The programme targets the smallholder farm households of Mbarara District who make up to 80% of the working population. This group is largely characterized by subsistence orientation to agriculture. In addition, many are food and income insecure, lack knowledge on value chain & market dynamics and only start to be organized in production and marketing. The programme is implemented through Mbadifa, the District Farmers Association of Mbarara district; it is a member-based organisation. The project through its Participatory Agro-Enterprise Development approach, facilitate farmer groups in increased production, access to financial services, collective marketing and lobby/advocacy.

1. Project background and rationale- The programme situaties itself in the District of Mbarara, in the South West of Uganda and has a population of 400.000 inhabitants. 80% of the population are rural farmers who depend entirely on agriculture for their livelihood. Apart from natural endowments - relatively fertile soils and favourable climate - Mbarara District has also a potential for growth and development due to her strategic position and the good road connection as a hub to the neighbouring countries. However, marketing of crops and accessing extension services is not easy due to poor access and feeder road network and lack of organisation. Target group- The programme will initially work with existing farmer groups (16). These groups average 20 members in size. Thereafter, other interested farm households will be assisted to form new groups (or become members of existing groups) – efforts will be made to ensure that the most vulnerable households are included therein. For capacity building, groups will be trained in stages – 46 in 2008, 70 in 2009 and an additional 30 in 2010. In total 3,000 smallholder farm households in 3 years are targeted. Social and economic aspects – - Human Development Index (2004): 0.489 (Uganda average: 0.489), ranking 36 out of 55 districts Mean household size: 5.1 (Uganda average: 4.7) - Human Poverty Index (2003): 37.8 (Uganda average: 36.0), ranking 19 out of 55 districts. - Life expectancy (2002): 45 years (Uganda average: 47 years) -Occupation: 80% of population derive their livelihoods from agriculture -Main livelihood sources of the population: bananas, beans, groundnuts, millet, vegetables, potatoes, coffee, fruit, livestock (cattle, goats, poultry, milk, eggs, hides and skins) -Literacy men/women: 60.7 / 43.3 -Net enrolment rates primary education (2003): 94.6% -Maternal mortality rate (per 100,000) (2002): 506 (Uganda average: 354) -Underweight children – under 5 years (malnourished): 23.7% -Access to safe water (%) (2002): 46.3% (Uganda average: 49.8%) -% living in temporary structures: > 60% (Uganda average: 27) -% living in permanent houses: < 4% (Uganda average: 40) -Average annual income: $ 350; the majority of farmers, however, do not earn more than $ 60 per year. Main commodities and markets - A PAED approach will be used to facilitate remunerative market-led agro-enterprise development of farmer groups. This approach is non-commodity specific, supports a balance between on- and off-farm interventions and supports collective action, diversification and ‘added value’ as viable pathways out of poverty. Key features of this approach can be summarised as follows: -It focuses on a given geographical area (territorial) as opposed to conventional sub-sector analysis which focuses on a specific product. -It is participatory. Smallholder farm households participate fully in all stages of agro-enterprise development, from market opportunity identification, product selection, intervention design & implementation, to assessment and up-scaling. The approach also brings on board all relevant stakeholders and market-chain actors, to facilitate open information sharing, building of trust and confidence and fostering of business links. -It is market-led, not production-led. The objective is to enable enterprises and entrepreneurs (farmers) in a given area to identify and access remunerative opportunities for existing or new products in existing or new markets. -It builds on the existing skills and resources of local communities, including farmers, processors and traders. -It is flexible (adaptive to local conditions) but also rigorous (requiring both effort and due professionalism). Since the groups will be conducting participatory agro-enterprise development for the first time, the programme will start with existing enterprises (i.e. those that farmers already have experience with). At a later stage, depending on developed capacities and opportunities, new enterprises could be taken up. Main stakeholders- EBO is the designated partner in the programme to provide farmer friendly savings and loan services to members (individuals and groups) in support of their endeavours to develop remunerative agro-enterprises. The services EBO will deliver to the target group within the programme will include: 1. Sensitisation and capacity building on savings mobilisation and (internal) loan management and 2. Development of appropriate micro-finance products that address needs of selected agricultural based micro-enterprises and households Trias supports both organizations in the organizational and institutional strengthening, with special emphasis on the PAED approach and the technical assistance with respect to micro finance service delivery. 2. Objectives, results and main activites - Overall Development Objective The food and income security of small holder farm households in Mbarara district is improved in a sustainable way. Hereafter the original numbering of the programme is used. Specific Objectives 1. Small holder farm households have adopted practices of ensuring good and balanced nutrition throughout the year 2. Small holder farm households have increased access to- and participation in remunerative markets 4. MBADIFA provides appropriate services to her members – the small holder farm households of Mbarara District – and adequately / effectively represents them on a sustainable basis Results 1.1. Farm households equipped with knowledge and skills in appropriate food preservation technologies 1.2. Farm households equipped with knowledge and skills in improved food preparation, good food-related hygienic practices and the need for increased variety of food served 1.3. Farm households equipped with appropriate knowledge and skills in increased production 1.4. Farm households aware of the need to store enough food 1.5. Farm households linked to- and technically assisted to benefit from input dealers and credit sources 2.1 Farmer groups formed and strengthened 2.2 Farmer groups equipped with knowledge and skills to identify and manage profitable enterprises 2.3 Farmer groups equipped with knowledge and skills to manage their businesses 2.4 Farmer groups equipped with knowledge and skills on improved production of quality products 2.5 Farmer groups equipped with marketing skills and technically assisted to benefit from profitable markets 2.6 Farmer groups equipped with knowledge and skills to lobby Government and other players 2.7 Farmer groups equipped with knowledge and skills to self-evaluate their performance and make necessary improvements 4.1 Staff and DEB are strengthened in identified needs 4.2 Participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation strategy in place and being implemented 4.3 Cross-cutting issues (CCIs) are integrated in all MBADIFA activities 4.4 Internal and external resources mobilized for sustainability 4.5 Stable and registered membership and farmer members organised in groups 4.6 Existence of relevant and functional networks enhanced and L&A strategies put in place 4.7 Assets and equipment acquired to facilitate marketing 4.8 Strengthened MBADIFA leadership and performance in accordance with the roles stipulated in the constitution 4.9 A MBADIFA Strategic Plan that is participatorily developed and adhered to 4.10 Remuneration and capacity building strategy designed and implemented 4.11 Ethical related rules and regulations established and functional 3. Tentative budget and funding- The total budget for the three years is 334.182 Euro. Te budget requested to SCC for the execution of the programme in Uganda is 80% of this budget, being an amount of 267.345 Euro. Together with the administration costs of 12% (32.081 Euro), the total budget requested equals to 299.426 Euro. To this programme also the Belgian Government, the DGDC, will contribute for 20%. 4. Monitoring & Evaluation – The programme will adopt a participatory monitoring and evaluation system (PME), whereby partners and target group are actively involved in the design and implementation of the system itself. The PME system will be designed together with main (primary / secondary) stakeholders at the start of the programme. The PME system will be logframe-based and will use the intervention logic as foundation for (a) identifying information needs, (b) gathering and managing information, (c) analysing and discussing information with programme stakeholders, and (d) communication / reporting. The M&E system will not only track progress (outputs, outcomes and impact) at target group level but also at organisational / institutional levels. Anticipated PME activities, events, and outputs that will emanate from the PME system will include among others: •On-the-spot supervisory or field monitoring visits; •Quarterly programme review and planning activities; •Annual programme review and planning activities; •Periodic (activity, quarterly and annual) implementation progress reports; •Target group success stories and pictures etc •Baseline survey; •End-of-programme evaluation. 5. Sustainability- Programme sustainability (linked to both participation and relevance / cost-effectiveness) has been considered and built-in right from the programme inception. Measures that enhance programme sustainability include: -Choosing the right organizations. The local organisations have shown commitment, professionalism and dedication towards the cause of poor smallholder farm families. MBADIFA is a local and member-based and –owned organisations with good reputations and track records. The programme will support and strengthen MBADIFA – both organisationally and institutionally – in their quest to become more professional, ‘owned’ and accepted as ‘voices’ of the rural farm households of Mbarara District (at district, regional and national levels). -MBADIFA and EBO are like-minded and address the same target group. They will be ‘partners in development’ and will closely collaborate together. It is therefore very likely that they will continue to work together even after the programme comes to an end. -Empowering smallholder farmers and their enterprise groups. The programme, through MBADIFA, will strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers and their groups to manage value chains and/or chain activities independently. -Promoting sustainable business models. While emphasis is placed on improving market access and control of smallholder farm households, experience has shown that sustainability is boosted when all actors within a given market value chain generate ‘sufficient’ profit, and can function independently without outside support. By working together with all major players / stakeholders of selected market value chains, mutual trust and confidence will be built resulting in a win-win situation for all. -Upholding principles of sustainability and cost-effectiveness for any ‘service’ developed for the target group. While immediate cost-effectiveness may not be an over-riding principle when dealing with the most vulnerable families, there should be a longer-term perspective of cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Moreover, services that are already being provided by the private sector should not be taken over or undermined by the programme partners. -Collaborating with local government and other development stakeholders. Involvement of local government and other stakeholders will not only boost complementarity and harmonisation of efforts, but will also enhance commitment to sustainability. -Integrating sustainability in the programme planning, monitoring and evaluation system. The programme was designed on the basis of partner capabilities and target group needs; both were actively involved in programme planning. This ensures programme ownership and increases chances of longer-term sustainability. Furthermore, key sustainability indicators were included within the intervention logic of the programme; interventions will therefore be continuously screened on sustainability during programme planning and monitoring.

This project formulated following expected results : - improved capacity of farmers to increase agricultural productivity and production (agro-forestry, beekeeping, bananas, goats, fish, dairy, mushrooms, vegetables, 4.020 members involved); - Awareness raised on post-harvesting techniques (20 trainers); - Facilitation for access to markets (15 farmer groups); - Facilitation for access to credit (5 farmer groups); - Farmers groups are strengthened (780 farmer leaders); - Improved financial & administrative system is operational; - Improved participative M&E system is operational; - Improved working environment; - Improved HRM system; - Improved policy structures; - Increased membership; - Improved external relationships