National level Joint Agriculture Sector Annual Review (JASAR 2019) officially opened
Kampala, 29th August 2019
The two-day climax of the 2019 Joint Agriculture Sector Annual Review has been officially opened today by Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and Mr Pius Wakabi Kasajja the Permanent Secretary. Reports from the JASAR which was convened with representation of Ministry Directorates, Agencies and Projects, Civil Society, Private Sector, Development Partners, Operation Wealth Creation and Members of Parliament are running on the Ministry website www.agriculture.go.ug starting tomorrow.
Every Year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries organises the Joint Agricultural Sector Annual Review (JASAR) with partners.
The primary objective of the JASAR is to review the performance of the agricultural sector for the previous financial year and to propose a way forward of moving the agriculture sector.
Like the reviews held before, the JASAR follows best practices of sector reviews which require balanced representation of the private sector, civil society, farmers’ organizations, Development Partners, Local Governments alongside Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Specific Objectives of JASAR
This JASAR, which is being organized in partnership with USAID will also target the following specific objectives.
1. To create a platform for stakeholders in the agriculture sector including; political leaders, sector institutions, decentralized structures, private sector, civil society and development partners to discuss and review the performance of the agriculture sector, as well as its associated policies and programs
2. To assess the trends in overall sector performance based on relevant Sustainable Development Goals, CAADP, the National Development Plan (NDPII) and the Agricultural Sector Strategic Plan (ASSP) indicators
3. To assess the progress of implementation of sector priorities for Financial Year 2017/18 as set out in the Ministerial Policy Statement and sector Budget Framework Paper
4. To assess sector public financing for Financial Year 2017/18
5. To assess progress made towards the agreed actions from the previous JASAR
6. To appraise the stakeholders on the sector priorities for the Financial Year
7. To provide recommendations for increased effectiveness and efficiency in sector performance.
The activities before the national events involve tours of regions of the country to visit areas where initiatives have been implemented and assess the need for future interventions.
In 2018, the regional visits took place in the Eastern region where teams from the Ministry and partners visited the districts of Kamuli, Jinja, Buyende, Busia Tororo, Butaleja, Bulambuli, Mbale, Bulambuli, Manafwa, Soroti and Serere.
This year, the regional tour activities took place in the Western region where the teams comprising of Ministry staff and partners undertook review in Bunyoro sub region in the districts of Kiryandongo, Masindi and Hoima, Ankole sub-region in the districts of Kiruhura, Mbarara and Ntungamo, Toro sub-region in the districts of Kamwenge, Kasese and Kabarole as well as Kigezi sub-region in the districts of Kabale, and Rukungiri.
The regional visits are aimed at achieving two major objectives:
- To foster partnership between centre and LGs in the annual reviews of the agriculture sector
- To identify critical issues regarding agriculture in Local Governments (including Service delivery, implementation of projects, challenges and recommendations)
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).