The commission was to make an ex-ante evaluation of the draft Applied Research Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic for the period 2023–2032, which was a follow-up to the ZEMĚ programme and the MoA Research Strategy for the years 2023-2032. The evaluation objective was to support an effective setting for the programme based on the analyses conducted. Based on desk research and semi-structured interviews, we assessed the programme focus, its goals, intervention logic, expected benefits, outcomes and impacts, expenditures, monitoring, definition of recipients of support, the method of project selection and evaluations, and the definition of risks. The ex-ante evaluation for each of the areas was made by answering a total of 25 evaluation questions. Based on their assessment, the IREAS team made specific recommendations in the conclusion of the report aimed at eliminating the identified unclarities or shortcomings of the programme.