Scaling Up Livelihood Impacts through Farmers Organisations and Access to Markets - INSPIRE Final Project

Overview

The report, prepared by the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and supported by Kilimo Trust, outlines the INSPIRE project aimed at scaling up livelihood impacts through farmer organizations and market access in Eastern Uganda. The project focused on improving agricultural productivity, profitability, and sustainability for smallholder farmers in Tororo and Busia districts.

Project Goals and Objectives

• Goal: Contribute to poverty alleviation, food security, improved nutrition, and better resource management in Eastern Uganda.
• Specific Objectives:
  1. Increase incomes from maize and soybean production for 1,500 households.
  2. Enhance productivity of maize and soybean value chains.
  3. Promote bulking and collective marketing by farmer networks.
  4. Improve storage and quality standards.
  5. Establish operational contracts between networks and bulk buyers.
  6. Document lessons learned for sustainability of agro-enterprises.

Key Achievements

1. Market Opportunity Identification and Agro-Enterprise Development:
   • Promoted maize and soybean production using the value chain approach.
   • Organized 1,505 farmers into eight farmer field school networks.
   • Identified and negotiated with bulk buyers, resulting in collective sales worth over USD 20,000 per season in 2010.
2. Adoption of Sustainable Production Technologies:
   • Established 16 learning sites for technology demonstration.
   • Achieved a 67% increase in soybean productivity and a 27% increase in maize productivity.
   • Over 70% of farmers adopted technologies such as organic fertilizers, conservation agriculture, and improved seeds.
3. Production and Marketing Plans:
   • Trained farmer field schools in production and marketing planning.
   • Developed and implemented production plans for three seasons, with increasing acreage for soybean.
4. Post-Harvest Handling:
   • Improved post-harvest pest control and storage practices.
   • Established village information centers and network stockists for input supply and market information.
5. Collective Marketing and Contracts:
   • Engaged and negotiated informal contracts with bulk buyers.
   • Increased farmers' ability to identify and negotiate with potential buyers.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Challenges:
  • Limited time for project implementation.
  • Dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
  • Need for financial support for bulking and storage.
• Opportunities:
  • Strengthening local fabrication of CA tools.
  • Enhancing farmer training and extension services.
  • Developing strategic partnerships for input supply and market access.

Future Plans

• Scaling Up:
  • Expand CA practices to more smallholder farmers.
  • Promote policy dialogue to support CA adoption.
  • Develop frameworks for action to extrapolate project results to other regions.

View Full Report