Food Rights Alliance

Tag: FRA

  • THE RUN FOR THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXTENTION POLICY IN UGANDA

    THE RUN FOR THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXTENTION POLICY IN UGANDA2Three-quarters of the world’s poorest billion people live in rural areas, and majority depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and survival. Encouraging the growth of the agricultural sector is therefore one of the most effective ways of tackling poverty and reducing hunger and malnutrition. In Uganda, the Agricultural sector is very key in the national economy. Rural livelihood and the food security of Ugandans all depend on this sector. As the backbone of Uganda’s economy, agriculture accounts for over 75% of total employment, over 26% of the GDP, and 45% of foreign exchange earnings. It also provides the basis for growth in other sectors such as manufacturing and the related services industry.

    Agricultural extension is of paramount importance in the agricultural sector and rural development in general. There has been much debate in Uganda over the last fifteen years about the appropriate approach, coverage, and performance of the agricultural extension system. This debate has taken place within the evolving context of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme, an extension delivery approach that targeted the development and use of farmer institutions; and the Single Spine Extension System.

    In Teso sub region, agriculture is the predominate source of livelihood for the estimated population of about 2.5 million people in the region. However, this region which exemplifies legacies of unacknowledged conflict and human rights violations is still devastated economically and socially. In addition, the region is prone to adverse climate related disasters which have resulted in strong seasonal and annual variation in production.

    Although majority of the people in this region depend on agriculture, extension services are scarce or non-existent in some places. Since2012,, members of the Non-State Actors Working Group on Agricultural Extension have been holding a campaign aimed at ensuring that the AEAS Policy reforms bring about an effective, efficient and inclusive Agricultural Extension Service Delivery System.

    In February 2016 with support from Food Rights Alliance, Trocaire and Trust Africa Foundation, the group held a consultative meeting in Teso Region to solicit views from a broad range of stakeholders to define how extension service delivery in the country should be modelled and delivered to improve the livelihoods of farmers and increase availability of food.

    During the consultation, the people of Teso region accentuated the core issues of financing of the Agriculture Extension; the delivery mechanisms and the managing of institutional linkages of the MAAIF policy framework. They stressed that the policy should place emphasis on linkages with agricultural research and an input distribution system The farmers in Teso are envisaging a “supper Extensionist” meaning one who is fullu fledged to provide them with all round basic support before calling a subject matter specialist. In addition communities being agro pastoral subscribe to the principle of communual access to extension services especially for animal pest and disease control.

    Just like Teso, the rest of Uganda needs a functional, effective and efficient extension system. Government will need to show commitment to develop a viable and efficient Agriculture extension system by starting with the development of human capital to deliver extension services to farmers. Additionally, all stakeholders in the sector should exercise mutual accountability and joint action to realise effective implementation of the policy.

    By Hilda Nabakooza
    FRA Project Officer

  • The Salient fundamental linkages between child trafficking and Food Security: The Case of Teso Region

    By Regina Kayoyo, Emily Kennedy

    The Salient fundamental linkages between child trafficking and Food Security The Case of Teso RegionA lot of research has been undertaken on the causes behind child trafficking and food insecurity. However, little or none has delved into the possible relationship these two could have with each other. Identification of the different forms of trafficking has to a large extent dominated and held captive the biggest percentage of research into this heinous, highly lucrative trade, with little or no diversion to investigate the role ‘food insecurity in the household’ has to play as a push factor in the promotion of human trafficking.

    By definition, trafficking of children is the “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation.” In Uganda, this phenomenon has remained largely abstract as many have chocked it down to being non-existent, yet, according to the United Nations global report (UNODC, 2014), there is a continued increase in the number of detected child victims (increase by 5%), particularly for girls under 18 years. Katakwi and Soroti districts were in 2010 identified as sources of, transit and destination points for child trafficking within Uganda and across the borders of the country (Ujeo, 2010).
    The general lack of awareness among the population on matters regarding child trafficking coupled with its complex nature (push and pull factors) has created an attitude of complacency towards this issue in the country.

    Although the Eastern region wasreported to havehad a positive food balance, some districts such as Soroti were considered exceptions that were experiencing food stress surviving on one or two meals a day with a low and deteriorating dietary diversity.

    Driven by the information gap on the dimension of food insecurity as a push factor in the causes of child trafficking, Food Rights Alliance in collaboration with War on Want Northern Ireland , SORUDA and WeDA our grassroot partners with funding from the Independent Development Fund sponsored a research study aimed to link the presence of food insecurity to the occurrence of child trafficking in the Teso Region.

    The research was conducted with three categories of households. These were households with previous cases of child transfer, those at the risk of transfer and those that had been recipients of a transferred child. From group discussions held, community members indicated majority of the families in Soroti had transferred children and most of those in Katakwi had been on the receiving end.

    While the report is still in its final phase, the evidence collected within the study indicates that there is a link between these two troubling aspects. The increased pressure placed on the household when food supplies are limited has left many parents in the region looking for alternative ways to care for their children. While most of the individuals interviewed in the process indicated that children were sent to other family members, there were other accounts of the child’s willingness to leave in search of a perceptively better life. In some instances, the childrenare sent out on a daily basis to work for food. And although sometimes this works to the child’s benefit, other times the outcomes aren’t so kind with reports of abuse and early marriages. Because the children provide labour out of the home in exchange for food, they are likely to keep moving from home to home, making them vulnerable to trafficking.

    Under conditions of low food availability in a household, adults and children are usually affected in different ways, it is however, unfortunate to note that although food shortage is generally reported as a key driver to child transfers, there are no specific efforts or interventions in Katakwi and Soroti Districts that are addressing the problem of child trafficking with a close link to food insecurity. It is imperative that programs be designed and implemented in a multi-sectorial manner to address these problems. This thus calls for partners working in areas of food security and child protection programmes- that have often worked in different silos- to pull their resources together and harmonize solutions to help mitigate the vulnerability of our nation’s children to this trade.

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  • FRA Opens New Year With Retreat

    By Matilda Nakawungu

    5 – 8 January 2015 – This week, Food Rights Alliance conducted its Annual Beginning of Year Retreat in the serene outskirts of Entebbe town, Uganda.  The most noteworthy objectives of the four-day activity were to enforce the Staff and Board capacity in resource mobilization and proposal writing, their understanding of what FRA’s core business is, its vision and mission; and also to draw the guiding plan for the new year.

    The activities started with a capacity building training in resource mobilization- a session facilitated by Mr. Chris Charles Oyua. A key financial management issue for many NGOs is the mobilization of financial and in-kind resources to undertake development efforts. Often times when we come across the term ‘resource mobilization’, we are bound to take a superficial meaning to it of mobilizing funds. And in a technical sense we would be right. However, resources can include many different things for an organization. Aside from the money, NGOs need a strategy to raise support from volunteers; material donations or in-kind contribution from their own communities among others. So, in order to put all these sources of support into one kitty, we refer to them collectively as ‘resource mobilization.’

    The second day of the training was graced by a visit from the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union, Her Excellency Rhoda Peace Tumusiime. The FRA team had a passionate discussion with the Commissioner over the opportunities Uganda has to address the prevailing Hunger and Malnutrition challenge.

    retreat 4The two-day training upturned Board and Staff capacity in resource mobilization with every lesson learnt exceptionally useful and also quite interesting to know. In the NGO business we write proposals every now and then, but we sometimes forget to focus on the ‘friendraising’. And since donors do not fund causes but  people with causes, it is even more paramount to create, nurture and maintain relationships with those that support and help us stay afloat.

    The training was followed by a two day Board Meeting to review the successes and hurdles of the previous year, and to draw a road map for the new year 2016.

    It is safe to say that the retreat turned out to be very effective in educating and motivating the secretariat. The fruits of this week are soon to be manifested in FRA’s victories in the fight against hunger and malnutrition that are in the offing this year.

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