MDGs are your business too!

8/2/2019 MDGs are your business too!

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MAKING URBAN AGRICULTURE EXTENSION WORK

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

RATIONALE FOR REFORMS IN URBAN AGRICULTURE EXTENSION WORK

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

POLICY BRIEF

Urban agriculture extension has taken a demand driven approach because of the market liberalization demands.

The study that underpin this policy brief shows that only 18% of the urban farmers receive government extension

workers on their farms quarterly an indication that the demand driven government extension service may not be

regular in urban centres. The demand for ‘need based’ urban agriculture extension may still exist in urban areas

especially where majority of the farmers (78%) are primary school dropouts. Farmers also receive agriculture

extension from various actors; civil society actors, private service providers, the media, production departments

and the Resident District Commissioner oces, presenting a need to coordinate such multiple service providers.

The study on the contribution of agricultural policies towards enlargement of livelihood outcomes of urban

farmers, demonstrates that urban extension service is mainly demand driven rather than need driven. FAO (2005)

denes extension as the function of providing need-and demand-based knowledge and skills to the population

with an objective of improving their livelihoods. The study shows that only 50% of the farmers knew where the

agriculture urban agriculture oces were located in their sub-counties. Agriculture extension oces are ill

facilitated, as such, extension workers often ask farmers to organize and transport them to the communities. There

seems to be less appreciation of urban agriculture among politicians to the extent that the ordinances that were

made to control and guide agricultural practices in Kampala, for instance have not been implemented since 2006.

The agriculture department budget commonly underperform, the activity plans are not regularly implemented

because of lack of funding to conduct the agriculture extension. Only 18% of the urban farmers receive

government extension workers on their farms at least quarterly. Most farmers (73%) receive agricultureinformation on agriculture from friends and from the public media (59%) compared to government extension

workers. Kampala has had parallel extension services, conducted by the Resident District Commissioner and the

technical team at the district/ division with minimal coordination. FAO (2005) noted that extension function is also

important for the welfare of farmers, no matter who performs it as long as it is done satisfactorily. Results of this

study show that extension service providers can benet from improved organization, coordination and

inter-linkages.

The recommendations in this policy brief arose from a research conducted in two urban centres in Uganda i.e.

Kampala City Council and Mbale Municipality. This study focused on assessing the contribution of Government of Uganda agricultural policies in expanding the livelihood assets of the urban farmers. The two urban centres are

among the biggest in Uganda. Kampala city is the largest city in Uganda with about 2.3 million people. It is the

capital city of Uganda. Meanwhile, Mbale municipality is among the three largest urban centres in Uganda with

about 70,000 people. The city of Kampala and the Municipality of Mbale experience a natural rainfall cycle that

allows the growth of most foods produced within the tropics.

This policy brief argues for agriculture extension reforms in urban centres; concurrent promotion of demand and

need driven agriculture extension; education of both technical and political leaders in local governments on the

importance of urban agriculture to urban economies; institutionalization of farm radio programmes; ensuring

guided media information pull outs and intertwining extension with agriculture research. Such policy options will

go a long way to boost urban agriculture extension.

UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA



POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Encourage concurrent promotion of demand and need driven agriculture extension

The current demand driven urban agriculture extension has beneted fewer urban farmers i.e. those who can

demand and aord to provide transport to agriculture extensionists to their farms. Despite market led economies,

it is important to reform the extension to benet urban farmers who may not fully benet from liberalized

economies. Extension is a public service, thus becomes an entitlement to urban farmers.

City authorities need to categorise the agriculture community to be able to apply the ‘need based approaches’ on

those who cannot aord to demand for extension services.

To do this, there must be clear data base on urban farmers through regular census and data collection. Extensionocials as a requirement must engage in the two aspects of agriculture extension and report accordingly. All urban

local authorities should be equipped with relevant numbers of technical ocers including sheries, crop, animal,

orists’, agronomists so as to boost agriculture. Urban authorities need to make strong political and nancial

commitments towards ‘need based’ extension to benet majority of farmers.

2. Provide education to leaders on the importance of urban agriculture

Leaders need to appreciate the contribution of urban agriculture to the livelihoods of urban dwellers and to the

local economies.

Although, majority 74% of urban farmers had another source of income other than farming, 16% fully dependedon urban farming as their sole source of income. Thus, urban agriculture supplements people’s incomes but also is

important for survival for a big percentage of people. The issue of political will is important in revamping urban

agriculture to benet many farmers. The production to deliberately educate both technical and political leaders on

the importance of urban agriculture and the need for support to develop quality extension services. Production

departments need to compile brief gures and facts regarding the contribution of urban agriculture to local

economies and use them to inuence the decisions and actions of urban authorities. The local government

committees on agriculture should continuously educate the entire council on the importance of urban agriculture

and lobby for budgets that can perform or functional budgets.

3. Institute farm radio programmes

Results of this study indicate that 59% of urban farmers acquire agriculture information from the media. Theproliferation of several FM radios should be used at the advantage of farmers.

As a matter of policy government should require radio management to provide free air space to technical ocials

to oer technical advice to farmers. This could be a call in programme where professors, researchers, experienced

farmers and other stakeholders can oer agriculture related information to the population.

Call-in programmes would help to immediately provide solutions to the farmers. The revolution in information

technology should be used as a means in agriculture extension. Information is important to introduce farmers to

better agronomical and agro-processing practices. The production departments together with marketing

department have to manage such air space for the benet of the farmers. Appropriate timing especially evenings

and lunch hours are anticipated to be appropriate times of the day to reach the urban farmers.

This study used an exploratory and a case-study design whereby both qualitative and quantitative approaches and

methods were utilised. The study involved review of literature on agriculture, agriculture policies and urban

agriculture policies and practices. Primary data was collected from Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and

Fisheries (MAAIF), district and urban authorities, agriculture ocers, community development ocers, farmers’

leaders and urban farmers.



CONCLUSION

4. Avail guided media information products

Quality and validity of information accessed through the media need to be certied.

Generally media was viewed as one of the major sources of agriculture related information for urban farmers. These

included news paper pull outs, TV programmes, and Internet information. This is an indication that the urban

population has access to these media platforms. MAAIF together with agriculture teaching and research

institutions need to establish mechanisms to control and assure content quality of the news paper pull outs and TVprogrammes. Government need to demand that media houses consult MAAIF on their agriculture related

information products to the masses. The media houses together with MAAIF should organize short courses for

particular journalists to educate them on a regular basis on new technologies for urban agriculture. These are good

practices that will enable the farmers to be feed on relevant and quality information important to increase

production, control pests and diseases and access markets for their produce.

5. Intertwine extension with agriculture research

Extension is an essential aspect for research and development although now are currently being viewed and

practiced independently of each other. Study ndings show that for those projects where urban agriculture

extensions have worked together with research institutions and the communities, through an action research,

such extension has been benecial. Both farmers and the research institutions gain trust in extension and theextension workers are able to gain research skills.

Government should fund urban agriculture researches that focus on developing useful technologies and

strategies relevant to local contexts. The extension should focus on enhancing acceptance and adoption of those

technologies by users. The extension services need the backstopping of strong applied agricultural research

institutions to eectively serve the farming communities.

Therefore the production department need to formally maintain strong working relationships with research

institutions located in their locations. The production departments need to coordinate with universities in delivery

of agriculture extension and research outreach programmes. Linkage with research institutions will also enable the

production departments to access funding through research projects.

Urban agriculture can work better with appreciation of agriculture as a critical component of livelihoods of urban

farmers and urban economies. Government need to utilize the revolution of information technology to reform the

government extension service delivery and establish policy guidelines that requires dierent extension providers

to oer quality services.



RECOMMENDED FURTHER READING

Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries (2009) “National Agricultural Policy” Unpublished; Draft for

discussion (June 2009, Kampala).

Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries (2010). Agriculture for food and income security: agriculturesector development strategy and investment plan: 2010/11 – 2014/15; Kampala: Government of Uganda

Publications.

Kampala City Council (2005). The Kampala City Urban Agriculture Ordinance: A Guideline; Kampala: KUSSALCC and

Urban Harvest Publishers.

Rivera,W.M. and G. Alex (2003). Pluralism, Emergent Priorities and the Central Role of Government in Extension

Reform; in: Extension and Rural Development: International Case Studies and Emerging Trends. World Bank.

Washington, DC.

Swanson, B. E., Bentz, R. P., and Sofranko, A. J. (1998) (ed) Improving agricultural extension: reference manual; FAO,Urban: university of Illinois.

Tindiwensi, Dan (2002). The challenges to construction industry development in Uganda, 10th symposium

construction innovation and global competitiveness, CRC press.

Sebastain Bigabwenkya-Department of Human Resource Management and Organizational Studies,Uganda Management Institute

Rose B. Namara- Department of Research, Uganda Management Institute

Benon B. Basheka- Department of Higher Degrees, Uganda Management Institute

Japheth Kwiringira - Department of Sociology, Kyambogo University

Edrisa Mutebi - Department of Internal Medicine-endocrinology section, Makerere University

RESEARCH TEAM

This Policy Brief is based on Research supported by the Association of African Universities, Mobilising Regional

Capacity Initiative (MRCI) Programme under Project No. MRCI 310 with funding from DFID.

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