POPULAR PARTICIPATION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN UGANDA: A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY SERVICES (NAADS) PROGRAMME IN MBARARA DISTRICT

POPULAR PARTICIPATION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN UGANDA: A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY SERVICES (NAADS) PROGRAMME IN MBARARA DISTRICT.

MUKUNDANE MOSES

2007/HD14/9573U

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Declaration

I hereby declare that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, am the sole author of this dissertation. The work presented in this dissertation has never been submitted to Makerere University Directorate of Research and Graduate Training for the award of a Masters Degree in Public Administration and Management or its equivalent, or to any other University / Institution for any academic award. Thus, the work is original, a result of my own research, and where other peoples research was used, the authors have been dully acknowledged. Signature. Date..

MUKUNDANE MOSES2007/HD14/9573U

The Dissertation has been submitted with knowledge and approval of my supervisor

Signature Date.

FREDERICK GOLOOBA-MUTEBI (PhD)Dedication

This work is dedicated to my dear wife Mrs. Evas, T. Mukundane and our beloved sons Alain Akandinda and Alden Akatukunda who missed my full time attention and company during my study and most especially the fieldwork period.

I also dedicate this work to my beloved parents Mr. Edward Begumisa and Mrs. Kagirasi Midress Begumisa who toiled for my education and sacrificed the descent life they deserved to make sure I attained a bachelors degree without which I could not have enrolled for this Masters Degree programme. I am highly indebted to both of them.

Acknowledgement

I sincerely acknowledge the dedicated intellectual guidance, supervision and academic support I received from my supervisor Dr. Frederick Golooba-Mutebi throughout the entire study period. It is this guidance and support that has enabled me produce this intellectual work.

Special thanks go to my dear wife Evas for her motivation, encouragement and invaluable support- moral, financial and social she gave me throughout the study period.

It is also my pleasure to extend my sincere gratitude to DAAD Academic Exchange Programme for awarding me the scholarship for this course. The financial support has made the entire course possible.

I am also grateful to Mr. Geresome Okecho of NAADS Secretariat Kampala for his assistance particularly his willingness to avail me most literature for documentary review about NAADS programme implementation in Uganda.

To all the above, and even those unmentioned here, I sincerely say Asante sana (Thank you so much).

Table of contents pageiDeclaration

iiDedication

iiiAcknowledgement

ivTable of contentsi

viList of tables

viiList of maps

Map of Uganda showing NAADS participating districts by FY 2007/2008............viiiMap of Mbarara district showing the area of study....ixAbbreviations...xxiAbstract

1CHAPTER ONE

11.0.INTRODUCTION

21.1. Background to the study

81.2.0. Statement of the problem

101.3.0. Objectives of the study

101. 3.1. General objective

101.3.2. Specific objectives

111.4.0 Justification of the study

111.5.0. Scope of the study

111.6.0. Theoretical framework

111.6.1. Introduction

121.6. 2. Participation in theory

151.6.3. Public choice theory

18CHAPTER TWO

182.0. LITERATURE REVIEW

182.1. Introduction

192.2. Ways in which NAADS Programme beneficiaries participate in its

222.3. Benefits of popular participation in the programme implementation to its beneficiaries

282.4. Impact of Participation or non-participation by beneficiaries on the

30CHAPTER THREE

303.0. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

303.1. Research design

323.2. Study Area

323.3. Sample Selection Techniques

343.4. Data Collection Methods and instruments

343.5. Data presentation and analysis

353.6. Ethical considerations

353.7.0. Some of the constraints to the study

36CHAPTER FOUR

36PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS

364.0 Introduction

374.1.Demographic profile of the respondents

374.1.1 Sex distribution of respondents

394.1.2 Age of respondents.

404.1.3 Level of Education of respondents

424.2.0. WAYS IN WHICH THE NAADS PROGRAMMES BENEFICIARIES

424.2.1. Formation of farmers groups

434.2.2 Attending group and inter-group meetings and training

434.2.3 Selection of enterprises to be supported in a given financial year.

454.2.4 Election of farmer group executives and representatives at various levels

474.2.5. Monitoring and evaluation of NAADS programme

484.2.6Procurement and supply of agricultural and technology input / implements to farmers

524.3. Benefits of popular participation in the programme

574.4. Comparison of the NAADS Pprogramme beneficiary participation in the counties of Kashaari and Rwampara

594.5. Impact of participation or non-participation by the NAADS beneficiaries on the performance of the programme

63CHAPTER FIVE

635.0.SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND

635.1.Summary of the findings

665. 2. Conclusions

685.3Recommendations

705.4Areas of further research

71REFERENCES

74APPENDICES

74A. Time schedule for research activities

75B. Questionnaire for naads beneficiaries (farmers)

81C. Interview guide for naads beneficiaries (farmers)

83D. Interview guide for key informants

List of Tables pageTable 4.1.1: Sex Distribution of Respondents 37Table 4.1.2: Age Distribution of Respondents ...39Table 4.1.3: Level of education of respondents..40

List of Maps page1. Map of Uganda showing NAADS participating districts ix2. Map of Mbarara district showing area of studyxMAP OF UGANDA SHOWING NAADS PARTICIPATING DISTRICTS BY FY 2007/2008

Source: NAADS programme website- www.naads.org.ug/. Accessed in February 2009.

Key

Area of study (Mbarara district)

MAP OF MBARARA DISTRICT SHOWING AREA OF STUDY

KEY:

Represent study area: Top box represents Kashaari county, Bubaare sub-

County, parishes of Rwenshanku and Katojo; bottom box represents Rwampara

County, Nyakayojo sub-county, parishes of Rwakishakizi and Rukindo.

Abbreviations

AAMP

: Area-based Agricultural Modernization Programme

CBF

: Community Based Facilitator

CBSC

: Community Based Selection Committee

FGDs

: Focus Group Discussions FY

: Financial Year

IGA

: Inter-Group Association

ISFGF

: Integrated Support to Farmer Groups Funds

KRIBP

: Kribhcho Indo-British Farming Project

LDCs

: Least Developed Countries

MAAIF: Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries

MFPED: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

MDGs

: Millennium Development Goals

NAADS: National Agricultural Advisory Services

NGOS

: Non-Governmental Organizations

PEAP

: Poverty Eradication Action PlanPCC : Parish Coordination CommitteePMA

: Plan for Modernization of Agriculture

PM&E

: Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation

PRAs

: Participatory Rural Appraisals SLCSC: Sub-county Level Community Selection Committee

SMS

: Subject Matter Specialist

SPC

: Sub-county Procurement Committee

UNFA

: Uganda National Farmers Association

UWESO: Uganda Womens Efforts to Support Orphans

Abstract

For the last three decades, popular participation has become an increasing aspect of and as a key tool of public policy and service delivery within the realm of good governance across the world. It has gained ground and has been embraced in political, economic and social spheres of life. Governments, international or multilateral organizations and agencies emphasize participatory approaches in the programmes that intend to benefit a given community. This research assessed popular participation in rural development programmes with NAADS programme as case study. The premise of the study was in the light of claims and counter-claims by critics of and advocates for popular participation; thus precipitated the need to ascertain the degree of popular participation in, and its impact on, the implementation of the NAADS programme in Mbarara district.

It was conducted in Mbarara district in the counties of Kashaari and Rwampara particularly in the sub-counties of Bubaare and Nyakayojo. Data collection period ended in the month of August 2009. The study employed in-depth interviews and structured questionnaires as data collection methods.

Research findings revealed that popular participation exists in the implementation of NAADS programme and beneficiaries have benefited from it. It is however, more confined at farmer group level activities while the important decisions are made at higher administrative levels particularly at the sub-county, district, and national levels with minimal local farmers involvement. It was further revealed that popular participation in the implementation of NAADS programme is on the decline primarily because of dissatisfaction, disappointments, and skepticism on the side of the beneficiaries on the way the programme is being implemented. The regular ushering in of various versions of NAADS implementation guidelines with sometimes rigid directives from the Presidency seems to be one of contributing factors to the decline of popular participation in the programme implementation.

The study recommends a more vivid bottom-up approach in the implementation of NAADS programme. Particularly much effort needs to be put beyond the farmer group level activities to decision making process at inter-group level, and farmers fora at the sub-county and district level with increased local farmers involvement.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0. Introduction The term popular participation entails maximization of peoples involvement in the spheres or stages of development (Mukandala, 2005). Involvement has to go beyond implementation or donation of free labour and cash contributions and extends to policy decisions. People need to enjoy basic freedoms so as to be able to freely express themselves and to develop their full potential in areas of their own choice (ibid).Drawing from Pearse and Stiefel (1985), and Rondinelli (1991), Muhangi (2007) notes that the conceptualization of community participation has evolved over time, moving from its narrow definition as the mobilization of people to contribute free labour and materials, to more extensive interpretations as a process of empowering people and giving them authority to control programmes.

World Bank (1994) looks at popular participation from development perspective as a process through which beneficiaries influence and share control over development initiatives, decisions and resources that affect their lives. Long (2001) also notes that recognition and support for greater involvement of local peoples perspectives, knowledge, priorities and skills presents an alternative to donor-driven and outsider-led development.

According to African Charter (1990), popular participation is in essence, peoples effective involvement in creating structures and designing policies and programmes that serve their interests. For popular participation to be realized, people have to be fully involved, committed and seize the initiative. It is essential that they establish independent peoples organizations at various levels that are genuinely grass root, voluntary, democratically administered and self-reliant and that are rooted in tradition and culture of society (ibid).Generally, the concept of participation refers to involvement of people in affairs that affect them especially in decision making process. In most of the literature, there is agreement that participation connotes a process by which community members take part in all stages of a programme right from inception, through planning and design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, to sharing of benefits (Paul (1987); World Bank (1994); Brett (2002). Paul (1987:2) proposes a framework for analyzing community participation in terms of three dimensions, namely its objectives, its intensity, and the instruments used to foster it. Paul states that the objectives of community participation as an active process are (a) empowerment, (b) building beneficiary capacity, (c) increasing project effectiveness, (d) improving project efficiency, and (e) cost sharing.

1.1. Background to the studyHickey & Mohan (2004), point out that participation in development theory and practice has taken different dimensions and approaches over time. From 1940s to 50s, the colonial approach was community development and participation was regarded as an obligation of citizenship; citizenship formed in homogenous communities. The locus or level of engagement was a community. From 1960s to 1970s, the post-colonial era approach was community development, political participation and emancipatory participation and participation in form of voting, and campaigning. Political party membership was regarded as a right and obligation of the citizen. Participatory citizenship was also regarded as a means of challenging subordination and marginalization. For this period, the locus or level of engagement were political systems and constituent parts, economic and civic spheres, communities and citizens.

The period beginning in the 1980s, participatory approach was populist / participation in development and its focus was in projects rather than in broader political communities. The most actors have been the development professionals, participation learning groups, Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), World Bank, and United Nations agencies. It has been realised that due to the ineffectiveness of externally imposed and expert-oriented forms of project planning, management and implementation coupled with top-bottom approach, major donors and development organizations embarked on participatory approaches purposely to empower local people, capture indigenous peoples knowledge, and ensure sustainability and efficiency of interventions (Hickey & Mohan (2004); Adong (2004); Cooke & Kothari (2001), World Bank (2000); Cornwall, A. (2000); Rudquvist & Woodford-Berger ( 1996); World Bank (1994).

Since the late 1990s to the present, the approach has been participatory governance and citizenship participation. Participation is regarded as primarily a right of citizenship and its level of engagement is at citizens, civil society, state agencies and institutions. The focus is on convergence of social and political participation, scaling up of participatory methods, state-civic partnership, decentralization, participatory budgeting, citizens hearings, participatory poverty assessments, poverty reduction strategies programme consultations among others (Hickey & Mohan (2004).In Uganda, popular participation has been for many decades synonymous with political participation. Most scholars notably Burke (1964), Kasfir (1976), Karugire (1980), and Kabwegyere (1995) link participation to political participation. Burke (1964) traces political participation from the pre-colonial era decentralized societies of Northern and Eastern Uganda. These societies through established simple political systems provided grounds for peoples involvement in the affairs that affected them. These political systems were organized around the clan. Each clan managed its own affairs, elected its own leaders, settled disputes between its members, and held the brief and practice that all important decisions affecting the community could be made through a consensus of elders representing different clans constituting a particular community (Burke 1964; Karugire, 1980). This political organization was however contrasted to southern and western region centralized kingdoms which were governed by kings and a hierarchy of chiefs and sub-chiefs for example in Buganda, Bunyoro, and Ankole. Bugandas centralized political system was always regarded as the most developed and organized political system in pre-colonial Uganda to the extent that the British colonialists preferred using the same system in their indirect rule colonial administration throughout the colonial state (Kabwegyere, 1995, Burke 1964). The system was formalized under the 1919 Native Authority Ordinance. Under this system, the Baganda mercenaries, administrative agents, localized military forces, chiefs and clan leaders were involved in colonial administration activities and petty decision making. However, the scope and type of the participation was limited as major decisions were made by the colonial government. Besides, the majority of the citizens were left de-participating (Kasfir 1976).The decolonization period brought hasty efforts by the colonial governments to introduce new structures which would channel popular demands into responsive policies. These structures included government and opposition parties, national parliament, local councils, elections (electoral participation), trade unions and cooperatives (Kasfir, 1976). Decolonization meant national control which in turn led to widespread popular political participation. The African Local Government Ordinance (1949) and the District Administration Ordinance (1955) created local government structures and were instrumental in granting local government institutions more control over the administration of the district and local chiefs. Thus these legal instruments increased opportunities for native people to get involved in the administration of their own local services and local affairs affecting them (Burke 1964). This participation was however not sustainable and it shortly deteriorated in post- independent Uganda. The vigour and importance of all these institutions declined and consequently de-participation (reduction or elimination of people from political life) became increasingly common (Kasfir 1976, 237). The disappearance of participation in structures designed to facilitate political involvement was the consequence of efforts of the central administration to seize more authority. In other cases, participatory structures had lost many of their functions because they were unable to carry out their intended tasks. The manipulation of elections, the harassment of opposition parties, the decreasing importance of legislatures and the loss of autonomy of important voluntary associations such as trade unions and cooperatives (ibid).The formulation and implementation of the 1987 National Resistance Council and Committees Statute, the 1993 Local Government Statute and the resultant Decentralization policy, the 1995 Constitution, and the 1997 Local Government Act, revamped popular participation in Uganda. These legal instruments established new formal participatory local government institutions and structures, devolved powers and responsibility to local governments with the aim of empowering local governments and communities to control, influence, direct, develop and manage local political and development programmes as well as improving service delivery (Lubanga (1996); Golooba (2002); Kiyaga-Nsubuga (2002); Muhangi (2007). Popular participation has thus become as a strong element of decentralization programmes in Uganda. The earlier notion of participation in the form of political participation has been refined to become a multi-dimensional key element of the local government, decentralization and good governance programmes. Its application has transcended all fields including health, water and sanitation, agriculture, environment conservation programmes among others (Muhangi, 2007). These efforts have been supported by the increasing emphasis of popular participation in development programmes by development partners- donors of these programmes mainly the World Bank through its good governance campaigns. Participation has become a basic criterion for judging the performance of political and developmental projects / programmes in aid recipient countries (World Bank, 1994; 2000).

This study sought to examine the newly introduced development programmes in rural Uganda in order to ascertain whether popular participation has been enhanced or stifled. The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme in Mbarara district is the focus of study.

The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) is a programme of the government of Uganda which was introduced to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural extension services (NAADS, 2001). It is implemented through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). NAADS is a semi-autonomous body formed under the NAADS Act of June 2001. It is mandated to develop a demand-driven, farmer-led agricultural service delivery system targeting poor subsistence farmers, with emphasis on women, youth and people with disabilities.

Its development goal is to enhance rural livelihoods by increasing agricultural productivity and profitability in a sustainable manner (NAADS, 2000).

The NAADS programme is grounded in the over-aching government policies of decentralization, liberalization, privatization and increased participation by people in the policy formulation and implementation process (NAADS, 2000).

Its implementation started in July 2001 and by the end of financial year 2007/2008, it was covering 79 districts and 748 sub-counties of Uganda, directly benefiting more than 900,000 farm households. It targeted to cover 1033 sub-counties by the end of financial year 2008/2009 (NAADS, 2008). The NAADS programme implementation framework emphasizes participatory approaches that enable the beneficiaries to get involved actively in decision making process with regard to the identification of needs, setting of priorities, formulation of plans, monitoring and evaluation of outputs and outcomes (NAADS 2000; 2006). This study intended to evaluate the authenticity of this framework. 1.2.0. Statement of the problem

In most developing countries, many past efforts in development programmes have had limited success because of lack of sufficient participation by stakeholders in the development process (World Bank (1994; 2002); Brett (2002); MAAIF/ NAADS (2000). The core constraint to fostering popular participation especially among the rural people has been over-centralization of decision-making powers and resources thereby creating a communication gap between the beneficiaries / stakeholders and the development workers. It is because of this, that today, many programmes and projects have been introduced and developed with participatory approaches so as to bring the disparate voices of the people into the development process. NAADS in Uganda is one of such programmes (NAADS 2000; 2006).However, despite the sounding implementation framework, the NAADS programme has increasingly become a subject of debate and criticisms among different sections of the public in Uganda. The criticisms have revolved around the manner in which agricultural services are delivered, the procurement process of service providers, and suppliers of agro-inputs/implements, governments commitment to meet farmers needs (selected enterprises), regular impromptu changes in the programme implementation among others. These have been expressed in the media reports, and various public fora. It is these issues that precipitated the researcher to undertake a scientific research as an attempt to assess whether or not these anomalies can be linked to the issue of popular participation in the NAADS programme planning and implementation. Besides, there are divergent views in the literature about participatory approaches to development. Some present arguments for it (NAADS (2006); NAADS (2000); PMA (2005/6); Mukandala (2005); Brett (2002); World Bank (2002); World Bank (2004); Chambers (1997); Putnam (1992); Almond & Verba (1980) while others critique and present some arguments against it (Hickey & Mohan (2004); Vincent ( 2004); Cooke & Kothari (2001); Mosse (2001). It is thus necessary to examine these divergent views in line with the suggested participatory approach in the NAADS programme implementation.This research therefore intended systematically to investigate whether NAADS in Mbarara district has enhanced popular participation and in what ways it has done so, in order to evaluate what is planned and what is actually done on the ground. The study sought to do this in light of the claims and counter-claims of advocates for, and critics of, the participatory approach.1.3.0. Objectives of the study

1. 3.1. General objectiveTo assess the degree of popular participation in rural development programmes in Uganda, using NAADS programme in Mbarara district as a case study.

1.3.2. Specific objectives

1.3.2.1. To find out if the NAADS programmes beneficiaries in Mbarara district participate in its implementation and if so, the ways in which they participate.

1.3.2.2. To establish the benefits of popular participation in the programmes implementation in Mbarara district.1.3.2.3. To compare the level of participation between beneficiaries in Kashaari and Rwampara counties.

1.3.2.4. To analyze the impact of participation or non-participation by beneficiary farmers on the performance (success or failure) of the NAADS programme in Mbarara district.1.4.0 Justification of the study

The study sought to contribute to the existing body of knowledge through an empirical investigation into popular participation in development programmes in Uganda and its contribution to their outcomes.

The research findings would be a useful source of information for farmers, the National NAADS Secretariat, and country-wide NAADS Coordinating Units especially in Mbarara district with a view to improving the programmes implementation.

The research findings would also be a useful source of information for researchers, development practitioners and public policy formulators and analysts in Uganda and beyond.

1.5.0. Scope of the study

The study was carried out in Mbarara district, in the two counties of Kashaari and Rwampara. It covered the period from the year 2001 when the NAADS programme was introduced in Uganda to 2008.

1.6.0. Theoretical framework

1.6.1. IntroductionThis research was conducted within the framework of participatory theory and public choice theory. It sought to ascertain the relevancy of the claims made by the advocates of these theories in the implementation of the NAADS programme. The rationale for selecting two theories was to gain adequate explanations of the subject of the study while appreciating the fact there is no single theory with sufficient explanatory power on a given phenomenon.1.6. 2. Participation in theory

Brett (2003) presents the role of participatory theory in managing development projects and programmes in poor countries. He notes that participation has emerged in response to global demands for greater individual and social control over the activities of state and private agencies, and especially to the manifest failures of traditional 'top-down' management systems in less developed countries (LDCs). He points out that participation can succeed for specific kinds of projects and programmes in favourable circumstances, but is unsuitable for many others. It commonly fails in contexts where local conditions make co-operative and collective action very difficult, or where it is manipulated by implementing agencies to justify their own actions or poor performance.Drawing from Midley (1986) and Rondinelli (1991), Muhangi (2007) points out that the rationale for community participation has been thought to include being a means of enhancing empowerment, enhancing responsiveness to peoples real needs, instilling a sense of ownership of programmes by the local people, promoting sustainability, and making programmes cheaper by allowing mobilization of local resources. Participation is also believed to promote more equitable distribution of the benefits that accrue from development activities.

In line with the above, Chambers (1997) argues that participation has the effect of empowering the citizens so that they can continue to direct future changes and put pressure on outside forces to support these changes. The location of participatory work is thus focused on the local level and depends upon local interests and capacity to engage in action for change.

Brett (2002) puts much emphasis on the issue of participatory groups and rural development. He calls for a more people-centered development practice that emphasizes the need to strengthen institutional and social capacity supportive of greater local control, accountability and self- reliance. He notes that a high priority is placed on a process of democratization; people are encouraged to mobilize and manage their own local resources, with government playing an enabling role. Drawing from the works of Korten (1987) Brett notes that where such decentralizing self-organizing approaches to the management of development resources are taken seriously, they generally result in more efficient and productive resource management, a reduction in dependence on external resources, increased equity, increased local initiative and accountability, and a strengthening of economic discipline.

Brett further points out that participation is very instrumental for it strengthens managerial competence, motivation and performance of workers, social and political solidarity and the relative position of poor and marginal groups in society. He argues that participation empowers poor people by taking them out of exploitative economic relationships and giving them control over their own organizations; it strengthens local organizational capabilities by building on traditional commitments to collective, as opposed to individualistic forms of economic and social organizations. He also notes that participation guarantees that collective organizations serve local needs, are based upon local skills and compatible with local cultures and thus help to eliminate foreign domination and dependency from the development process. He claims that Local officials through cooperation increase peoples productivity and access to capital, and give them better access to administrative staff.

Putnam et al, (1992) present the virtues of a civic community and note that citizenship in a civic community is marked, first of all, by active participation in public affairs. Drawing from Michaal Walzer, they point out that interest in public issues and devotion to public causes are the key signs of civic virtue (Putnam et al, (1992: 87). They further note that citizens in the civic community are not required to be altruists. However, citizens pursue what Tocqueville termed self-interest properly understood that is, self- interest defined in the context of broader public needs, self-interest that is enlightened rather than myopic, self-interest that is alive to the interests of others. Almond & Verba (1980), stress that the civic culture model from a democratic perspective requires that citizens be involved and active in politics, and that their participation be informed, analytic and rational. They further point put that this rationality-activist model of democratic citizenship is one of the major components of a civic culture.

Participatory theory was found to be relevant because the findings are in line with most of the above mentioned claims made by the advocates of the theory. The study findings indicate that some of the NAADS programme beneficiaries who have participated in the programme activities have been empowered to demand agricultural services, have developed a sense of ownership of the programme, and a sense of belonging to developmental social groups. They have also learnt from each other (farmers group members) on how to improve their selected agricultural enterprises. Others especially women mentioned that their participation in the NAADS programme activities has enabled them to gain confidence in public speaking, appearance and presentation. Farmers who also double as leaders of the NAADS programme at farmers group level noted that their participation in the NAADS programme activities has enabled them to gain leadership and organizational skills. Chapter four of this report presents all the above in details.

1.6.3. Public choice theory

Buchanan and Tullock (1962) refer to public choice theory as the economic study of non-market decision-making or simply as the application of economics to political science (Harmon and Mayer, 1986: 244). Public choice theory seeks to understand and predict the behaviour of the government sector of the economy as the outcome of the individual choices made by voters, politicians and bureaucrats interacting in a political marketplace. In other words, public choice is an application of neoclassical economic tools (self interest and utility maximization) to explain political behaviour (www. Wikipedia.org. Accessed in March 2009).

Stoker (1988) notes that public choice theory is entrenched within the neo-liberal theory which argues for private sector, market-led development as apposed to stateled development. According to public choice theory advocates, the optimum mechanism for allocating public goods and making public decisions is the market. The implication here is that prices and other economic activities are determined by forces of demand and supply. There is no government interference in the allocation of goods and services and determining costs, and there is also private ownership of property. Stoker points out further that public choice theorists maintain that the public sector and particularly local government has become too big, too distant and too complicated for ordinary people to understand and control. The theory hence argues for reforms such as contracting out, privatization, decentralization and bringing outsiders into the public organization, instituting a system of performance-related pay among others as alternative arrangements to improve efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery.

Public choice theory thus provides a good theoretical framework for this research because it provides theoretical explanations of the NAADS programme implementation. NAADS (2000) states that the beneficiary farmers ought to make choices and take decisions on which enterprises they feel will benefit them. The document also indicates that the NAADS programme involves contracting out advisory services to private companies and also allows room for monitoring, evaluation and auditing from reputable private and public organizations. There is emphasis on the contracting out of agricultural advisory services to farmers to private individuals and companies through a competitive bidding process. Agricultural advisors and suppliers of agricultural and technological inputs and implements are contracted at the sub-county level. Various mechanisms are used to empower farmers and enhance their roles in demanding services through farmer groups and fora. In the contracting arrangements, the poor and female farmers are specifically targeted through supporting the development of gender-sensitive procedures and guidelines for accessing contract services (NAADS, 2000).

During the period in which public funds are the source of procuring advisory services, local governments are involved in overseeing the use of the funds. They also participate in the drawing up of the contracts and the technical supervision and audit of the work. The guidelines and procedures for contracting and contract supervision are prepared at the national level (NAADS, 2000).

In line with Stoker, G. (1998), the design of the NAADS programme with regard to contracting out assumes that open competition with private contractors forces public sector bureaucrats to reveal more information about costs or services pertaining to a particular project or intervention. Contracting out is also assumed to make it easier for a comparison of cost-effectiveness or efficiency between government and private business. It is also held that the profit orientation of private contractors and the narrower focus of their activities make them flexible and efficient. Contracting out is also preferred because it challenges the monopoly position of in-house service providers especially by the bureaucrats.

However, the study found some of the above claims made by the advocates of public choice theory not applicable to NAADS programme implementation. Despite the private sector orientation of the NAADS programme implementation particularly the procurement and supply process, the claimed benefits of the private sector advanced by public choice theory were not found right according to the study findings. For example contracting out and its claimed merits, were not proved right because of the many anomalies found in the area of procurement and supply of agricultural services / inputs and implements. They include lack of transparency in awarding contracts, supply of poor quality agricultural and technological inputs, and the reluctance of the Sub-county-based technical planning committee (TPC) to actively involve the farmers elected procurement committees at the parish and sub-county levels in the procurement process. The above anomalies are presented in details in chapter four of this report.CHAPTER TWO

2.0. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction

This chapter provides the existing literature that was reviewed by the researcher about the NAADS Programme implementation in Uganda, and the subject of popular participation in development programmes as presented in respective themes below.

2.2. Ways in which NAADS Programme beneficiaries participate in its implementation NAADS Master Document (2000) states that the planning processes in the NAADS programme are expected to be participatory. It is noted that the primary plans were to originate from the Farmer Groups. Plans were expected to be generated through group discussions (Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)-led) as well as consensus building and collaborative learning approaches. The aggregation of the plans is expected to be undertaken at the sub-county, district, and national levels. To make the process as transparent as possible, guidelines based on criteria developed from the NAADS principles were to be developed at national level and disseminated to the lower levels.

The master document further points out that to achieve the above, the NAADS programme will ensure effective farmers orientation and mobilization. A core function of the NAADS programme was to facilitate farmers to acquire and enhance their capacity to access and take charge of the structures and processes that drive the advisory services. For this to happen, mobilization and then orientation of farmers so as to acquire new basic attitudes and capacities that enable them to effectively control the NAADS will be done. The orientation programme aims at developing farmer institutional capacities in four main areas namely: Definition and appreciation of the NAADS principles, procedures and conditionalities- relating particularly to tendering, contracting and reporting; planning, monitoring, and evaluation, including needs assessment, gender and poverty issues. Other areas include group dynamics and the instilling of specific skills related to group activities through formation of farmer groups and fora, and finally the multi-stakeholder dynamics where farmers both female and males meet other stakeholders, such as input suppliers, traders, credit suppliers, and advisory service providers, to negotiate and learn about prices, quality standards and other relevant issues (Ibid., 16).

NAADS Master Document (2000) generally provides a planning framework for NAADS implementation in a participatory manner. However, bearing in mind that planning is one thing and implementation is another, there was therefore need to systematically investigate whether the participatory approach that is presented in the NAADS master document is actually implemented on the ground and how it impacts on outcomes. This formed the sole purpose of this study.

PMA annual report 2005/2006 presents the assessment of the extent to which the PMA/NAADS undertakings for Fiscal Year 2005/2006 that were agreed at the PMA Joint Annual Review were implemented. With regard to one of the NAADS undertaking of designing and implementing more detailed participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E), it reports that the NAADS Secretariat trained Parish Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) Coordination committee members and facilitators from 20 districts in the country. The findings from a performance assessment that the NAADS Secretariat carried out in 274 sub-counties in May 2006 were that 33% of the sub-counties had undertaken satisfactory PM&E activities and about 70% of the registered groups had trained group facilitators for PM&E.

The report however, does not indicate districts / sub-counties / parishes where this PM&E training was carried out. The study of popular participation in the NAADS programme in counties of Kashaari and Rwampara in Mbarara district sought to unearth whether these counties benefited from this undertaking and if so, establish the way this training has promoted beneficiary participation in the implementation of the NAADS programme in the area.

NAADS implementation modalities report (2006) states that the key stakeholders in the implementation of NAADS are the farmers, the service providers, the Local Governments and the NAADS Secretariat. The report indicates that NAADS is a government programme implemented through existing Local Government structures and farmer organisations. Farmers elect their leaders who represent them at the sub-county and district levels to form the Farmers Fora. The Fora are responsible for ensuring that the programme is implemented in accordance with the needs of the farmers and that the funds are used in a transparent way. The farmer organizations work hand in hand with the Local Governments to implement the Programme.

The report further notes that through a participatory process, farmers are guided to select profitable enterprises to be promoted in their groups. These are forwarded to the sub-county where farmers fora and technical staff then select the main three priority enterprises to be supported.

The report points out that the farmers through their procurement committees hire private service providers to train and assist farmers to improve their productivity and profitability. The bulk of NAADS funds are at the sub-county and are used to meet the cost of these contracts. It is noted that by June 2006, over 1,500 contracts had been serviced under NAADS in over 346 sub-counties across the country.

Generally, NAADS implementation modalities report (2006) portrays the avenues that would promote beneficiary participation in decision making, selecting prioritized enterprises, electing farmers representatives, formation of farmer groups and fora at different levels of Local Government structures.

However, these modalities seemed to generalize about implementation of NAADS in all participating districts and sub-counties across the country. There was therefore need to ascertain whether these modalities indeed cut across all the participating districts and sub-counties. The study of popular participation in the NAADS programme in Mbarara district sought to establish the empirical evidence.

2.3. Benefits of popular participation in the programme implementation to its beneficiaries

NAADS implementation modalities (2006) indicate that NAADS is aimed at empowering farmers to demand for advisory services in order to increase their agricultural productivity and incomes. The poor subsistence farmers are the principle beneficiaries of the NAADS programme. Farmer Groups form the channels through which farmers receive advisory services under the programme. NAADS support farmers to organize in groups to benefit from collective effort and to access advisory services, technologies and production inputs.

There is need for empirical evidence on whether the NAADS implementation modalities as stipulated in the 2006 report are put into action. A study on popular participation in NAADS programme in Mbarara district will provide this evidence.

World Bank report (2000) points out that poverty has remained stubbornly high in Africa for decades due to inappropriate approaches used to alleviate it. It notes that top-down plans, donor-driven investment programmes have been less than successful. What is contained in the new vision of the Bank is therefore a vision of prosperity through the empowerment of local communities.

The Banks new vision sought to put local governments and rural and urban communities in the drivers seat, and give them a new set of powers, rights and obligations. These include among others the right to be treated as people with capabilities, not objects of pity, the power to plan, implement and maintain projects to serve their felt needs, the obligation to be accountable to local people, not just central governments or donors, and the obligation to enable stakeholders and beneficiaries most especially the women, ethnic minorities, the poorest, and other long excluded groups to participate fully in the economic development activities.

The NAADS programme being one of the World Bank funded programmes in Uganda, there was need to ascertain whether the programme implementation process / modalities are congruent to the tenets of the new vision of the World Bank as stipulated in the 2000 report. To establish this, it required a systematic investigation which indeed formed the justification for this study.

Brett (2002) also points out that participation is very instrumental for it strengthens managerial competence, motivation and performance of workers, social and political solidarity and the relative position of poor and marginal groups in society. He argues that participation empowers poor people by taking them out of exploitative economic relationships and thus gives them control over their own organizations. Participation also strengthens local organizational capabilities by building on traditional commitments to collective, as opposed to individualistic forms of economic and social organizations. He also notes that participation guarantees that collective organizations serve local needs, are based upon local skills and compatible with local cultures and thus help to eliminate foreign domination and dependency from the development process. He claims that Local officials through cooperation increase peoples productivity and access to capital, and give them better access to administrative staff. In digression however, Hickey & Mohan (2004), present various scholars who have critiqued and put arguments against participatory development because of its tyrannical nature. They thus advocate for the need for transformation to more accommodative, inclusive and practical approaches to development. They argue that the problems of power and politics have beset some approaches to participation; these should be addressed if effective participation is to be realized.

Susan Vincent in particular notes that in Matachico, a peasant community in the Peruvian central highlands, there were numerous small projects that bypassed the communinad which he referred to as the political institution, a vehicle for local strategizing. He argues that these projects were planned elsewhere and the local people vied to be included in them for the benefits, usually food handouts, they offered. He for example notes that in sharp contrast to the initiative displayed by the community to get electricity, when a church-run NGO which was said to give generous amounts of food wanted to undertake a project in Matachico in 2000, women clamoured to be included, although no one knew what the projects purpose was, nor did they know which church was involved; their focus was on the hand out (Hickey & Mohan ( 2004).

Vincent points out that despite the rhetoric that conceptualizes the participatory process as empowering for the locals, many observers of participatory practice argue that the process has tended to be coercive instead (Cooke & Kothari (2001), in part because practitioners resist giving up their authority to direct change (Pottier, 1997).

He further argues that conventional participatory methods such Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) tend to deny the trusteeship of the state, or other large scale external agents; through their focus on local-level activities, the people themselves are to articulate and pursue their own development strategies.

He cites Pieterse (1998) arguing that outsiders tend to retain for themselves the right to guide the process and decide who participates and how and what gets funded and what does not.

Bill Cooke & Kothari (2001) also present cases for participation as tyranny as put forward by a number of contributing writers. The writers collectively confirm that tyranny is both a real and a potential consequence of participatory approaches to development, counter intuitive, and contrary to its rhetoric of empowerment though this may be. Three particular sets of tyrannies are identified- the tyranny of decision- making and control (Participatory facilitators override legitimate decision-making processes); the tyranny of the group (Group dynamics lead to participatory decisions that reinforce the interests of the already powerful); and tyranny of method (Participatory methods / techniques drive out others which have advantages participation can not provide).

Mosse David (2001) in particular critiques participatory approaches to development. He points out that an important principle of participatory development is the incorporation of local peoples knowledge into programme planning and the supposition that the articulation of peoples knowledge can transform top-down bureaucratic planning systems. He points out that the techniques of participatory learning and planning (PRA/ PLA) are taken as defining features of participation in development (Bill Cooke & Kothari (2001). Mosse however, challenges the populist assumption that attention to local knowledge through participatory learning redefines the relationship between local communities and development organizations.

Using project-based illustrations while referring to the experience of the Kribhcho Indo-British Farming Project (KRIBP), a donor-funded programme of a large public sector organization in India, Mosse notes that local knowledge, far from determining planning processes and outcomes, is often structured by them. He for example pointed out that what in one case was expressed as a local need is actually shaped by local perceptions of what the agency in question would legitimately and realistically be expected to deliver. Mosse argues that participatory planning may more accurately be viewed as the acquisition and manipulation of a new planning knowledge rather than the incorporation of peoples knowledge by projects.

Mosse further notes that there is a tendency to regard outsider agendas as local knowledge. He argues that project actors are not passive facilitators of local knowledge production and planning; they shape and direct these processes. Peoples needs are significantly shaped by perceptions of what the agency is able to deliver (Bill Cooke & Kothari, (2001).

He cites Pottier (1992) and point out that there is a tendency of local collusion in the planning consensus where needs are clearly socially constructed and local knowledge is shaped both by locally dominant groups and by project interests.

Mosse finally notes that there is always manipulation of peoples planning where rural peoples knowledge (including for example analysis of problems, needs and plans) is collaboratively produced in the context of planning. More generally, programme action is shaped by the projects engagement in wider coalitions contending for influence within national and international policy arenas (Bill Cooke and Kothari, 2001).

All the above critiques of participation and other arguments against it provide new insights into this study. This study sought to find out the applicability and relevance of this debate in terms of arguments for participatory approaches on the one hand while critiques and arguments against it on the other with particular focus on the NAADS programme implementation in Mbarara district. Borne in mind was Bretts (2003) argument that participation can succeed for specific kinds of projects and programmes in favourable circumstances, but is unsuitable for many others, and thus commonly fails especially in contexts where local conditions make co-operative and collective action very difficult, or where it is manipulated by implementing agencies to justify their own actions or poor performance. 2.4. Impact of Participation or non-participation by beneficiaries on the

performance of the Programme

Robert Chambers (1997) points out that participation is assumed to have the effect of empowering the citizens so that they can continue to give direction in public policies or programmes and also direct future changes and put pressure on outside forces to support these changes. He argues that the location of participatory work is thus focused on the local level and depends upon local interests and capacity to engage in action for change for the success of the public policy or programmes.

Mukandala (2005) analyses the impact of participatory approach in the community self-help movement in Tanzania in 1960s. He presents a transitional process from self-help (Kujitolea) to Nation-building (Kujenga Taifa) in Tanzania from 1961- 1971.

He notes that a serious self-help programme was officially launched in 1962. The main objective of the programme, as the Prime Minister Rashid Kawawa outlined it in March 1962, was to enable the local people to participate in projects which could be carried out without government finance. It was a presidential (Nyerere) initiative whose task was to mobilize the people for self-help projects. Various measures were taken to enhance the effectiveness of, and raise participation in the governments programmes in rural areas, as well as improve its communications with the people. These included among others subdividing of the provinces into smaller units, setting legal frame work for the self-help movement, and creation of development committee system at different administrative levels. The committee system was created to provide the necessary avenues for participation and to enable the local leadership to translate the peoples enthusiasm into solid achievement. Development committees were set up from the village to the regional level in order to spearhead and co-ordinate local development activities, as well as to create avenues for local participation in decision making (ibid).In 1963, the old colonial village headmen were removed, and village councils amalgamated into larger village development committees. By the end of 1963, a total of 7500 village development committees had been created. Each committee was responsible for drawing up plans for the development of the village over which it had jurisdictions. It became the main source of self-help initiative and mobilization of local labour force for such tasks as road construction, brick making among others (Mukandala (2005).Mukandala further points out that with increased participation of people in self-help projects, there was increased sense of ownership, and belonging by the local community members and also their willingness to take care of the existing projects in their respective villages. It was because of this participatory approach that the self-help movement became successful and later paved the way for nation-building through decentralization (ibid). There was a need to find out whether the impact of the self-help movement through participatory approach in self-help projects made in Tanzania in 1960s could be the same the NAADS programme in Uganda is making today. Besides, there was need to find out whether the performance of the NAADS programme in Uganda can be attributed to participation or lack of it by the beneficiaries. A study about popular participation in the NAADS programme in Kashaari and Rwampara counties in Mbarara district ascertained this desirable fact.

CHAPTER THREE

3.0. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Research design

The study employed an evaluative survey research design. Smith (1981) defines evaluative research as a systematic assessment of the effectiveness of programmes that were designed as tentative solutions to existing problems. The evaluative research design was employed to examine the NAADS set implementation modalities and what is actually done on the ground while focusing specifically on the participatory approach as stipulated in the NAADS master document (2000).The study also employed comparative research design. Here the findings from Kashaari County were compared with those from Rwampara County so as to ascertain any differences in levels of popular participation in the NAADS implementation programme and their implications for the performance of the programme in these counties in particular and Mbarara district in general. The comparative approach was based on the fact that Kashaari County has predominantly livestock focused NAADS activities compared to Rwampara County which has NAADS activities focused on arable agriculture. Besides, NAADS was introduced to the former earlier (2003/ 2004) than the latter (2004/2005).The study was largely qualitative in such a way that data was collected by use of mostly in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. The findings are largely in form of text depicting respondents expressed views, and somewhere with the use of direct verbatim words or quotations from the respondents. There is little quantifiable data. For purposes of triangulation, some elements of quantitative research were also employed for example use of questionnaires to collect data and also tabulation in data presentation and analysis.The rationale for employing the evaluative survey research design is that it is a form of applied research for assessment and evaluation of projects or programmes like the NAADS. The findings of the sample studies can be used to generalize about the study population. Samples also save time and resources plus the managerial capacity required from that researcher.

A comparative survey design also provided the researcher with vast amount of information about the similarities and differences in the levels of popular participation in the NAADS Programme between Kashaari and Rwampara Counties. 3.2. Study AreaThe study was carried out in Mbarara district in the two counties of Kashaari and Rwampara which form the Greater Mbarara district. Mbarara district is located in the South-Western region of Uganda.The rationale for selecting this area of study was that since it is researchers home district, it was easier for him to sample the study population because he is conversant with the area population. Also, being a native Runyankore speaker was an added advantage, as it rendered communication with my respondents easier.

3.3. Sample Selection Techniques The study sample size was 60 (sixty) respondents which included forty (40) NAADS beneficiary ordinary farmers (main respondents) and twenty (20) key informants. The sample size of 60 respondents was regarded as researchers saturation point, the same sample size which he also considered big enough to make the findings representative to the study population. In both counties of Kashaari and Rwampara, area random sampling was employed but separately. Here the names of NAADS participating sub-counties and parishes were listed and the lottery method was used to select one sub-county and two parishes to represent the entire study population.

In Kashaari county, Bubaare sub-county and the two parishes of Rwenshanku and Katojo were sampled. While in Rwampara county, Nyakayojo sub-county and the two parishes of Rwakishakizi and Rukindo were sampled.

Selection of respondents involved stratified random sampling. Here, the list of the NAADS programme beneficiaries in various farmers groups (sampling frame) in each of the parishes sampled was obtained at Sub-county head-quarters with the assistance of the NAADS coordinators. The researcher reorganized the list of beneficiaries according to gender. Two strata of male and female beneficiaries were constructed and finally systematic sampling with the 10th respondent on the list was selected until the desired sample size was obtained. In each sub -counties of Bubaare and Nyakayojo, twenty (20) respondents were sampled. Disproportionate stratified sampling was employed because female respondents dominated majority of the farmers groups.

The rationale for the use of this stratified random sampling technique is that it reduces on sampling errors because the elements (respondents) within each stratum are as homogenous as possible (males in one stratum and females in another stratum). This technique also enables the researcher to collect data, analyze it and interpret it according to the strata created.

In addition, non- random purposive sampling technique was employed to select the key informants totaling to twenty (20) in number from both sampled sub-counties. The selection of the key informants targeted chairpersons of the NAADS beneficiary farmer groups and fora, NAADS coordinators at the parish (PCCs, CBFs, CBSCs), and at sub-county levels, local council executives at different administrative levels (LC1-3), Sub-County and Parish chiefs. 3.4. Data collection methods and instruments

In-depth interviews and structured questionnaires were used as the instruments to collect data. Documentary review and analysis also formed part of the data collection methods. Under this method, popular participation and NAADS Programme- related relevant literature (reports, text books, journals, among others) were reviewed.

The rationale for the use of these instruments in data collection methods was to minimize the short comings of using only one instrument hence using a variety of instruments to collect data was to utilize the advantages associated with triangulation.

3.5. Data presentation and analysis

Data presentation and analysis process entailed organizing and analyzing the accumulated mass of detailed information obtained from the field into a comprehensive research report. It has involved typing and editing, tabulation and interpretation. This has been done following the themes of study in each main section. 3.6. Ethical considerations

The entire research process was conducted with due respect to ethical considerations in research. The researcher obtained the consent of the respondents to participate in the study. The researcher also minded about treating the respondents views with utmost confidentiality. In general, a high degree of openness regarding the purpose and the nature of the research was observed by the researcher.

3.7.0. Some of the constraints to the study

3.7.1. Timing respondents. Being a rural based research, as anticipated earlier, the timing of respondents was a challenge because there was no time convenient to every one. Respondents could be involved in their day-to-day activities such as gardening, grazing, purchasing livestock feeds and farm implements and marketing their farm produce. Others were attending parties, funerals, and others had journeys for more than two days before returning home. The key informants like such as NAADS coordinators, extension workers were attending meetings and others engaged in field tours. Sparing time for an interview or filling the questionnaire was somehow regarded as an inconvenience and interruption of ones working schedule. However, the researcher would approach the respondents wherever they would be and through rapport creation process, he would explain to them why ones responses to the study are vital and therefore sparing some little time to adjust and participate in the study was important and desirable. In cases of unadjustable schedules, appointments would be secured for the next time. Lunch time hours was also mostly used to meet the respondents as they retired from their activities back home.3.7.2. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) was proposed to be used as supplementary data collection method was not eventually used. The researcher had regarded it to be one of the effective method of data collection for this particular study because of their ability to generate collective views of many people on the particular subject at once. However, due to lack of convenient time for all the participants coupled with expenses on mobilization and facilitation of the participants in terms of transportation, and sometimes meals for lunch or break fast, the researcher found it costly to handle. Consequently, he deliberately ignored FGDs and instead concentrated more on in-depth interviews and questionnaires which fortunately collected sufficient necessary data. CHAPTER FOURPRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS4.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the findings vis--vis the objectives stated in chapter one. The findings were collaborated with the help of in-depth interviews and self- administered questionnaires to the respondents (NAADS beneficiary farmers), and key informants.4.1. Demographic profile of the respondents

4.1.1 Sex distribution of respondents

Table 4.1.1: Table Showing Sex Distribution of Respondents

CategorySexFreqPercentage

Respondents (NAADS beneficiary farmers)Male15 25

Female25 41

Sub-total40 66

Key informants

a) NAADS beneficiary farmers holding elective positions in the programme implementation (Members of Farmers Forum Executive, PC, PCC, CBSC, and CBFs)Male0915.0

Female 0305.5

Sub-total1221

b) Administrative / technical staff / extension workers (NAADS coordinator, veterinary officer, sub-county chief, community development officers, c/persons LC III, parish chiefs)Male 610.0

Female 203.3

Sub-total813

Total60100

Source: Field data

The table shows that there were more female respondents (40%) than male ones (25%) (excluding farmers who were regarded as key informants). This is also a reflection of the proportionate stratified sampling technique used in the study. Women were proportionately sampled from their strata since they dominated males in most of the farmers groups. Interest was picked in trying to establish the reason for this female dominance. The NAADS master document states that women are the core target group under the programme, others being the youth, and people with disabilities (NAADS, 2000).However, notwithstanding this reason, female respondents noted that men are not actively involved in NAADS programme activities because some are engaged in what they called more profitable and productive income-generating activities such as trading, and white collar jobs. But some female respondents countered the above reason and said that that some men are neither engaged in white collar jobs nor other income-generating activities, but that they spend most of their time in bars drinking alcohol and regard their wives (NAADS beneficiaries) as idlers with time to waste in NAADS activities including meetings and training.

An interesting phenomenon is the increasing participation by widows and women separated from their husbands in NAADS programme activities. After losing or separating from their husbands they had to devise means of being self-reliant. Therefore the introduction of NAADS programme with training in various enterprises, most of these women joined and got involved in NAADS enterprises, mostly goat rearing, as a way of getting livestock that could be sold in case of a problem.

Besides, the introduction in most farmers groups, of money circles involving members pooling together and giving out money to the lucky group member at each sitting, has attracted most widows to join NAADS programmes in order to benefit from it alongside NAADS enterprise activities.

4.1.2 Age of respondents.

Table 4.1.2: Table Showing the Age Distribution of Respondents AgeM F Total%%age Total

15-2400000

25-34336615

35-44246615

45-5449131332.5

55-64369922.5

65+336615

Total152510040100

Source: Field dataThe table shows that the majority of the respondents (32.5%), male and female, were aged between 45-54 years. This age was particularly reflective of working age group- the owners of means of production and those with more pushing factors to work than those in other age brackets because of family responsibilities. 22.5% were aged 55-64 also with almost similar explanation like the above. The least number of respondents (15%) were aged between 25-34, 35-44 and 65+ respectively. Particular focus was put on ascertaining the reason for low rate of participation by youth (15-34 age bracket) in NAADS programme activities. As noted earlier, the youths are target beneficiaries of the NAADS programme whose participation is ought to be high but the findings contradict this. The few youths who were interviewed explained that youths want to engage in an income-generating activity with short-term gains yet the NAADS programme and its associated gains are long term.

Some youths in one NAADS farmers group in Kibingo, Rwakishakizi parish, Nyakayojo sub-county organized themselves and used this NAADS structure to establish their own youth project of brick making along side NAADS farmers group enterprises. One member on the youth project said:

we the youths want quick money and yet NAADS enterprises take long, so we organised ourselves, and one development-minded man offered us a place where to make our bricks. So far we have sold some tonnes of bricks and we have earned some money quickly but we have not gained much from the NAADS programme.

Some of the youths interviewed however, noted that most youths do not possess means of production such as land and capital which are required by NAADS enterprises. Consequently, most youths have concentrated on other sources of income such as trading, hiring motorcycle for riding (bodaboda business), pottering on buildings in town, among others. It was also mentioned that most youths especially the educated ones are doing professional work such as teaching or are engaged in other activities elsewhere and are therefore not interested in NAADS activities.

4.1.3 Level of Education of respondents

Table 4.1.3: Table showing level of education of respondents

Level of educationMaleFemaleTotal%

No formal education001012.5

Primary05182357.5

Secondary07051230

Post-secondary vocational studies21037.5

Diploma0000

Degree010012.5

Total152540100

As table 4.1.3 shows, the majority of the respondents (57.5%) had attained only primary school education and are living a rural peasant life, with agriculture as their main source of livelihood. It was because of this low level of education that some respondents could not clearly measure the impact of NAADS due to existence of on-going various programmes and projects in their area. The low level of education means that some respondents are uninformed or unaware of their role and the degree to which they ought to participate in NAADS programme activities as beneficiaries.

Also, table 4.1.3 shows that 30% of the respondents had secondary level education with between one and four years of schooling. They are also engaged in agriculture as their main source of livelihood. It was mostly this category of respondents that raised critical issues and presented critiques on the way the NAADS programme is being implemented in their area.

The smallest number of respondents (2.5%) comprised those with no formal education and also those who had been to university and had degrees. Of particular interest was only one respondent who is a teacher by profession and has a bachelors degree in education. He is a farmer and a beneficiary of the NAADS programme which he joined purposely for earning additional income to what he earns from teaching. He was critical of the way in which the NAADS programme was being implemented. He was particularly concerned about the inadequate avenues for participation by beneficiary farmers in programme implementation.

4.2.0. WAYS IN WHICH THE NAADS PROGRAMMES BENEFICIARIES PARTICIPATE IN ITS IMPLEMENTATION

4.2.1. Formation of farmers groups

Respondents noted that they participate in the formation of farmers groups. The NAADS Programme by principle requires the beneficiaries to form groups through which agricultural and technology inputs are channeled to group members (MAAIF, NAADS implementation modalities report, 2006).

With the assistance of extension workers at the sub-county level specifically the community Development officer (CDO) farmers are mobilized voluntarily to form or join groups on the basis of the identified enterprise(s).

The group membership varies from one group to another but the majority of the groups comprised between 20 and 25 members. A person becomes a member after paying a membership of 2,000 Uganda shillings, a group co-funding contribution fee which is determined by the number of members in a particular group.

Every farmers group must be registered at the sub-county level with the sub-county accountant and pay a registration fee. The group is also required to open up a bank account in a nearby micro finance institution. It is also a requirement that each registered group pays a co-funding fee annually to the sub-county accountant. This is meant to ensure that the group is and remains active.

4.2.2 Attending group and inter-group meetings and trainingRespondents said that they have group meetings which are held according to set group schedules. Group meetings are held once in a month to discuss issues regarding group enterprise activities. Meetings are very vital and are regarded as fora for planning, learning, exchange of views and ideas, and electing leaders among other things.

However, most respondents noted that in the recent past especially under the new NAADS arrangement, attendance at meetings has drastically declined. This is largely attributed to failure by members in their application for assistance with setting up enterprises (to be considered for their applied enterprises).

Some respondents said they had introduced the idea of money circles in NAADS farmers groups to attract regular attendance by members in group meetings. Members pool money which is given out to one of the members at every meeting. One respondent said:

This idea of a money circle has significantly influenced attendance at group meetings because members come expecting to pick the lucky number but thereafter a number of issues regarding the activities of group enterprises are discussed. I know if it was not this idea, attendance at meetings would be very low.

4.2.3 Selection of enterprises to be supported in a given financial year.

The NAADS programme implementation modalities (2006) state that one of the mandates of the NAADS programme was to empower farmers in enterprise selection. The report further notes that through a participatory process, farmers are guided to select profitable enterprises to be promoted in their groups. These are forwarded to the sub-county where farmers fora and technical staff then select the main three priority enterprises to be supported.

Respondents said that farmers group members participate in selecting from the available enterprises which have already been determined by the Farmers forum executive at the sub-county level with the assistance of the technical planning committee (TPC). In both counties of Kashaari and Rwampara, the selected enterprises included Banana growing / Banana plantation improvement, goat rearing, and poultry. Each member is free to belong to a group which engages in his /her favourite enterprise. This is in line with what public choice theorists, Buchanan and Tullock argued, which is that the greater the diversity of services within a geographical area, the greater the opportunity for citizens to vote with their feet by moving to localities where the range and costs of services are better suited to their particular needs (Harmon and Mayer, 1989).

The technical planning committee (TPC) at the sub-county level consists of, among others, the sub-county chief, secretary for production, C/Person LC III, and the NAADS coordinator. This committee together with the farmers forum selects the enterprises for each financial year on the basis of geographical and climatic conditions that would favour the selected enterprises.

However, the majority of respondents expressed lack of information about the criteria followed in the process of selecting enterprises in the sub-county. Most of them feel they are not empowered to select their own enterprises. They said that they are engaged in some group enterprises because they have no alternative. Some of them applied for enterprises of their preference, for example cattle keeping and tree planting, but for several years they have not been considered for funding among the selected enterprises in the sub-county.

This is in line with what Mosse (2001) pointed out about the tendency by advocates of participation to regard outsider agendas as local knowledge. Mosse argues that project actors are passive facilitators of local knowledge production and planning; they shape and direct these processes. Peoples needs are significantly shaped by perceptions of what the agency is able to deliver (Bill Cooke & Kothari (2001). Mosse also cites Pottier (1992) and points out that there is a tendency of local collusion in the planning consensus where needs are clearly socially constructed and local knowledge is shaped both by locally dominant groups and by project interests.

4.2.4 Election of farmer group executives and representatives at various levelsAll the respondents said that they participate in elections to elect group leaders and other farmers representatives at different levels. Group leadership structures consist of the chair person, vice chairperson, secretary, treasurer, and advisor/ mobilizer. In a general meeting, candidates are nominated, seconded, and members vote by show of hands. The term of office varies from one group to another but is commonly between 2-3 years, after which new leaders are elected.

Respondents said that leaders play a big role in as far as group enterprise activities are concerned. Notable roles of group leaders mentioned include convening and conducting group meetings, representing group members at higher level NAADS meetings at parish or sub-county level, monitoring group enterprise activities, and ensuring group cohesion.

Farmers also elect their representatives at different levels: parish and sub-county. At parish level, during the inter-group meeting, members elect the NAADS parish coordination committee (PCC), community based selection committee (CBSC), inter-group association (IGA), and community based facilitators (CBFs). Still at parish level, under the new NAADS arrangements, farmers elect the six demonstration and lead farmers in the parish.

At sub-county level, the elected farmers to the parish level hold a meeting and elect farmers representing the parish farmers at sub-county level which make up the farmers forum. The council is composed of 18 members with its chair person as the head. Fifteen of them are farmers representing various parishes and three are technical staff at the sub-county, including the sub-county chief, secretary for production, and the NAADS Coordinator. Members of Farmers forum elect from among themselves the procurement committee which is composed of three members.

4.2.5. Monitoring and evaluation of NAADS programme

Some respondents said that as members of groups they participate in the monitoring of group enterprises. This is done through group field tours whereby they visit fellow group members who are engaged in NAADS enterprises. The monitoring exercise focuses on the assessment of the performance and progress of group enterprises. They look at how the activities are fairing, difficulties and challenges faced by group members, and advise accordingly. Other respondents said that sometimes they make rotational monthly meetings hosted by a group member. Members use this opportunity to visit the host members activity site to assess the progress and advise accordingly. Respondents in both counties of Kashaari and Rwampara spoke about this participatory monitoring. However, this practice varies from one farmers group to another; thus, it is not cross-cutting in all farmers groups. The practice is also not continuous but it is planned for only specific periods of time.

Most respondents said that according to the trainings they attended, they were aware that monitoring and evaluation of the NAADS programme and enterprise activities is the work of community based facilitators (CBFs) , parish coordination committees (PCCs), chair person farmers forum and the NAADS coordinator. They reported however, that the concerned officials have not done their work as expected because they rarely monitor group enterprises. Some of these officials also admitted that they have not done their work of monitoring and evaluation effectively. Particularly, the CBFs in both Kashaari and Rwampara counties explained that this is because of poor facilitation. One CBF noted:

It is true i was given a bicycle to do the work of NAADS sensitization and monitoring of NAADS farmers group enterprises in Rwenshanku parish but I do this once in three months. I can not do it every month because I also have other things to do. Besides, the NAADS programme does not provide me with lunch or dinner whenever I go there to do the work

Contrary to the PMA annual report 2005/2006 which states that the NAADS Secretariat trained parish monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) coordination committee members and facilitators from 20 districts in the country, in the parishes of Rwenshanku and Katojo in Kashaari county, Rwakishakizi and Rukindo parishes in Rwampara county the training programme was unheard of by the respondents. This explains the ineffectiveness of the NAADS programme monitoring exercise, particularly farmers enterprise activities in the study area.

4.2.6 Procurement and supply of agricultural and technology input / implements to farmersOne of the areas which the majority of respondents mentioned and termed denial of the right to participate was the procurement process. Respondents reported that unlike in the first phase of programme implementation where procurement was the preserve of the NAADS implementing officers at the district and sub-county level something that resulted in procurement and supply of poor quality goods / materials and services, under the new NAADS implementation guidelines (2008), beneficiary farmers were trained and well informed that the procurement process should be participatory and involve beneficiary farmers at each successive stage as much as possible. Beneficiary farmers were advised to form community- based selection committees (CBSCs) at the parish level and then procurement committees (PCs) at the sub-county level. These were to be selected from farmers fora.

These two committees are supposed to work hand in hand with the farmers forum and other parish level farmers committees in the procurement and supply of the required agricultural and technology inputs and implements. They are charged with the responsibility of identifying and selecting the potential suppliers of agricultural and technology inputs through a competitive bidding process. They visit the source of the supplies and verify the quality before procurement and supply to the selected farmers.

However, members of the CBSC at the parish level in both counties of Kashaari and Rwampara complained that their participation in this process is stifled by the procurement committee at the sub-county level. They pointed out that they are less involved in this process and sometimes they are only informed when it is time to receive the deliverables on behalf of the beneficiary farmers without knowing how the procurement process was done. In some cases they receive poor quality supplies such as poor quality goats (undersize), cow dung manure (mixed with soil and weeds) and farm implements such as wheel barrows, rakes and spades which are very weak and not long lasting. Moreover all supplies are procured at high prices which some respondents termed as inflated prices. Some members of these committees noted that they sometimes deliberately refuse to sign the delivery sheets because of lack of transparency in the entire procurement and supply process despite the existence of principles and guidelines entailed in the NAADS Master document (2000), implementation modalities (2006), and new NAADS implementation guidelines (2008).

The recipients also reported that they sometimes refuse to sign the delivery sheets because they do not feel satisfied with the quality of the deliverables supplied to them. They blame the CBSC and put it to task to explain how such fraudulent and opaque procurement and supply processes could be conducted its jurisdiction. But the CBSC do not always have convincing explanations. Instead it also complains of lack of transparency on the part of the sub-county procurement committee.

There was generally a lack of information about the basis on which loans are awarded. Consequently those who had recently received the agricultural and technology inputs and implements did not know how it had happened. The guidelines indicate that one is selected as lead farmer to receive agricultural or technology inputs and implements because he/she belongs to a certain farmers group. The recipient pays back some amount of money to other group members through the group bank account after a specified period of time. This amount of money is determined by the NAADS coordinator and the sub-county procurement committee.

The respondents, mainly recent recipients, particularly in Rwampara County were not conversant with these guidelines. They were all not aware of how much they will pay back to the group and for how long. Surprisingly, others claimed that what they received is personal property and has nothing to do with other group members because they are the ones bearing the burden of paying the loan. They had even told group members not to tamper with their property, which created fear, tension and conflict.

Even some members of sub-county procurement committee confirmed these testimonies and complained about lack of transparency in the procurement and supply processes. One committee member said:

I was elected chairperson of the procurement committee at sub-county level. In our last meeting we discussed how the procurement and supply processes could be made more transparent. We identified the activities to be carried out in a participatory manner. But I was re