that Ntungamo LG was using participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation as the PM&E practices to enhance climate change adaptation among coffee farming households. The study also identified several challenges facing PM&E at LG level, including: – lack of an M&E Department, lack of training in M&E, data accuracy issues, poor dissemination of findings, limited extension support, insufficient funding and low farmer participation. LG’s should therefore develop strategies to address these challenges in order to adequately enhance climate change adaptation among coffee farming households.