Examining the Challenges to Formation, Management and Sustainability of Smallholder Farmer Groups in Uganda: A Case Study of Smallholder Farmer Groups in Oyam District Minakulu Sub-County
Date
2007
Authors
Bamugaya, Jerome Barry
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Uganda Martyrs University
Abstract
BAMUGAYA JEROME BARRY (2007-03-MA-PTR-009)
Examining the Challenges to Formation, Management and Sustainability of Smallholder
Farmer Groups in Uganda: A Case Study of Smallholder Farmer Groups in Oyam District
Minakulu Sub-County
Uganda‟s population according to the 2002 Census has been doubling almost every 20 years; from
5 million in 1948 to 9.5 million in 1969; from 12.6 million in 1980 to 24.2 million in 2002. The
mid 2007 population projection stood at 28.2 million. Eradicating poverty and attaining rapid,
equitable and sustained economic development for social transformation becomes imperative to
match the population explosion in the country. The Human Development Report (HDR) 2007
shows 70 per cent of Uganda‟s population engaging in agriculture, 42 per cent of these living
below the poverty line. The approach to farming in smallholder farmer groups is to remedy the
viscous occurrence of people wallowing in poverty and improve rural livelihoods through
collective responsibility. The dilemma is that the existing farmer groups are informal, weak, ad
hoc, and inconsistent. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to; to establish the group
formation process, ascertain challenges in managing smallholder farmer groups, determine their
benefits to members and explore sustainability strategies of smallholder farmer groups. The
contextual scope of the study was confined to farmers working in organised smallholder farmer
groups in Minakulu sub-county, Oyam district. The literature review covers essentially the group
formation process advanced by Tuckman (1956), one of the original authors of group formation
and management. Conflict management in small groups and communication skills in groups is
also covered. The study engaged purposive sampling to select both key informants and farmer
groups. The researcher employed the use of interview guides for key informants, and focus group
discussions for the 8 farmer groups selected. This research reveals that, there is no formal
procedure in the formation of groups. The idea of grouping is principally by external players and
because of this, smallholder farmer groups exist as long as implementing NGO‟s do exist as well.
Members working in these groups are oblivious of what the vision, goal or objectives of their
groups are, because extension service providers duplicate them from other already existing groups.
There is need for the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) to develop
a comprehensive national curriculum that will be used to furnish farmers in the dynamics of group
formation. Implementing partners ought to adopt a bottom-up policy that encourages participation
of all stakeholders. This way, farmers will learn together, plan together, invest together, market
together and grow together.
Keywords: Management and Sustainability, Farmer Groups, Uganda
Description
Keywords
Management and Sustainability, Farmer Groups, Uganda
Citation
Bamugaya, J.B. 2007. BALABA DANIEL (2008-M092-20051) The Role of Privatisation of State Enterprises in the Socio-economic Development of Urban Centres: A Case Study of Kira Town Council, Wakiso District This study was about the role of privatisation of state enterprises in the socio-economic development of urban centres. Specifically, the study focused on the role of privatisation in the development of education, health and security services in Kira Town Council. The research design that was adopted in this study was a case study research design. Case studies emphasise detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships. The researcher employed both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The study was conducted in Kira Town Council in Wakiso district because of the high level of privatisation of facilities in the town. The study revealed that due to privatisation, the number of private schools were said to be more than government aided schools. The secondary section was entirely privately managed and the government involvement was only in provision of Universal Secondary Education. There was also competition among schools that led to improvement in performance. However, as pointed out by the Local Council III secretary for education, the competition among private schools partly contributed to examination malpractices in order to be able to attract many students. This, therefore, implies that while privatisation had led to increase in the number of schools, it compromised the quality of education. The lack of adequate teaching materials in government aided schools was attributed to limited budget allocations to the education sector. For example, the Universal Primary Education funds were so inadequate and irregular to enable head teachers to procure the necessary scholastic materials. With the exception of schools like Uganda Martyrs Secondary School Namugongo and Nalya secondary school, the secretary for education indicated the general situation was unsatisfactory. Regarding health, privatisation of health services is promoted because of the perceived weaknesses of public ownership and a poor track record when it comes to enterprise reform. The results indicated that many private clinics were being operated by people who were not qualified medical personnel and provided health services without adequate knowledge of health care. In addition, there was lack of hospital facilities such as beds, drugs and laboratory equipment which is a sign of low quality services both in private and public health centres. Looking at the development of security firms, some of the private firms in Kira Town Council were Askar security services, Securicor Alert guards and Saracen guards. The results showed that due to the emergency of security firms in Kira Town Council, people are sure of the safety of their businesses and their lives. Nevertheless, the security firms were committed despite a few cases of robbery and theft. Basing on the results of the study, the researcher recommended that: There is need for continuous support of private services providers due to the fact that private organisations are development partners. This can be done through subsidisation of private enterprises by the government and donor agencies. The activities of private firms should be monitored by government to ensure that the public is not exploited. This can be done with the help of organisations like the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, National Drug Authority, etc. Keywords: Socio-economic Development, Privatisation of State Enterprises, Wakiso district. Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi : Uganda Martyrs University