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PELUM UGANDA “ Networking for a Greener Africa”. Streamlining Market Information Services in Farmer Enterprise Training Programmes By Awor Linnet CAL Officer, PELUM Uganda Date: 02/06/2010 Email: pelumuganda@pelumuganda.org Web: www.pelumrd.org. INTRODUCTION.
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PELUM UGANDA “Networking for a Greener Africa” Streamlining Market Information Services in Farmer Enterprise Training Programmes By Awor Linnet CAL Officer, PELUM Uganda Date: 02/06/2010 Email: pelumuganda@pelumuganda.org Web: www.pelumrd.org
INTRODUCTION • PELUM Association; a regional network of over 200 civil society organizations in 10 countries in East, Central and Southern Africa working in the areas of participatory ecological land use management. • Country Chapters include; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa. PELUM is: Participatory Ecological Land Use Management
Introduction; Cont’d • PELUM Uganda ; a network of 33 Non Governmental Organizations that have come together to improve the livelihoods of small holder farmers through sustainable use of natural resources. • PELUM Uganda members work with smallholder farmers in over 66 districts country wide.
PELUM Uganda’s Activities • Member Capacity Building; PELUM Ugandafacilitates experiential learning through exposure and exchange visits, training in value addition, and participatory market chain approach (PMCA), among its membership. Photo: PELUM Mos on exposure visit to AMFRI Firms in Kampala
PELUM Uganda’s Activities cont’d • Communication and Networking; • Share market information with members on weekly basis, focusing on trends, levels of production, according to the regions. • PELUM Publications; e-newsletters, magazines, bear information that support farmers access to markets. • Support MOs to share market information with farmers through Rural Information Points.
PELUM Uganda’s Activities cont’d • Research and Advocacy • Conducted a study on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and how to protect the SSF in the negotiations. • Supported MOs to participate in EPA, RI, and other trade –related meetings. • Conducted a study on the impact of climate change, seed security / GMOs and the trade dynamics on SSF. • PELUM’s Thematic Committee on Trade and Market Access.
The Purpose of PELUM Uganda • To build the capacity of member organizations in providing quality ecological land use services through training, networking, research, advocacy and participatory approaches. Direct / End users • Member organizations • Smallholder farmers at grass root level
Works and Evidence of Best Practice a) Farmer- led documentation (FLD) approach • Developed as a participatory communication strategy that would involve farmers directly in collecting and managing their information. • Empowers farmers with a new role of being their own managers, problem solvers and decision makers. • Farmers study their own situations, recognize their needs, document, find answers to their queries, work towards implementing knowledge gathered from the process, and monitor it.
Works and Evidence of Best Practice; cont’d b) Exchange and Exposure Visits. • To increase members’ options to development challenges; expose them to new ideas and provide information on innovation, value addition, marketing, linkages and collaboration on agriculture.
Works and Evidence of Best Practice; cont’d c) Support to Member Organizations Uganda Environmental Education Foundation (UEEF) • PELUM Uganda linked UEEF with CIAT to support smallholder farmers on marketing their produce, in Mukono and Hoima districts. • Benefits from this project; increased access to market information by farmers, and formation of farmer associations for better bargaining power. CIAT: International Centre for Tropical Agriculture
Works and Evidence of Best Practice; cont’d Support to Member Organizations; cont’d Agency for Integrated Rural Development (AFIRD) • Farmers trained in marketing agriculture produce and appreciating market value chain actors. • Farmers started dialoguing with the management of Nakasero and Kalerwe Markets. • Farmers started receiving market information from management which they use in decision making.
Works and Evidence of Best Practice; cont’d d) Indigenous food fare • Farmers exhibit indigenous foods, their preparations and preservations methods. • Farmers learnt that indigenous foods fetch higher prices in the markets, hence the need to grow more.
Lessons Learnt • Farmers learn better from fellow farmers • Disseminating market information in local languages on radio and posters is vital. • Involvement of farmers in addressing their own challenges is ideal for sustainability of the initiatives. • Importance of addressing food security first, then marketing. • Importance of practicing sustainable agriculture for better land use and higher yields.
Recommendations • Integrate MI in farmer training programmes. • Local markets authorities should increase and maintain information boards that display updated prices of goods and other related information. • Encourage and support collaboration among the wider farmer audience for sustainable livelihoods.
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