Hello--your entry is thorough and addresses the "why" and "what"--I understand the need for such a program. You include the crucial baseline studies to make future monitoring and evaluation of the program possible. It is sustainable in that it utilizes resources readily available to the community. Funding, as you indicated, might be a problem in the future.
I would like to know more about how you recruit farmers to participate in the program. Have you thought about using farmers already trained in your program to help train their fellow community members? Also, have the farmers already been selling their wares on the market or is this a new endeavor? Do you support them in any way (i.e. marketing, transport, etc) as they sell their organic products? Do you conduct the training in groups or do you visit individual farms? What forum to the farmers have to share their own experiences with one another?
Hi Kristina, thanx a lot for your comments. Pliz find below how GHAI responds to those concerns. Advise us on how best you think GHAI can improve them. GHAI loves you.
BASELINE SURVEYS/STUDIES
The objective of M&E is to enable GHAI make decisions that will make the implementation of the project keep on track. GHAI uses M&E information to determine whether the implementation process is following the set objectives and whether it will produce the desired results. GHAI trusts effective M&E will help other stakeholders e.g. parliament, the parliament sector, civil society and the development partners to keep track of the process and offer advice for modifications where necessary in the government’s plan to modernize agriculture. GHAI is soon developing a data base (not part of this project) to ensure effective access by all users. This package will come along with the website which is still under construction. The data base will be linked to other information systems operating in the country. It will help to capture all sorts of data relating to this and other projects
GHAI will conduct baseline surveys which will improve on M&E in the following areas:-
1. Baseline study based on performance progress and progress indicators
2. District household baseline surveys to collect all the relevant health indicators relating to nutrition
3. Commission domestic energy consumption prioritized research surveys at household levels to find out the numbers of those fully engaged in production, use and maintenance of high energy cooking balls and biogas
4. Collaboration baseline surveys with agricultural research institutions, particularly Nyarunzinga Agricultural Research Station to interest them in poverty fight research through integrated agriculture within their on-going work plans
5. Data formulation and availability baseline surveys in the management of integrated organic farming practices to create a poverty resistant data base in the district
RECRUITMENT OF FARMERS FOR THIS PROJECT
For a beneficiary to qualify and gain from this project as a farmer must have either cultivatable land on which to practice organic farming or be able to generate one sack of banana peels (5-12kg) per 7-12 days for high energy cooking balls project or both. Those having at least one cow to generate cow dung (8-15kg of cow excreta) per 10-18days also qualify because these are considered for another parallel energy project – biogas project. For new entrant farmers (and generally for all organization members) are expected to pay entry fees equivalent to Uganda shillings 2,000 or about USD 1.00 and be able to meet any of the above conditions. This fee is payable once at registration. Annual subscription amounts to Uganda shillings 2,500 or about USD 1.32
REGISTRATION OF FARMER GROUPS AND CO-FUNDING
More than 4 farmer groups have been registered and are directly benefiting from the organization services. To-date, co-funding by the founders, promoters and farmers has reached 100% in 2008 and only 20% in the current year. To encourage members to co-fund in time, GHAI has always considered first those farmers who meet the qualification (old farmers) or registration (new farmers) conditions, and generally for all new members. This has triggered better response towards co-funding. Co-funding here implies monitory, land, cow dung and compost manure contributions specifically for this project. There is hope that the rate of co-funding by farmers will greatly improve with continued sensitization, training and intense mobilization by different stakeholders, especially the political and farmer leadership. Once farmers have been recruited through a participatory process and registered, they are facilitated to select up to 2 enterprises per household. The enterprises under consideration under this project are; banana production, biogas production from cow dung, production of cooking energy balls from banana peels and nutrition education project. The nutrition project however, is compulsory because it forms a major integral component for every household’s health
INCLUSION OF TRAINED FARMERS TO TRAIN THEIR FELLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Surely it has always been our goal to use trained personnel to train others, because GHAI believes that using her trained human resource to pass on skills to more members is one way of sustaining project and saving resources, time and money and promotes project proliferation. This component has already been applied. For instance last year over 40 farmers engaged in improvement of banana production using composted manure were trained by two of our trained farmers also engaged in banana production. Similarly, one woman member skilled in production of cheap but high energy cooking balls helped to train 30 local women in making high energy cooking balls from recycled banana peels. GHAI will continue to extend this strategy in areas of manure composting and production of high energy cooking balls to reach out to more beneficiaries
HAVE FARMERS ALREADY BEEN SELLING THEIR WARES ON MARKET OR THIS IS A NEW ENDEAVOR?
Frankly, farmers have been selling their produce on market though this number is still small (<10). Farmers formally were engaged in subsistence farming and would hardly spare any food for commercial. This left them financially incapacitated and unable to meet their home needs e.g. paying school fees for the children. This year around April, four (4) farmers were able to sell over 150 bunches of matooke (bananas) each directly to traders from capital city Kampala. This helped them to acquire capital for each to be able to purchase grass to mulch their gardens and plantations. These farmers for instance hope to double their yields next year and they are among the target beneficiaries for the environmentally friendly energy saving project from banana peels.
DO YOU SUPPORT THEM IN ANY WAY (MARKETING, TRANSPORT?)
Precisely we support farmers in quite many ways:- We provide them with market researched information. Our research department provides farmers with meteorological data or information on when to expect rains and droughts. It also advises them on when to start planting (e.g. vegetable seeds) and which types of plant breeds to be planted. The market information provided is also useful to farmers, for they use it to compare prices in different markets so as to be able to sell their produce at fairly competitive prices. This has greatly increased the farmers’ incomes. Majority of the farmers are now finding it easy to pay school fees for their children. Market research information has also helped to eliminate the middle business people who used to exploit the farmers by buying their produce very cheaply and sell them to urban markets expensively. GHAI hopes that by end of this year it will have over 30 member-farmers who will be dealing directly with small and large scale buyers of their produce. The department of research further helps farmers with financial information which enables them to access to rural finance institutions like Pride Micro-finance, Stanbic Bank, Centenary Bank and others for manageable short loans. GHAI will continue to support such initiatives.
DO YOU CONDUCT TRAINING IN GROUPS OR DO YOU VISIT FARMS
GHAI does train farmers in groups. GHAI lacks the capacity to train farmers individually. Training farmers in groups has saved us a lot of time and money. Farmers have learnt different farming skills from each other through pragmatic, sharing and participatory methods. GHAI field staff however, visits individual farmers to assess the progress on their individual farms. GHAI has a long term strategy (not proposed by this project) of acquiring land so that it commences an agricultural research and demonstration station on which theoretical and practical trainings can be done.
WHAT FORUM DO THE FARMERS HAVE TO SHARE THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES?
ESTABLISHMENT OF FARMER FOR A
The programme having covered more than 20% of the counties (= 5), has 2 substantive sub-county farmers fora (FF) and 1 procurement committee (PC) comprising of 2 elected farmers, the secretary for production and one GHAI coordinator. It was observed that there was a big coordination gap between sub-county leadership and farmers, GHAI management therefore agreed that Parish Coordination Committees (PCCs) be set up as a best practice based on the findings of the baseline survey conducted this year. The representation on the PCCs with 5 members includes farmers, from different groups and the Local Council Chairman (LCC) as a technical advisor. The Committees were oriented on their roles and responsibilities and on how to develop simple work plans. Since its inception, apart from two workshops conducted for farmers last year, a lot of sensitization has been done through local council meetings and church congregations. We intend to include different print and electronic media utilizing various channels including radio, newspapers, (national and local), drama groups, newsletters, brochures and posters, documentation and sharing of success stories. However this is a strategy which is not targeted by this project though the success stories for this project will be shared and published.
INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND OWNERSHIP OF THE PROGRAMME BY FARMERS
Farmers have benefited from appropriate technologies like making of high energy cooking balls from banana peels and farmers are proud to host them and do take responsibility to manage them. Farmers are taking on profitable enterprises for which advisory services are provided resulting in increased farmers’ incomes. As a result of farmer involvement in the contracting process, farmers are now able to monitor service provision. Farmers are now able to terminate contracts, blacklist poor performing Service Providers (SPs ) and refuse to approve payments for poor supplies received. This has steadily improved on the quality of services and goods provided by the programme. GHAI has equipped farmers with procurement guidelines. GHAI will continue to support this venture and even strengthen it further. 40 farmers last year turned down a trainer’s contract after he had failed to deliver K32 banana seeds that had been recommended for planting. Having identified a coordination gap between Sub-county Farmer Fora (SFF) and Farmers Groups (FGs), farmers requested for the formation of the Parish Coordinating Committees (PCCs) which are now in place. Farmers on their own have gone further to form Village Coordination Committees (VCCs) which work closely with the PCCs and are responsible for mobilizing Farmer Groups for programme activities. There is improved record keeping where farmers maintain an attendance on trainings by both the farmers and SPs to ease follow up and approval of payment. Farmers are empowered to make their own work plans which are later approved by their farmer leaders at the parish which guide implementation and monitoring. Women farmers are gradually taking on enterprises /activities that were formerly known for men e.g. currently 4 women are practicing rehabilitation of their banana plantations in Kyeitembe ward II.
EXTENT TO WHICH FARMERS ARE FARMING AS A BUSINESS
Up to about 18% of the beneficiaries have rehabilitated their banana plantations in Bushenyi district. This is a small proportion but GHAI is happy because this has been achieved within a period of about 2½ years since 2007. GHAI likes doing activities slowly but surely rather than rushing and failing to achieve targets. Under the guidance of GHAI, farmers have formed marketing associations e.g. Kyeitembe Banamatooke Growers Association (KBGA) in Igara county. Farmers now do appreciate the fact that advisory services have been decentralized up to zone level unlike in the past, they are now able to participate more freely. The crops that were formerly for only home consumption have been taken up for income generation e.g. onions, matooke (bananas), passion fruits, peas, ground nuts, irish potatoes. Although some farmers have not yet participated in trainings, they have started adapting some of the improved practices from the neighbours and procuring technologies on their own. Marketing groups formed have enabled farmers to sell their produce at a higher price. These marketing boards are also duty bound to check price fluctuations. Some farmers have pledged commitment in making high energy balls from banana peels in large volumes for commercial purposes.
Your project sounds good especially on the aspect of the energy saving balls. What is the response of the community towards this aspect of energy saving balls?
Thank you so much Kamukama. The response from the local people has been highly positive. In fact we have been overwhelmed by the support the local people are giving to the high energy saving balls project. They have pledged time and labour to this project. We call upon all other wellwishers to support so that we can take this project further
Comentários
Hello--your entry is thorough and addresses the "why" and "what"--I understand the need for such a program. You include the crucial baseline studies to make future monitoring and evaluation of the program possible. It is sustainable in that it utilizes resources readily available to the community. Funding, as you indicated, might be a problem in the future.
I would like to know more about how you recruit farmers to participate in the program. Have you thought about using farmers already trained in your program to help train their fellow community members? Also, have the farmers already been selling their wares on the market or is this a new endeavor? Do you support them in any way (i.e. marketing, transport, etc) as they sell their organic products? Do you conduct the training in groups or do you visit individual farms? What forum to the farmers have to share their own experiences with one another?
Hi Kristina, thanx a lot for your comments. Pliz find below how GHAI responds to those concerns. Advise us on how best you think GHAI can improve them. GHAI loves you.
BASELINE SURVEYS/STUDIES
The objective of M&E is to enable GHAI make decisions that will make the implementation of the project keep on track. GHAI uses M&E information to determine whether the implementation process is following the set objectives and whether it will produce the desired results. GHAI trusts effective M&E will help other stakeholders e.g. parliament, the parliament sector, civil society and the development partners to keep track of the process and offer advice for modifications where necessary in the government’s plan to modernize agriculture. GHAI is soon developing a data base (not part of this project) to ensure effective access by all users. This package will come along with the website which is still under construction. The data base will be linked to other information systems operating in the country. It will help to capture all sorts of data relating to this and other projects
GHAI will conduct baseline surveys which will improve on M&E in the following areas:-
1. Baseline study based on performance progress and progress indicators
2. District household baseline surveys to collect all the relevant health indicators relating to nutrition
3. Commission domestic energy consumption prioritized research surveys at household levels to find out the numbers of those fully engaged in production, use and maintenance of high energy cooking balls and biogas
4. Collaboration baseline surveys with agricultural research institutions, particularly Nyarunzinga Agricultural Research Station to interest them in poverty fight research through integrated agriculture within their on-going work plans
5. Data formulation and availability baseline surveys in the management of integrated organic farming practices to create a poverty resistant data base in the district
RECRUITMENT OF FARMERS FOR THIS PROJECT
For a beneficiary to qualify and gain from this project as a farmer must have either cultivatable land on which to practice organic farming or be able to generate one sack of banana peels (5-12kg) per 7-12 days for high energy cooking balls project or both. Those having at least one cow to generate cow dung (8-15kg of cow excreta) per 10-18days also qualify because these are considered for another parallel energy project – biogas project. For new entrant farmers (and generally for all organization members) are expected to pay entry fees equivalent to Uganda shillings 2,000 or about USD 1.00 and be able to meet any of the above conditions. This fee is payable once at registration. Annual subscription amounts to Uganda shillings 2,500 or about USD 1.32
REGISTRATION OF FARMER GROUPS AND CO-FUNDING
More than 4 farmer groups have been registered and are directly benefiting from the organization services. To-date, co-funding by the founders, promoters and farmers has reached 100% in 2008 and only 20% in the current year. To encourage members to co-fund in time, GHAI has always considered first those farmers who meet the qualification (old farmers) or registration (new farmers) conditions, and generally for all new members. This has triggered better response towards co-funding. Co-funding here implies monitory, land, cow dung and compost manure contributions specifically for this project. There is hope that the rate of co-funding by farmers will greatly improve with continued sensitization, training and intense mobilization by different stakeholders, especially the political and farmer leadership. Once farmers have been recruited through a participatory process and registered, they are facilitated to select up to 2 enterprises per household. The enterprises under consideration under this project are; banana production, biogas production from cow dung, production of cooking energy balls from banana peels and nutrition education project. The nutrition project however, is compulsory because it forms a major integral component for every household’s health
INCLUSION OF TRAINED FARMERS TO TRAIN THEIR FELLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Surely it has always been our goal to use trained personnel to train others, because GHAI believes that using her trained human resource to pass on skills to more members is one way of sustaining project and saving resources, time and money and promotes project proliferation. This component has already been applied. For instance last year over 40 farmers engaged in improvement of banana production using composted manure were trained by two of our trained farmers also engaged in banana production. Similarly, one woman member skilled in production of cheap but high energy cooking balls helped to train 30 local women in making high energy cooking balls from recycled banana peels. GHAI will continue to extend this strategy in areas of manure composting and production of high energy cooking balls to reach out to more beneficiaries
HAVE FARMERS ALREADY BEEN SELLING THEIR WARES ON MARKET OR THIS IS A NEW ENDEAVOR?
Frankly, farmers have been selling their produce on market though this number is still small (<10). Farmers formally were engaged in subsistence farming and would hardly spare any food for commercial. This left them financially incapacitated and unable to meet their home needs e.g. paying school fees for the children. This year around April, four (4) farmers were able to sell over 150 bunches of matooke (bananas) each directly to traders from capital city Kampala. This helped them to acquire capital for each to be able to purchase grass to mulch their gardens and plantations. These farmers for instance hope to double their yields next year and they are among the target beneficiaries for the environmentally friendly energy saving project from banana peels.
DO YOU SUPPORT THEM IN ANY WAY (MARKETING, TRANSPORT?)
Precisely we support farmers in quite many ways:- We provide them with market researched information. Our research department provides farmers with meteorological data or information on when to expect rains and droughts. It also advises them on when to start planting (e.g. vegetable seeds) and which types of plant breeds to be planted. The market information provided is also useful to farmers, for they use it to compare prices in different markets so as to be able to sell their produce at fairly competitive prices. This has greatly increased the farmers’ incomes. Majority of the farmers are now finding it easy to pay school fees for their children. Market research information has also helped to eliminate the middle business people who used to exploit the farmers by buying their produce very cheaply and sell them to urban markets expensively. GHAI hopes that by end of this year it will have over 30 member-farmers who will be dealing directly with small and large scale buyers of their produce. The department of research further helps farmers with financial information which enables them to access to rural finance institutions like Pride Micro-finance, Stanbic Bank, Centenary Bank and others for manageable short loans. GHAI will continue to support such initiatives.
DO YOU CONDUCT TRAINING IN GROUPS OR DO YOU VISIT FARMS
GHAI does train farmers in groups. GHAI lacks the capacity to train farmers individually. Training farmers in groups has saved us a lot of time and money. Farmers have learnt different farming skills from each other through pragmatic, sharing and participatory methods. GHAI field staff however, visits individual farmers to assess the progress on their individual farms. GHAI has a long term strategy (not proposed by this project) of acquiring land so that it commences an agricultural research and demonstration station on which theoretical and practical trainings can be done.
WHAT FORUM DO THE FARMERS HAVE TO SHARE THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES?
ESTABLISHMENT OF FARMER FOR A
The programme having covered more than 20% of the counties (= 5), has 2 substantive sub-county farmers fora (FF) and 1 procurement committee (PC) comprising of 2 elected farmers, the secretary for production and one GHAI coordinator. It was observed that there was a big coordination gap between sub-county leadership and farmers, GHAI management therefore agreed that Parish Coordination Committees (PCCs) be set up as a best practice based on the findings of the baseline survey conducted this year. The representation on the PCCs with 5 members includes farmers, from different groups and the Local Council Chairman (LCC) as a technical advisor. The Committees were oriented on their roles and responsibilities and on how to develop simple work plans. Since its inception, apart from two workshops conducted for farmers last year, a lot of sensitization has been done through local council meetings and church congregations. We intend to include different print and electronic media utilizing various channels including radio, newspapers, (national and local), drama groups, newsletters, brochures and posters, documentation and sharing of success stories. However this is a strategy which is not targeted by this project though the success stories for this project will be shared and published.
INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND OWNERSHIP OF THE PROGRAMME BY FARMERS
Farmers have benefited from appropriate technologies like making of high energy cooking balls from banana peels and farmers are proud to host them and do take responsibility to manage them. Farmers are taking on profitable enterprises for which advisory services are provided resulting in increased farmers’ incomes. As a result of farmer involvement in the contracting process, farmers are now able to monitor service provision. Farmers are now able to terminate contracts, blacklist poor performing Service Providers (SPs ) and refuse to approve payments for poor supplies received. This has steadily improved on the quality of services and goods provided by the programme. GHAI has equipped farmers with procurement guidelines. GHAI will continue to support this venture and even strengthen it further. 40 farmers last year turned down a trainer’s contract after he had failed to deliver K32 banana seeds that had been recommended for planting. Having identified a coordination gap between Sub-county Farmer Fora (SFF) and Farmers Groups (FGs), farmers requested for the formation of the Parish Coordinating Committees (PCCs) which are now in place. Farmers on their own have gone further to form Village Coordination Committees (VCCs) which work closely with the PCCs and are responsible for mobilizing Farmer Groups for programme activities. There is improved record keeping where farmers maintain an attendance on trainings by both the farmers and SPs to ease follow up and approval of payment. Farmers are empowered to make their own work plans which are later approved by their farmer leaders at the parish which guide implementation and monitoring. Women farmers are gradually taking on enterprises /activities that were formerly known for men e.g. currently 4 women are practicing rehabilitation of their banana plantations in Kyeitembe ward II.
EXTENT TO WHICH FARMERS ARE FARMING AS A BUSINESS
Up to about 18% of the beneficiaries have rehabilitated their banana plantations in Bushenyi district. This is a small proportion but GHAI is happy because this has been achieved within a period of about 2½ years since 2007. GHAI likes doing activities slowly but surely rather than rushing and failing to achieve targets. Under the guidance of GHAI, farmers have formed marketing associations e.g. Kyeitembe Banamatooke Growers Association (KBGA) in Igara county. Farmers now do appreciate the fact that advisory services have been decentralized up to zone level unlike in the past, they are now able to participate more freely. The crops that were formerly for only home consumption have been taken up for income generation e.g. onions, matooke (bananas), passion fruits, peas, ground nuts, irish potatoes. Although some farmers have not yet participated in trainings, they have started adapting some of the improved practices from the neighbours and procuring technologies on their own. Marketing groups formed have enabled farmers to sell their produce at a higher price. These marketing boards are also duty bound to check price fluctuations. Some farmers have pledged commitment in making high energy balls from banana peels in large volumes for commercial purposes.
Your project sounds good especially on the aspect of the energy saving balls. What is the response of the community towards this aspect of energy saving balls?
Thank you so much Kamukama. The response from the local people has been highly positive. In fact we have been overwhelmed by the support the local people are giving to the high energy saving balls project. They have pledged time and labour to this project. We call upon all other wellwishers to support so that we can take this project further
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