Access to information, capacity strengthening, and on-farm experimentation—key functions of agricultural extension and innovation—are needed for smallholder farmers to restore and protect their land, improve the productivity and resilience of their production systems, engage with markets, and ultimately achieve sustainable livelihoods. This requires deliberate efforts to strengthen smallholder farmers’ competencies for success in smallholder agriculture. A competency model approach to inform the design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and adaptation of capacity strengthening activities provides a practical framework for improving the effectiveness of capacity building strategies and activities. It allows goals and objectives to be explicitly defined and clearly communicated, guides the structure and content of training materials, and frames the assessment of competencies to inform their delivery. This paper summarizes the experience of Catholic Relief Services in using a competency model approach to build Skills for Marketing and Rural Transformation (SMART Skills) in Southern and Eastern Africa and Central America, and in evaluating outcomes and impacts.