Access to Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods - Natural Resources Institute

the district database. The second component of the planning process relates to activities and
interventions – each LCI also produced a “wish list” of five priorities, which were fed up to
the parish level, where eight were selected to be fed up to the sub-county level for
consideration in the plan.
In the view of the District Planner transforming rural areas is of necessity a government task,
although to date the government has not promoted and used the private sector enough. Key
foci are rural roads and rural electrification, but low population density and non-nucleated
settlement patterns make service provision difficult, and thus it is also important to encourage
more nucleated settlements and urbanisation 61 .
3.3 Agricultural production, marketing, and extension
Problems in the agricultural sector generally are the short-term results of liberalisation
policies. Farmers have problems accessing markets, and thus have little idea of the potential
value of their produce. Traders control price information, and can gain significant profits
from the differential between what they pay farmers for their produce, and what they sell it
for in other markets, although the business is capital intensive, and can be risky. Most
produce is sold directly from the farm. Small scale traders move from farm to farm and then
either sell to medium scale traders/transporters in the local trading centres, or arrange
transport themselves, usually to Kyotera. Medium scale traders either buy from small scale
traders in trading centres, or employ a few trusted local people to go from farm to farm for
them in exchange for a small salary or commission. Co-operatives used to market produce for
farmers, but these either failed or were disbanded under liberalisation, and government
efforts to replace them with new structures are weak – the Trade Development Officer has
supported 22 groups which focus on a single crop, but only six, which sell beans and maize
in Kampala, are flourishing as there are problems with group dynamics and lack of trust. In
the meantime, inputs such as agrochemicals are now only available at market prices, which
are beyond the reach of most farmers.
The Production & Marketing Department aims to help producers get useful information on
both production 62 and marketing, particularly prices. The department also monitors and
controls plant and animal diseases. Under decentralisation the department operates a unified
extension service with two or three extension officers in each sub-county, each with a
different focus, but planning and prioritising together. Prior to this, extension officers in each
sector worked independently and reported to separate line ministries in Kampala with no coordination
at the local level, such that they often pulled in different directions, and confused
the very people they were supposed to help.
The department is trying to include an administrative function at the sub-county level, and to
recruit more staff so that each sub-county is served by at least one agriculture, one livestock,
and one fisheries officer. Beyond this, the aim is to decentralise to parish level, and to include
farmer representation. Currently the only link to the village level is through the Rakai District
Farmers Association (RADIFA) which works in 4-500 villages in 114 parishes, each of
which has about 20 farmers’ committees. Each committee focuses on a specific crops, and
61 However, this may have negative environmental effects (as observed in Tanzania following the villagisation
programme of the 1970s) which must be anticipated and mitigated as much as possible.
62 For example, through demonstrations, farm visits, study tours, and workshops.
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