Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 19 October 2023 - The Independent Evaluation Department of the IsDB launched an independent evaluation of the IsDB interventions in the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector on October 19, 2023. Agriculture and Rural Development is the fourth largest sector in terms of IsDB financing, with USD 8.87 billion approved from inception until 2022. Mr. Elmoiz Mahmoud from the Independent Evaluation Team presented a detailed approach paper on the planned evaluation to the colleagues working in Agriculture and Rural Development interventions, while Mr. Idrissa Dia, Director of the Economic and Social Infrastructure Department, Dr. Areef Suleman, Director, Islamic Development Bank Institute, and Dr. Nizar Zaied, Manager of the Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development Division, shared their feedback on the evaluation plan and assured their utmost support for the evaluation exercise. This evaluation aims to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the bank's interventions in the sector from 2014 to 2022 across six subsectors and provide recommendations for future strategic and policy orientation. Four countries have been identified as potential case studies for field visits based on their portfolio characteristics and regional diversity. The evaluation will involve several deliverables and dissemination activities to share the learning and recommendations with the bank and its stakeholders.