Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Program (ASAP)

Grants have to be approved by the IFAD Executive Board. Disbursal rates as per July 2015 are at 6% of total approved funding (USD 13.25 million out of USD 219 million approved).

The programming of ASAP funds follows the IFAD project design cycle and is fully aligned with regular IFAD procedures and safeguards. Therefore ASAP does not employ specific application procedures like other funds (such as issuing calls for proposals) that can be accessed by NGOs or CSOs directly. Results-Based Country Strategic Opportunities Papers (RB-COSOPs) are a typical point of departure for an ASAP investment, highlighting climate change adaptation as a strategic decision for IFAD operations in a specific country.

ASAP applies the same procedures as regular IFAD investments, following the typical IFAD design cycle:
1. Project concept: Project concepts are created as part of the COSOP or through consultation between IFAD, governments and national stakeholders. They are reviewed by an Operational Strategy and Policy Guidance Committee (OSC);
2. Detailed project design and quality enhancement: A Project Design Report (PDR) is created and improved through a Quality Enhancement (QE) process, which involves field missions and interactions with local partners and stakeholders. The QE process involves a final review by a QE panel involving IFAD's Environment and Climate Division and Policy & Technical Advisory Division;
3. External Quality Assurance review: After the final field mission has been concluded, the PDR is reviewed by an independent Quality Assurance (QA) panel consisting of external experts;
4. Executive Board review: Every ASAP investment design is subject to review and clearance by the IFAD Executive Board, which meets 3 times per year;
5. Negotiation and approval: After the IFAD Executive Board has approved the financing, negotiations conclude between IFAD and the other parties involved in the project financing and a financing agreement is signed;
6. Implementation: Once the specific conditions above set by IFAD are met, the grant is declared effective and implementation begins with an inception phase that establishes the institutional and staffing structures necessary to execute project funded activities;
7. ASAP provides a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework which summarizes relevant adaptation results, indicators and corresponding investment options. Project design teams which are working with ASAP financing apply this M&E framework during the project design phase and select a subset of relevant indicators and targets (in alignment with the programming context) for integration with the results framework of the underlying IFAD investment.