Cambodia, Home Grown School Feeding 2022-2027: Evaluations

The objectives of the evaluation are accountability and learning, and the formulation of recommendations to strengthen the project’s implementation during the second half of the project period. 

The programme focuses on providing school meals and literacy support, incorporating a home-grown school feeding approach through local procurement of food, while promoting health, nutrition and hygiene practices in the three provinces of Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. The project also includes a foundational results component that supports the Government’s National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) capacity for its long-term sustainability.   

The key findings include:

• Relevance: At mid-term, the project remains highly relevant and well aligned with Cambodia’s transition to a nationally owned NHGSFP, supported by its contribution to policy development and targeted capacity strengthening, despite two main policy changes since baseline regarding the integration of school feeding into the national policy framework. School readiness criteria effectively supported the handover framework by ensuring minimum standards, but they were insufficient to assess the capacity of stakeholders to maintain infrastructure over time.
• Coherence: The project shows a very high-level of complementarity with the priorities and systems of the MoEYS, supported by WFP’s good dialogue with the NSPC on the future evolution of the NHGSFP. Engagement of other institutions in the NHGSFP remains limited due to the recent formalization of the governance structure. Complementarities with other donor‑funded initiatives are a key enabling factor for the implementation of the Joint Transition Strategy, school handover, capacity strengthening of NHGSFP systems, and well‑coordinated WFP‑supported literacy activities. There has also been limited collaboration with other United Nations agencies.
• Effectiveness: The project shows generally positive performance in literacy instruction, with instructional materials exceeding targets and high coverage of teacher cascade training. While most trained teachers demonstrate new techniques, fewer than half reach the targeted proficiency levels, and student literacy gains at midterm remain modest, with evidence suggesting a slowing rate of improvement. Girls continue to outperform boys in both grades assessed.
• The school feeding component exceeded output targets and contributed to improved attentiveness, reduced hunger, and slight gains in attendance and health-related absences. Beyond the project objectives, school meals provide an important household safety net. The project has shown strong effectiveness in increasing health and dietary practices, supported by strong training results, infrastructure improvements, and increased dietary diversity. School handover is progressing as planned, with ongoing advances across SABER pillars, supported by adequate resourcing and WFP capacity, despite persistent challenges such as sub‑national staff turnover. 
• Efficiency: The project demonstrates overall efficiency at mid-term, with most local procurement objectives achieved. While direct cost comparisons are constrained by product differences and limited data, regionally procured canned fish was cheaper than locally sourced fresh fish, and imported fortified rice was slightly more cost‑efficient than locally produced unfortified rice, despite a clear preference among children and parents for local products. Overall expenditures reached 52 percent by mid‑2025, broadly in line with expectations, driven mainly by in‑kind food procurement and indirect costs, while some activities showed lower than anticipated spending. Implementation has been timely and aligned with the project strategy of emphasizing direct implementation prior to school handover.
• Sustainability: Government ownership of the NHGSFP is strong at central level, with clear policy endorsement and growing national financing, supporting continued programme functioning after handover. However, capacity and engagement are uneven across other ministries and sub‑national levels; farmer involvement remains unclear, and risks to sustainability persist due to staff turnover, monitoring gaps, which necessitate continued external technical support.

The key recommendations include:

• Strengthen the support provided to national capacity development for monitoring and evaluation;
• Strengthen support to the multi-sectoral governance structure of the NHGSFP;
• Reinforce the objectives of increased participation of women;
• Continue advocating for, and providing evidence for, training materials and capacity building for the practical application of dietary diversity indicators;
• Develop a comprehensive literacy component monitoring plan.