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Background and use of SL
The
PMA is part of Uganda's Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP).
It aims at improving incomes, reducing food insecurity, creating
gainful employment and a good environment for sustainable
natural resource management. While it places agriculture at
the centre of economic growth in Uganda, it recognises that
multi-sectoral rural development is key to developing opportunities
for diversification critical to rural livelihoods. The PMA
provides the principles and priority intervention programmes
and modalities for implementing holistic and multi-sectoral
programmes that aim to improve the livelihoods of agriculture-based
sections of the population through better understanding of
the opportunities available to specific communities, strengthening
participatory planning processes and improving the quality
of service delivery.
The
PMA promotes a holistic programme approach, and identifies
seven pillars where priority actions are recommended. These
are: research and technology; national agricultural advisory
services; agricultural education; improving access to rural
finance; agro-processing and marketing; sustainable natural
resource utilisation and management and physical infrastructure.
PMA activities are conceived as any activities, whether national,
district or below district level, public sector, donor or
NGO funded, which fall under the seven pillars, or otherwise
promote sustainable rural livelihoods. The framework places
a premium on stakeholder participation, and progress is regularly
reviewed by a Joint Forum with participation from a range
of sectors including civil society. A 2005 evaluation of the
programme endorses the overall principles, and suggests developing
differentiated strategies for farmer groups to better address
the needs of poorer and women farmers.
The
reform / transformation of the agricultural extension service
in the form of the National Agricultural Advisory Service
(NAADS) had been a fast developing component of the framework
which aims specifically to address constraints of lack of
access to agricultural information, knowledge and improved
technology among rural poor farmers. The NAADS mid-term review
noted that the work of extension is hampered by the limited
development of farmer-friendly financial services and limited
integration of farmers into markets.
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