parish development model

The PDM Guidelines look at the broader actions of stakeholders, the details are contained in the Pillar-specific Operational Manuals. Here are the highlights of the delivery mechanisms under each of the Pillars, specifying the actions;

1: Agriculture Value Chain Development (Production, Processing and Marketing)

Background to the Pillar

The Pillar is aimed at supporting the creation of employment opportunities, food security and wealth for all Ugandans specifically the households in subsistence production. This is in line with NDP III Programmes, namely; Agro-Industrialisation, Private Sector Development, Digital Transformation and Manufacturing. 

The objective of the PDM is to increase Production and Productivity, across the Value Chain, by supporting interventions for food security alongside those to improve incomes of the households. The PDM Secretariat shall collaborate with the Working Groups and coordinate all the activities.

Activities of the Pillar

The actions to transform the Households include;

Organize and coordinate Farmers at Parish/Ward level in line with Value Chain of the enterprises selected for each Parish and form Parish-Based Commodity Clusters.

Link the organized Farmer Groups/Associations to the Zonal Industrial Hubs and Industrial Parks.

The Ministry of Agricultural and Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and other stakeholders through District-Based Local Government Staff will build capacity and retool the Public Extension Workers and Non-State Actors, such as model farmers, to support efficiency, growth and mentoring of Farmers and their organization.

Develop and roll out e-government products to farming Households, such as the e-voucher for farm inputs, the e-extension service and e-certification systems to strengthen service delivery at Parish level.

Develop and roll out Farmer Registers in all Parishes across the Country managed by the Parish Chiefs. This will aid in building a national database of all farming Households and regularly monitor their progress;

Strengthen Farmers’ Associations at local levels and build their capacities to manage Agri-business Enterprises effectively.

Support the Farmers’ Associations to develop clear and effective business plans; and assist qualifying Farmers’ Associations to grow into Parish/Sub-County Development Associations and Cooperatives.

Support and mobilize Farmers/Associations to invest in Community level Facilities for Commodity Storage, primary Processing, and other post-harvest handling functions.

Work closely with Financial Institutions to scale up proven financial service delivery models that are suitable for farming household.

Prioritize at least two Agricultural Enterprises per Subcounty that should be promoted and branded.

Mobilize and enforce compliance to established standards and good Agricultural practices in the community to ensure that Agricultural products from the Communities meet international market requirements.

Ensure a strong involvement by Citizens at the household level through Farmer Structures working together with the Parish Development Committees (PDCs) to identify their peculiar needs and opportunities in order to create more employment and wealth in their Parish;

Promote price stabilization and buying off bumper Production.

Promote Sustainable Environmental Practices.

Link established business Enterprises e.g., insurance and transport to Farmers’ Groups/ Associations.

Training of trainers/capacity building of higher Local Governments.

Provide policy framework and legislation for Parish-Based Organisations – Groups, Associations, Cooperatives etc.

Roles at the National Level

Provide National policy on extension services: Crop, Animal husbandry, and fisheries.

Provide regulation of inputs: seed, fertilizers, acaricides, drugs, pesticides, machinery etc.

On-farm and off-Farm power and mechanization.

 National Certification and Regulation for Standards and Safety etc.

Bulk Commodity Storage and Packaging Facilities for fresh, wet and dry goods.

Advice on Value Addition and Agro-Processing Facilities to include cleaning, sorting, drying, manufacturing and packaging.

National Plan for Environment and other Climate Change Mitigation Measures.

Provide Local Governments with technical and logistical water support for Production and domestic.

Advice on access to Local and International Markets.  

National Business Development Services (Provision of Information, Knowledge, Skills and Advice on Various Aspects Business).

Related Digital Services supporting production, storage, processing and marketing; and 16Implementation Guidelines for parish development.

 Guidance on related Non-Agricultural Enterprises to support Production, Processing and Marketing in urban setting.

Roles at Local Government Level

Train Farmers and Farmer Groups in institutional development.

Provide Extension Services along the Value Chains through demonstrations, visits, field days and competitions.

Supervise and build capacity of Community-Based Service Providers.

Link Farmers to other Service Providers.

Guide PDCs on enterprise priority selection.

Supervise the collection of data, analysis and storage; and

Mobilize the Model Farmers to organize and advise other Farmer’ Groups

Role of Parish Chief/ Town Agent

Record keeping for all activities of the PDM at the Parish.

Assist the PDC to plan and set priorities for Agricultural Enterprises and Technologies.

Supervise the work of Community-Based Service Providers at the Parish.

Monitor the implementation of PDM activities at the Parish level.

Collect business and Agriculture statistics at the Parish level for analysis and Storage.

Supervise the management and operations of post-harvest handling, Storage, and Processing activities at the Parish.

Mobilize Community on self-help and economic empowerment projects, positivity on Government Programs, and cultivate business orientation.

Provide accountability of all PDM resources at the Parish; and

Coordinate all stakeholders at Parish level.

Private Sector/NGOs, CBOs and CSOs

Mobilize resources for Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Services.

Provide Private Extension Services.

Supply quality Agricultural inputs.

Support Post-harvest handling, Storage and Processing activities.

Provide Transport, Trade and Marketing Services.

Engage in Public Private Partnership at Community level.

Train and create awareness on PDM Pillar implementation.

Undertake other complementary activities that support Value Chain Development; such as Storage, Transport, Drying, Marketing etc.

Harmonize their interventions to the PDM at all levels; and

Participate in Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of PDM Pillar activities.

Farmer to Farmer peer Extension Services.

Procure multiplication seeds, planting materials and stocks.

Undertake innovation in farming and resource mobilization.

Farmers’ Associations Institutional Development in liaison with PDC, Extension Staff and Parish Chiefs.

Record keeping and provision of agricultural data.

Farmers’ Group formation.

Provide market information and sourcing; and

Support Farmers in accessing credits.

Educational Institutions

Attach trainees to Communities to support Extension to Farmers and monitor their performance in the field.

Support appropriate Innovation and Technology Transfer to Farmers and Service Providers, such as transportation, silos, weather forecasts, etc.

 Study the processes and draw lessons for learning and curriculum review.

 Provide expertise drawn from other experiences regarding different enterprises.

2. Infrastructure and Economic Services

 Background to the Pillar

 The Pillar is aimed at ensuring reliable transport and economic services for production and marketing. Public and Private Institutions will provide a range of infrastructure and economic services in a phased manner. These infrastructure and economic services complement the functions under other pillars of the PDM. The PDM Secretariat shall collaborate with the Working Group and coordinate all the activities.

 Activities of this Pillar include:

Construct and maintain accessible Community roads; this is the key activity that is necessary to support Pillar.

Improve choke points /bridges on Community roads.

Upgrade community local markets.

Extension of safe water facilities for domestic use and production.

Extension of power facilities to Communities, ensure availability of power in   each Parish.

Creation of free internet zones in Communities.

3. Financial Inclusion

Background to the Pillar

The Pillar is aimed at enabling access to appropriate financial products and services such as savings, credit, and insurance and payment systems by households that operate in the subsisting segment (subsistence households). The PDM Financial Inclusion Pillar, therefore, shall focus on transforming subsistence households (both Agricultural and Non-Agricultural) into the money economy. The PDM Secretariat shall collaborate with the Working Group and coordinate all the activities.

The Pillar shall focus on the following:

Reducing financial exclusion by addressing barriers to access financial services by the households.

Deepening and broadening formal savings, investment and insurance usage.

Strengthening credit delivery mechanisms to support inclusive growth at the household level.

Effective coordination of financial inclusion and wealth creation initiatives.

Financial Information Technology: – building the digital infrastructure for efficient financial services.

Empowering and protecting individuals with financial capability through financial literacy.

The PDM Financial Inclusion Pillar shall be implemented through six components, namely,

 a) Community organisation into Enterprise Groups and PDM Sacco’s

 b) Business Development Services (BDS) and financial literacy

c) PDM Integrated Financial Management Information and Payment System (PDM IFMS)

d) Savings and Credit

e) Agriculture insurance

 f) Market linkages through e-market place matchmaking and off-taker market placement

What and how is it going to work?

In order to transform the 68.9% of Ugandans in subsistence farming, NRM will adopt a

science-led parish model to reach homesteads that are still in the moneyless economy.

What’s new?

The parish is going to be the vehicle for data gathering, area-based enterprise selection and development, co-operatives and financial services development, community mobilization and mindset change. Furthermore, it will be the centre for multi-stakeholder/ sectoral co-ordination and providing feedback on Government services.

For instance, the multiplication and distribution of inputs is going to be guided by science and markets at parish level to address the perennial challenges of input distribution such as poor-quality seedlings and breeds, untimely delivery and the high failure rate. Furthermore, it will tackle misuse of drugs and agro-chemicals, poor agronomic and husbandry practices.

In addition, the parish model will help NRM deal with high post-harvest losses, poor planning, bulking and produce marketing, low commodity prices (farmers’ exploitation by middlemen) and inability to track progress, identify gaps and timely mitigation measures.

How will it work?

The parish chief is going to be the coordinator of all Government efforts at the parish and report to the sub-county chief.

NRM’s focus will be on the household, which will be supported scientifically, right from soil testing to provision of inputs, extension services, mechanisation, post-harvest management and marketing.

There will be different channels of reaching a household, depending on the circumstances in the regions. In all regions, a parish development committee will be formed, comprising state and non-state actors. It will also consist of the LCI and LCII chairpersons, area co- operative society, elders, religious and cultural leaders.

The parish chief will also mobilize and bring together the leadership of all groups/societies to form a Parish Co-operative Association (PCA). They will be ex-officio members on the PCAs in their areas in addition to being signatories to the PCA accounts since the funds are coming from the Government.

In addition to identifying individual participating PCAs, parish chiefs will co-ordinate training and supervise them for successful implementation of interventions and ensuring regular reporting.

Through this approach, NRM will consolidate the scattered Government services to focus on the following:

Stimulation of production and productivity: 

Building on the achievements under OWC, NRM will address production and productivity constraints beginning with effective logistics management, dissemination of research findings on soil testing, high-yielding varieties and pest control.

NRM will ensure that all households actively participate in the monetized economy by engaging in high-value enterprises. If, for instance, a parish has 1,000 households and 200 of them have already benefited from OWC, the target will be to reach the rest in a phased manner. Each household will ultimately receive agricultural inputs. This effort will be science-led and well-coordinated, learning from experience to achieve better results.

Financial Services: 

NRM will support a SACCO in each of the 10,046 parishes in Uganda, putting emphasis on the rural areas engaged in agriculture. Members can borrow from the parish SACCO to support their productive and income-generating activities. The SACCO can also act as an agent of various banks under the agency banking policy, thus deepening of financial services.

A sub-county SACCO will co-ordinate all parish SACCOs in the sub-county and be the intermediaries of all Government programmes that require financial support. NRM will also support agricultural financing by working closely with the private sector to create a more inclusive agricultural finance system at parish level.

Over the next five years, NRM is going to incentivize private sector financial service providers to support the established Government channels to provide low-cost financing for the agro-industrialization drive. The urban areas are already being supported under Emyooga.

Produce and Marketing Co-operatives: 

NRM will work with all relevant stakeholders to revive the over 35 traditional co-operatives and fully support them to re-establish full operations.

NRM will also encourage and support the setting up of new co-operatives. From “Kinakulya Growers” of 1913 and “Buganda Growers Association” (1920), to several co- operative unions which were formed in the early 1950s, an average Ugandan farmer was organized under co-operatives. 

They accessed good quality inputs, received good prices, saved and accessed low-cost credit, built decent houses and owned assets. However, beginning in the late 1960s, the co-operatives started a journey to self- destruction when they exhibited severe mismanagement and corruption. 

The managers massively cheated their financially ignorant members, a majority of whom had never stepped into a classroom. This created the classic principal-agent problem, where the educated managers (the agents) took advantage of the members’ illiteracy and inability to monitor them to embezzle funds and asset-strip at will.

The political conflicts and wars of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the liberalization policies of the 1990s are often blamed on NRM, but it found the co-operatives on their sickbeds. However, now that NRM has educated Ugandans and literacy levels are as high as 76%, we are going to revive co-operatives and support the creation of new ones where they did not exist.

Agricultural Extension Services: 

NRM’s policy is to have extension service officers, namely; agricultural officer, veterinary officer and a fisheries officer (where it applies) at every sub-county.

So far, 4,063 extension service officers have been recruited. We will continue recruiting to ensure that every sub-county has them. The

parish chief will ensure that extension services effectively serve all farmers in the parish.

In carrying out their duties, the extension service officers should identify one farmer in a village and invite others to teach them from one farm. The officers will have to account to the sub-county chief and the chief administrative officer on such activities held every quarter of the year.

 Access to Fertilisers:

Fertilizer usage in Uganda is very low and almost negligible. This affects        yields and results in low incomes. For example, growing maize without fertilizers yields about one tone per acre, while with application of fertilizers, it goes up to five tones per acre. Farmers will be encouraged to use fertilizers to improve the yield and, hence, their incomes. NRM will help sort out the challenges faced by the fertilizer factory in Tororo so that it can start production.

Water Services: 

Out of 68,731 villages in Uganda, 48,338 villages have at least one clean water source, which represents 70% access to water. Out of 20,393 unserved villages, 9,217 are in the rural areas.

Under the water sector, NRM plans to have a water source in every village in a cost-effective way. Instead of hiring the private sector to drill boreholes — like we did with roads when we purchased road equipment from Japan — we will buy drilling rigs so that the Government does the work. This will reduce costs significantly.

The parish chief will be following up with the district water engineer on the programme of providing clean water to unserved villages. The chief will also follow up on the repair of water sources in the parish. This same water can be used to irrigate crops.

Promotion of agro-based cottage industries: 

Small-scale agro-based cottage industries are projected to be the engines of growth and job creation. To this end, NRM is going to invest in these industries to uplift local communities across the country.

Key areas of investment include grain processing for food and animal feeds production, coffee hullers, honey harvesting and processing, oil seed processing, ghee and butter processing in addition to Agro-waste harnessing and conversion.

The Agro-based cottage industry interventions will be carried out in 20 sub-zones across the country, in close collaboration with the Youth and Women Skilling Programmes

Other services: 

Other parish model services include community libraries, adult learning, classes, sports and fitness, performing arts, home management skilling and others.