4 CHAPTER 1


of growth, poverty reduction, and overall development for the economy, is situated within the country’s Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) (Uganda, MFPED 2004) and vision of Prosperity for All (Uganda, MFPED 2007b) and sup- ported by the broader Rural Development Strategy (Uganda, MAAIF 2005).1 This attempt to use agricultural growth to drive overall economic growth and development in Uganda is not surprising because agriculture is an impor- tant mainstay of a large proportion of the population, contributing about one-third to national GDP and one-half of export earnings and employing four-fifths of the working population (World Bank 2007b). In association with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Government of Uganda is also in the process of implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agri- culture Development Programme, which provides an integrated framework of development priorities aimed at restoring agricultural growth, rural develop- ment, and food security (AU/NEPAD 2003). This, too, is consistent with the PMA, whose overall objective is to enhance production, competitiveness, and incomes.


The PMA has an ambitious agenda of policy and institutional reform and investments in seven intervention areas, including agricultural extension through the NAADS program. The other complementary areas include agri- cultural research and technology development, rural financial services, rural infrastructure, marketing and agroprocessing, agricultural education, and natural resource management. Nearly a decade after formulation of the PMA, its implementation has been uneven, with substantial progress made in some of the areas (e.g., NAADS and agricultural research and technology development) but only limited progress in others (e.g., agricultural education and environment and natural resources) (OPM 2005). Agricultural extension in Uganda dates back to the early twentieth century and has undergone a number of transformations that can be summarized as regulatory from 1920 to 1956, advisory from 1957 to 1971, dormant from 1972 to 1981, and educa- tional from 1982 to 1997 (Semana 2008). The provision of agricultural exten- sion and other agricultural support services was the responsibility of the cen- tral government until 1997, when it was handed over to local governments in accord with the Local Government Act of 1992. The onset of decentralization faced several challenges, chiefly lack of funds and equipment to facilitate the work of extension agents at the local government level (Sserunkuuma and Pender 2001). For example, the proportion of district budgets allocated to agricultural production and marketing in three districts studied by Francis


1 The latest PEAP expired in May 2008, and the government has replaced it with a national development plan (Uganda, MFPED 2010).


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