Agric. & Environment
Agriculture BDS providers face certification in bid to weed out quacks
“We are looking at starting the certification process; the framework is yet to be completed. The next activity will be facilitating certification for BDS providers. If they are certified, it will help in quality assurance; the quality of BDS services is bad today; certified providers will get a quality mark to help clients of BDS, funders, understand whom to deploy for what services,” Kaziro said.
The stakeholder engagement was organised by AMEA, the Africa Management Institute (AMI), and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, with support from AGRA.
By: Prossy Nandudu, Journalist @New Vision
Business development service (BDS) providers will have to obtain certification before offering their services, particularly in the agriculture sector.
The aim is to ensure that the services requested are delivered to the satisfaction of clients while facilitating business growth. Currently, business development service providers have no certificates or documents indicating that they are qualified to offer certain services.
The initiative is being fronted by the Agri-Business Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA) to bring sanity to the sector.
Harrison Kaziro, the local network facilitator, said once service providers are certified, they will be able to offer quality services that can lead to a return on investment.
“We are looking at starting the certification process; the framework is yet to be completed. The next activity will be facilitating certification for BDS providers. If they are certified, it will help in quality assurance; the quality of BDS services is bad today; certified providers will get a quality mark to help clients of BDS, funders, understand whom to deploy for what services,” Kaziro said.
He added that many BDS providers claim they can offer almost all services. However, sectors such as agriculture require specialised services that should be provided by service providers who understand the sector.
He made the revelation during the BDS high-level stakeholder engagement and general meeting of the United Business Support Professionals Ltd (UBSP), a recently formed organisation that brings together business development service providers.
The meeting was held on September 8, 2026, at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
The stakeholder engagement was organised by AMEA, the Africa Management Institute (AMI), and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, with support from AGRA.
He added that many BDS providers claim they can offer almost all services. However, sectors such as agriculture require specialised services that should be provided by service providers who understand the sector.
He made the revelation during the BDS high-level stakeholder engagement and general meeting of the United Business Support Professionals Ltd (UBSP), a recently formed organisation that brings together business development service providers.
The meeting was held on September 8, 2026, at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
The stakeholder engagement was organised by AMEA, the Africa Management Institute (AMI), and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, with support from AGRA.
At the same meeting, Kenneth Nkumiro, the chairperson of UBSP, said that if services provided cannot create an impact on clients' businesses, they do not add value.
“If we can't create and deliver value to our members, then BDS will continuously rely on subsidies from donors. But if we create value for the market, the market will buy our services.
He added that business informality is very high at 50%, but with good BDS, the figure can be reversed, with businesses advised on how to formalise and understand the requirements they need to meet to become formal. The more they become formal, the more impactful they can become.
Officiating at the event, Johnson Abatekaniza, the assistant commissioner in charge of training and business skills development at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, said that through stakeholder engagements, the ministry wants to streamline the sector to ensure quality services.
“Our country is agriculture-based. But the person who is giving the service may not have studied the entire value chain to show how farmers can make money beyond value addition. Issues of value addition, issues of packaging, issues of branding, issues of certification, all need to come into place,” he said.
He added that through certification processes, coupled with the practice of standards, BDS providers will have to follow guidelines so that they can provide BDS appropriate for the enterprises of their choice.
“If we can't create and deliver value to our members, then BDS will continuously rely on subsidies from donors. But if we create value for the market, the market will buy our services.
He added that business informality is very high at 50%, but with good BDS, the figure can be reversed, with businesses advised on how to formalise and understand the requirements they need to meet to become formal. The more they become formal, the more impactful they can become.
Officiating at the event, Johnson Abatekaniza, the assistant commissioner in charge of training and business skills development at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, said that through stakeholder engagements, the ministry wants to streamline the sector to ensure quality services.
“Our country is agriculture-based. But the person who is giving the service may not have studied the entire value chain to show how farmers can make money beyond value addition. Issues of value addition, issues of packaging, issues of branding, issues of certification, all need to come into place,” he said.
He added that through certification processes, coupled with the practice of standards, BDS providers will have to follow guidelines so that they can provide BDS appropriate for the enterprises of their choice.