Will sh200b change the face of NAADS?
Mar 18, 2011
THE NAADS programme, which was launched in 2001, has come under criticism over mismanagement of funds. Despite that, sh200b, has been injected into the second phase of the project
By John Masaba
AS he sits down to have his breakfast, he receives no fewer than a dozen phone calls. Having transformed a three-acre piece of land suitable only for murram excavation, into green farmland, Mutwalibi Nandaha is no ordinary person.
Everyday, multitudes of people trek to his home, with the hope of learning how the 45-year-old man turned his life around with farming.
A model farmer under the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme, Nandaha is the envy of Mufudu, a village near Mt. Elgon in Mbale.
From a struggling tomato-grower a few years ago, Nandaha has earned a new name, ‘NAADS’. He does not only earn a fortune from consultation fees he levies on each of his visiting ‘students’, but also makes nearly sh10m a year from his thriving banana plantation, which he supplements with about sh4m from an additional 200 avocado tree projects.
Not bad for a Senior Four dropout.
But for Peter Wamundu, who is also a beneficiary of NAADS, the story is different.
NAADS officials gave him a consignment of day-old chicks. “My wife wanted an exotic cow, but I did not have enough land, so we settled for the birds,†says Wamundu.
He was happy to discover that he would get free feeds for the chicks, until they started laying eggs.
But after two months of consistent supply of feeds, the NAADS officials at the district failed to keep their promise. “I had no money, yet the birds were eating a lot. When I resorted to giving them cheaper maize brand, they died,†he says.
Although the main goal of NAADS was to enhance rural livelihood by increasing agricultural productivity and profitability, many farmers like Wamundu have missed out.
Why the first phase failed
The programme has aroused a lot of dissatisfaction from the public in the eight years it has been in existence.
Last year, President Yoweri Museveni decided to halt the release of sh120b for the 2010/2011 financial year, following widespread complaints over mismanagement of the NAADS programme.
The President said the funds would only be released after the matter was investigated.
In October 2007, the programme was suspended and resumed in April 2008 after a Cabinet review.
Experts say NAADS was doomed to fail from the beginning, because it was based on a top-bottom approach, where important decisions were made by the authorities. This means decisions did not reflect the needs of the beneficiaries at the grassroots.
In addition, there was lack of accountability and inadequate local government capacities in some parts of the country.
At some point on his campaign trail, the President asked NAADS officials to explain where they had taken the money meant for farmers. The President then promised to ‘deal’ with corrupt officials and to increase funding to the programme to ensure that more farmers benefitted.
Phase II
Dr. Francis Byekwaso, the planning, monitoring and evaluation manager at the NAADS Secretariat, says some officials were guilty of inflating prices of the items meant for farmers.
This, he says, resulted in many anomalies, which caused dissatisfaction among farmers. However, he is optimistic that the new phase will be different.
Byekwaso says the programme can succeed if the anomalies that characterised the previous nine years are dealt with.
Previously, NAADS was allocated only sh9b per year but in the second phase, the programme will get sh220b per year.
According to Byekwaso, who designed the second phase, instead of six farmers per parish, this time there will be 100 beneficiaries.
Rather than wait for officials to bring them farm items purchased by the NAADS officials, the farmers will run the procurement process themselves.
“In the new phase, farmers will elect a committee of 10 members, from whom they can choose a procurement committee. Once this is done, the procurement committee can go to our coordinator and get the money,†Byekwaso says, adding that the new system is intended to put local people in charge of their own affairs.
Byekwaso disclosed that the new phase would run on a progression basis, with different farmers accessing support at three different levels.
The three levels, he says, are the food-for-security farmers, the market-oriented farmers and commercial farmers, who will be based at the sub-county.
The food-for-security farmers will make the biggest bunch of beneficiaries (100), while the market-oriented farmers section and commercial farmers will take eight and 14 individual farmers, respectively.
Each individual market-oriented farmer will receive sh100,000 to buy planting materials. After the first harvest, he or she will contribute seeds worth that amount of money, to another farmer.
The two other categories will receive sh750,000 and sh1m respectively, depending on how big their farms are, and how much they can sell. This will roll out in 6,600 villages across the country.
“With such a multiplier effect, we hope to achieve wonderful results within five years,†Byekwaso says.
Asked if beneficiaries would not default on paying back, Byekwaso admitted it was tricky, but said the secretariat would sensitise the farmers to minimise the possibility of defaulting.
“In Africa, you cannot rule out the fact that people consider any Government programme a political handout. We hope to change that culture, but it takes time,†he says.
Byekwaso adds that each group will have a constitution that every member must follow.
The President recently said mechanisms had been put in place to ensure accountability and efficient service delivery by all public servants and some of the errant officers have been apprehended and tried before the courts of law.
What is NAADS?
The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) is a Government programme aimed at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural extension services.
Formed in June 2001, under the NAADS Act, NAADS is a semi-autonomous body with a mandate to develop a demand driven, farmer-led agricultural service delivery system. It targets mainly poor subsistence farmers in rural areas, as well as women, youth and people with disabilities.
It’s main goal is to improve rural livelihoods by increasing agricultural productivity and profitability, in a sustainable manner.
A person is eligible for the programme if they are above18 years.
It is one of the initiatives under the Poverty Eradication Agenda, which is guided by the Poverty Eradication Action Plan and supervised by the agriculture ministry.
Officially launched in March 2002, NAADS is one of the seven components under the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture, a Government framework for the transformation of subsistence agriculture into a market-oriented enterprise.
Its role is to address the shortcomings in past agricultural extension services, through far reaching reforms and innovative approaches in service delivery.
In July 2001, the NAADS programme was piloted in the six districts of Arua, Kabale, Kibale, Mukono, Soroti and Tororo.
It was done in only four sub-counties in each district. In 2002, it started rolling out to other sub-counties after showing signs of success.
The programme has a vision for 25 years. Seven years of its first phase covered 2001-2008 at a cost of $108m (about sh25b).
The second phase is set to be upgraded from $108m to $460m (about sh90b) per year for the next five years and is expected to cost over one trillion shillings.
The programme is funded by the Government, local governments and farmers.
AS he sits down to have his breakfast, he receives no fewer than a dozen phone calls. Having transformed a three-acre piece of land suitable only for murram excavation, into green farmland, Mutwalibi Nandaha is no ordinary person.
Everyday, multitudes of people trek to his home, with the hope of learning how the 45-year-old man turned his life around with farming.
A model farmer under the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme, Nandaha is the envy of Mufudu, a village near Mt. Elgon in Mbale.
From a struggling tomato-grower a few years ago, Nandaha has earned a new name, ‘NAADS’. He does not only earn a fortune from consultation fees he levies on each of his visiting ‘students’, but also makes nearly sh10m a year from his thriving banana plantation, which he supplements with about sh4m from an additional 200 avocado tree projects.
Not bad for a Senior Four dropout.
But for Peter Wamundu, who is also a beneficiary of NAADS, the story is different.
NAADS officials gave him a consignment of day-old chicks. “My wife wanted an exotic cow, but I did not have enough land, so we settled for the birds,†says Wamundu.
He was happy to discover that he would get free feeds for the chicks, until they started laying eggs.
But after two months of consistent supply of feeds, the NAADS officials at the district failed to keep their promise. “I had no money, yet the birds were eating a lot. When I resorted to giving them cheaper maize brand, they died,†he says.
Although the main goal of NAADS was to enhance rural livelihood by increasing agricultural productivity and profitability, many farmers like Wamundu have missed out.
Why the first phase failed
The programme has aroused a lot of dissatisfaction from the public in the eight years it has been in existence.
Last year, President Yoweri Museveni decided to halt the release of sh120b for the 2010/2011 financial year, following widespread complaints over mismanagement of the NAADS programme.
The President said the funds would only be released after the matter was investigated.
In October 2007, the programme was suspended and resumed in April 2008 after a Cabinet review.
Experts say NAADS was doomed to fail from the beginning, because it was based on a top-bottom approach, where important decisions were made by the authorities. This means decisions did not reflect the needs of the beneficiaries at the grassroots.
In addition, there was lack of accountability and inadequate local government capacities in some parts of the country.
At some point on his campaign trail, the President asked NAADS officials to explain where they had taken the money meant for farmers. The President then promised to ‘deal’ with corrupt officials and to increase funding to the programme to ensure that more farmers benefitted.
Phase II
Dr. Francis Byekwaso, the planning, monitoring and evaluation manager at the NAADS Secretariat, says some officials were guilty of inflating prices of the items meant for farmers.
This, he says, resulted in many anomalies, which caused dissatisfaction among farmers. However, he is optimistic that the new phase will be different.
Byekwaso says the programme can succeed if the anomalies that characterised the previous nine years are dealt with.
Previously, NAADS was allocated only sh9b per year but in the second phase, the programme will get sh220b per year.
According to Byekwaso, who designed the second phase, instead of six farmers per parish, this time there will be 100 beneficiaries.
Rather than wait for officials to bring them farm items purchased by the NAADS officials, the farmers will run the procurement process themselves.
“In the new phase, farmers will elect a committee of 10 members, from whom they can choose a procurement committee. Once this is done, the procurement committee can go to our coordinator and get the money,†Byekwaso says, adding that the new system is intended to put local people in charge of their own affairs.
Byekwaso disclosed that the new phase would run on a progression basis, with different farmers accessing support at three different levels.
The three levels, he says, are the food-for-security farmers, the market-oriented farmers and commercial farmers, who will be based at the sub-county.
The food-for-security farmers will make the biggest bunch of beneficiaries (100), while the market-oriented farmers section and commercial farmers will take eight and 14 individual farmers, respectively.
Each individual market-oriented farmer will receive sh100,000 to buy planting materials. After the first harvest, he or she will contribute seeds worth that amount of money, to another farmer.
The two other categories will receive sh750,000 and sh1m respectively, depending on how big their farms are, and how much they can sell. This will roll out in 6,600 villages across the country.
“With such a multiplier effect, we hope to achieve wonderful results within five years,†Byekwaso says.
Asked if beneficiaries would not default on paying back, Byekwaso admitted it was tricky, but said the secretariat would sensitise the farmers to minimise the possibility of defaulting.
“In Africa, you cannot rule out the fact that people consider any Government programme a political handout. We hope to change that culture, but it takes time,†he says.
Byekwaso adds that each group will have a constitution that every member must follow.
The President recently said mechanisms had been put in place to ensure accountability and efficient service delivery by all public servants and some of the errant officers have been apprehended and tried before the courts of law.
What is NAADS?
The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) is a Government programme aimed at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural extension services.
Formed in June 2001, under the NAADS Act, NAADS is a semi-autonomous body with a mandate to develop a demand driven, farmer-led agricultural service delivery system. It targets mainly poor subsistence farmers in rural areas, as well as women, youth and people with disabilities.
It’s main goal is to improve rural livelihoods by increasing agricultural productivity and profitability, in a sustainable manner.
A person is eligible for the programme if they are above18 years.
It is one of the initiatives under the Poverty Eradication Agenda, which is guided by the Poverty Eradication Action Plan and supervised by the agriculture ministry.
Officially launched in March 2002, NAADS is one of the seven components under the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture, a Government framework for the transformation of subsistence agriculture into a market-oriented enterprise.
Its role is to address the shortcomings in past agricultural extension services, through far reaching reforms and innovative approaches in service delivery.
In July 2001, the NAADS programme was piloted in the six districts of Arua, Kabale, Kibale, Mukono, Soroti and Tororo.
It was done in only four sub-counties in each district. In 2002, it started rolling out to other sub-counties after showing signs of success.
The programme has a vision for 25 years. Seven years of its first phase covered 2001-2008 at a cost of $108m (about sh25b).
The second phase is set to be upgraded from $108m to $460m (about sh90b) per year for the next five years and is expected to cost over one trillion shillings.
The programme is funded by the Government, local governments and farmers.