Extension Providers

Major Institutions Providing Extension/advisory Services 

Public Sector

The public sector is represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and its five major departments including the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Makerere University, other Education and Research Institutions around the country. These institutions provide extension services through various departments and institutes some of which are listed below:

Public Extension Institutions

• Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MPED)
  • National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS)
  • Plan for Modernization of Agriculture
• National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO)
• Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS)
• Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institutes

Public Research and Education Institutions with Extension Unit

• ASTI Agricultural Research and Development
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
• Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension (SAFE)
• Makerere UniversityMakerere University

Private Sector Firms

The liberalization of service delivery to farmers led to a proliferation of private companies operating at the grassroots level, and the provision of channels for information and service delivery to farmers. These private firms hired full-time staff to provide the package of services required for the production and marketing of their commodity of interest. In many instances the government contracts private firms to offer services to the people. Whereas the emergence of numerous private extension organizations is not a problem, what appear to be problematic is the lack of effective coordination and monitoring and evaluation of their efforts. Clear guidelines need to be developed as new partnerships between the government and the private sector are created.    

Non-Governmental Organizations and other Donors

In Uganda, the growth of the NGO sector goes back to the 1970s and 1980s, when many NGOs came in to fill the gap left by the collapse of the government. Some of these NGOs are identified with a particular church or religion and others are associated with a particular commodity. Most NGOs in Uganda are funded by international non-governmental organizations and bilateral donors, and recently the government of Uganda started partnering with NGOs in providing funding for development projects. Prior to decentralization of agricultural extension system, many NGO were already active in the field delivering extension services to farmers. The liberalization of the public sector that open the way to private firms’ involvement in agricultural extension also invited NGOs to increase their role as partners in bringing information and new technologies to farmers. NGOs are assisting the Government of Uganda in its efforts to increase food production and productivity and reduce rural poverty. 

Farmer Based Organizations and Cooperatives

A great diversity of civil society organizations including cooperatives, producers organizations and farmers associations mostly related to agriculture and rural activities exist in Uganda. For example cooperative movement has played a substantial role in the way farmer organizations have evolved in Uganda. Because of its wide-spread network, cooperative have become one of the major participants in input and product markets in rural areas reaching most of the villages (Diaz, 2005). Overtime these cooperatives evolved into a more powerful organization known as the Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA) that stood as a serious government partner in rural development. With regard to producer organizations, the government with the support of the

Donor community, promoted the constitution of an association to bring together farmers and the existing organizations.  The Uganda National Farmers’ Association UNFA was constituted in 1992 and an institutional platform for dialogue with the government was created (Diaz, 2005). With decentralization and the need to open to more organizations nationwide UNFA adopted a federative scheme and became the Uganda National Farmers’ Federation, UNFFE.

• Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA)
• Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE)

List of Extension Providers

 The following list shows an excerpt from the GFRAS Directory of Extension Providers for Uganda. Some of these entries may be specially marked for having more detailed information in the database of the Worldwide Extension Study WWES.

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Enabling Evnironment

Enabling (or Disabling) Environment.

Uganda has gone through several policy reforms in the struggle to curb poverty and empower its people. The implication of some of these reforms like the liberalization and decentralization of the agricultural extension system is that in Uganda, too many organizations including public sector institutions, farmers’ associations, private companies, non-governmental organizations, and community-based organizations are involved in the delivery of agricultural extension services. While private sector and NGOs’ involvement in the pluralistic agricultural extension system alongside the public sector could be beneficial to the people of Uganda, the management of the complex partnership created raises a lot of concerns. One problem created by the decentralization is the managerial confusion and inefficiencies that result from extension staff having two masters in the field, the NGO and the local government; this confusion could cause a conflict of interest. The misappropriation of funds by local authorities and reduced staff satisfaction, stemming from lack of job promotions, resentment from being supervised by local councils that are not technical in the field, perceived unrealistic expectations from political supervisors, and isolation from headquarters are many other issues that complicate the decentralization agenda in the field (Bashaasha et al. 2011).

Despite the above pitfalls, extension programs are leading or adapting to decentralization reforms in Uganda like in many other countries around the world. Local and regional governments are playing an increasing role relative to national governments in performing the public functions for a pluralistic system. The number of farmers receiving extension services as a result of the reforms has increased with many service providers and more available resources. The deployment of human, capital and financial resources by the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries underscores its commitment to the successful implementation of the pluralistic agricultural extension system that is viewed as the catalyst for increase agricultural production and productivity and the determination to reduce food shortages and ensure food self-sufficiency for its population.

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ICT

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

A well-developed ICT infrastructure could lead to a more rapid rollout of ICTs and ensure higher growth of the sector. In Uganda, while the growth in service provision and the ICT sector has been striking in recent years, there is still some way to go. Certain levels of basic infrastructure are generally required for the direct benefits of the information society to be realized (UNCST, 2002). The development of networks and use of low-cost ICTs enhance timely access to accurate and reliable information. Many agricultural extension practitioners recognize that an information technology revolution is unfolding, with tremendous and largely unrealized potential for rural development, even for poorer farmers. Information and communication technologies (e-mail, internet, phone, radio, TV, blogs, print) are tools that are underutilized in extension strategies. Nodumo Dhlamini (2010) reported that short message systems (SMS), interactive voice response, radio programs, closed user groups and blogs for sharing content were ICT tools applied and tested with farmers in the South Western Uganda to improve communication with rural farming communities.

With regarding to computer use and access to internet services, a 2009 World Bank Statistics report indicated that almost one out of ten people (9.8%) in Uganda had access to a computer and had used internet services. This is significant especially when compare to countries like Ghana (5.4%) and Rwanda (4.5%). The same World Bank report indicated that 28.7 percent of the population of Uganda own and operate a mobile phone compare to 63.4 percent in Ghana. With mobile phones presently used for other services such as banking (paying bills, sending money, paying school fees), the technology could play a key role in extension services and information delivery. The use of computers and access to internet services is increasing and agricultural extension system is using these technologies to reach farmers. ICTs can complement other extension and knowledge services, but there is a critical need to know how farmers currently access information. The government of Uganda needs to design and support policy environments and programs that use the right mix of media available for agricultural extension service delivery.

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Training for Extension Professionals

Shortages of qualified and experienced staff to deliver agricultural extension services and a lack of training opportunities to develop professional and technical expertise in many Sub-Saharan African countries including Uganda have been highlighted (De Muro et al. 1998). These problems in the contest of Uganda are justified by the low pay and salary payment delays that constrain staff recruitment and retention in the Local Governments. Formal training for agricultural extension professionals is usually provided by universities and colleges. In Uganda, Makerere University, one of the oldest and prestigious Universities in Africa provides degree training in agricultural sciences. The school of Agricultural Sciences within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences comprises three departments including the Department of Extension and Innovations. This department delivers bachelor degrees in agricultural extension and its strategic focus is to advance agricultural development through training, research and service delivery. The capacity of Makerere University to train enough extension professionals is limited and the insufficient capacity of training institutions to train qualified staff in Uganda, despite the recent growth in private universities, is a real problem for the central government.

With regard to in-service training, the training departments of the Ministries of Agriculture and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) generally organize in-service training programs for extension staff. However, these trainings do not adequately prepare extension staff to deal with complex agricultural problems. Also the Saskawa Africa Fund for Extension education (SAFE) partners with MAAIF and Makerere University to provide mid-career training to extension staff who currently works with MAAIF and NGOs engaged in agricultural and rural development. 

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Statistics

Statistical Indicators

Source: The World Bank, *Food and Agriculture Organization FAO

References

References

Anderson, J., and Crowder, L.V. 2000. The Present and Future of Public Sector Extension in Africa: Contracting-out or Contracting-in? Public Administration and Development

Bashasha, B, Mangheni, M. N. and Nkonya, E. 2011. Decentralization and rural Service Delivery in UgandaDelivery in Uganda. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Discussion Paper 01063. February 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.

De Muno, P., Salvatici, L., and Conforti, P. 1998. An Overview of Decentralization in Sub- Saharan AfricaSaharan Africa. Access December 4, 2011 

Duaz, J.M. 200..Empowering Rural Producer Organizations within the World Bank Initiatives: A Capitalization Study. Uganda Country Case Study.

Friis-Hansen, E. and Kisauzi, D. 2004. Uganda: Evolution of the extension-farmer relationship. In Extension reform for rural Development, Vol 2, eds. W.M. Rivera and g. Alex. Privatization of Extension Systems: case studies of international initiatives. Agricultural and Rural Development Discussion Paper 9.

Mwanje, E.E., and Duvel G.H. 1998. Coping with Changes in Agricultural Extension in Uganda and Implications for Program Evaluation: A review of recent Experiences. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension/South Africa Tydskr Landbouwoorl, Vol. 27, 1998.

Nygaard, D., Paarlberg, R. Sanyu-Mpagi, J. Matovu, R. & Babu, S. 1997. The Modernization of Agriculture in Uganda: The Political Challenge of Moving from Adjustment to Investment. International Food Policy Research Institute

UNCST. Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. 2002. Status of ICT in Uganda: Scan-ICT Preliminary Baseline Study. Uganda Country Report Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST). 

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