Milestones and Evidences PY8

Rev. 22.MAY.2023

The milestones of Year 8 have been adjusted based on the progress, learning, and HGBF's decision to reduce the timeframe and budget for the project.

SO1. Restorative agriculture and conservation practices are applied at landscape level

Milestone 1.3: WSA practices and restoration have reached scale across the landscape. The impacts are visible on the ground (and from the air). There is a significant increase in farm production and measurable improvements in ecosystem services.

Evidences:

• WSA practices are applied on farms covering at least 7000 hectares (over baseline)

• 70% of farms will surpass yield thresholds (corn, beans, and coffee)

• 80% of project-supported farmers will increase net-income* over estimated baseline for major crops (corn, beans, coffee).

*Net income will be reported based on production costs versus prices earned for crops ($/ha).

Note: No target is set for this indicator because the volatility of farm inputs and crop prices make season-by-season performance erratic; there is a risk that chasing an elusive target could divert the team from substantive work on farmer training and market systems development.

• There are at least 200 hectares under irrigation with improved (efficient) technology (over baseline)

• At least 1000 hectares of critical environmental areas are under restoration and conservation (e.g., riparian and water recharge areas)

*This is a subset of the total target for WSA practices of 7000 ha. **Critical areas include water recharge and riparian zones.

In early PY4 we agreed with HGBF to alter how we report restoration work in critical conservation areas (see the PY4 interim report, Section 3.1.7). Using the revised reporting framework, we defined “conservation areas” as ‘areas of high potential water recharge (greater than 400 mm/year)’. In PY6, ALRI expanded the criteria to include all farms within 100 meters of a riverbank.

• Water Resource Management: Water and climate monitoring equipment, protocols, and plans/goals are established for key water points and managed by local stakeholder groups by PY8 and beyond the life of the project.

Note: The indicator focuses on monitoring and analyzing data for purposes defined by local stakeholders. The timeframe of the program (8 years) makes it difficult to set meaningful targets for any water-related metrics (streamflow, water quality, and water levels (for lakes).

Target: Monitoring plans and reporting protocols are established for at least 3 key water points, based on existing monitoring equipment and Source Water Protocols (created by CRS).