Registered Farmer Groups Matched with Suppliers, Awarded UGShs 30B in Matching Grants
Kampala, 18th November 2019. The Agribusiness Matchmaking Expo of the Agriculture Cluster Development Project (ACDP) has been opened at the Mandela National Stadium in Namboole today by Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja the Minister for Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries and Mr. Pius Wakabi Kasajja the Permanent Secretary.
This event was designed to facilitate contractual partnerships between selected agribusiness producer organizations, Area-based Commodity Cooperative Enterprises, Regional Producer Organizations as well as Farmer Organizations and suppliers of Post-Harvest Management and Agro-processing equipment and services.
Participating Farmer Groups are engaging with the suppliers through this event.
123 of these groups that submitted feasible proposals to qualify for the Matching Grants have also received a total of UShs 30 Billion in Grants.
The matching grants were introduced to finance two-thirds of the cost of the purchase of equipment and facilities needed to scale up and improve the effectiveness with which the Area-based Commodity Cooperative Enterprises are able to carry out these functions including the construction of community primary storage facilities.
The purpose of the Agribusiness Matchmaking Expo is to enhance utilization of matching grants by building linkages between the Producer Organisations and suppliers.
Notes for editors
About the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries is a Ministry in the Government of Uganda charged with creating an enabling environment in the Agricultural Sector.
The Ministry formulates, reviews and implement national policies, plans, strategies, regulations and standards and enforce laws, regulations and standards along the value chain of crops, livestock and fisheries.
Vision: A competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector.
Mission: To transform subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.
Strategic Objectives
- To initiate the formulation and review of the policy and legal framework for the sector
- To establish and implement systems for service provision in the sector
- To strengthen and implement strategies, regulatory framework, standards, institutional structures and infrastructure for quality assurance and increased quantities of agricultural products to access and sustain local, regional and export markets
- To design and implement sustainable capacity building programmes for stakeholders in the agricultural sector through training, re-tooling, infrastructure, provision of logistics and ICT
- To develop strategies for sustainable food security
- To develop appropriate agricultural technologies for improved agricultural production, productivity and value addition through research
- To develop effective collaborative mechanisms with affiliated institutions and
- To take lead and establish a system and institutional framework for agricultural data collection, analyses, storage and dissemination to stakeholders including Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is made up of four Directorates including the Directorate of Crop Resources, Directorate of Animal Resources, Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services and the Directorate of Fisheries Resources each with Departments, Divisions and Partnership Projects.
The Departments of the Ministry which do not fall directly in the above include the Department of Agricultural Planning and Development, the Human Resource Department, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Agricultural Infrastructure, Mechanisation and Water for Agricultural Production.
The Ministry is also made up of seven Agencies including the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Cotton Development Organisation (CDO), Dairy Development Authority (DDA), Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and Coordinating Office for the Control of Trypanosomiasis in Uganda (COCTU) and the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Databank (NAGRC&DB).
For media-related inquiries and accreditation contact Solomon Kalema Musisi, Senior Communications Officer-Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries using the email below: