Food and Nutrition Security
Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) Value Chains and Market Assessment report
The CARE consortium comprising of partner organisations such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Gulu Agricultural Development Company (GADC), Dynamic Agro Pastoral Development Organization (DADO) and SORUDA are currently implementing a three-year project titled “Inclusive Market Based Development for Small Holder farmers in Northern Uganda. This project contributes to the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) – A Government of Uganda program aimed at consolidating stability in Northern Uganda, eradicating poverty and under nutrition and strengthening the foundations for sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development. Specifically, the project under the CARE consortium contributes to DINU’s specific Objective one on: ‘Improving livelihoods through increased production of diversified food, enhanced market opportunities and better maternal and child nutrition.’ The CARE consortium currently targets 11 districts including: Abim, Kotido, Karenga, Kaabong, Moroto, Amudat, Nakapiripirit, Napak, Katakwi and Kitgum. Given this background, the study sought to:
• Map out existing and new Agricultural and non-Agricultural value chains and assess their potential to promote women and youth economic empowerment, and community-based nutrition and household incomes.
• Identify challenges, specific entry barriers for women and youth into the VC and opportunities along the Value chains of; 1) crops such as Soybean, groundnuts, nutritious potato, vegetable, etc.); 2) Honey; and 3) livestock (small ruminants, and other non-Agricultural value chain) and propose ways of addressing these challenges.
• Develop an individual VCs, including mapping of actors, actions, supporting functions, institutions, policy issues, along each chain and propose recommendations for specific gender sensitive value chain activities that promote women and Youth participation and economic empowerment (employment opportunities as well as increasing their incomes along the chain).
• Assess the market structure (players, channels, sourcing), demand and supply (product specifications, prices, volumes, preferences), trends, market opportunities and challenges for the different value enterprises above Read More...
• Map out existing and new Agricultural and non-Agricultural value chains and assess their potential to promote women and youth economic empowerment, and community-based nutrition and household incomes.
• Identify challenges, specific entry barriers for women and youth into the VC and opportunities along the Value chains of; 1) crops such as Soybean, groundnuts, nutritious potato, vegetable, etc.); 2) Honey; and 3) livestock (small ruminants, and other non-Agricultural value chain) and propose ways of addressing these challenges.
• Develop an individual VCs, including mapping of actors, actions, supporting functions, institutions, policy issues, along each chain and propose recommendations for specific gender sensitive value chain activities that promote women and Youth participation and economic empowerment (employment opportunities as well as increasing their incomes along the chain).
• Assess the market structure (players, channels, sourcing), demand and supply (product specifications, prices, volumes, preferences), trends, market opportunities and challenges for the different value enterprises above Read More...
Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) End of Project Report
The Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) was a 38-month project implemented between January 2020 and February 2023, with an aim to improve food security, maternal and child nutrition, and household incomes for smallholder farmers in 11 districts of Kitgum, Katakwi, Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto, Napak, Nabilatuk, Nakapiriprit, Amudat, and Abim. The project was implemented by a consortium led by CARE Denmark, alongside partners such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Gulu Agricultural Development Company (GADC), Dynamic Agro-Pastoral Development Organization (DADO), and Soroti Rural Development Agency (SORUDA). The project had three major outcomes: increased production of diversified food by both men and women smallholder farmers, enhanced market accessibility for these farmers, and improved nutrition and Family Planning services through gender-responsive community-based approaches.
The Project employed an Inclusive Market Development-Based approach, emphasizing economic gender equality, women empowerment, youth engagement, and community-based nutrition, while also focusing on the value chain. This strategy involved multi-stakeholder engagement and synergizing with existing government and development partner initiatives like DADO, CRS, and SORUDA. By implementing this approach, the project provided smallholder farmers with opportunities to enhance their incomes through the cultivation of high-value crops, such as sesame, cotton, soybean, and iron-rich beans. Additionally, measures were taken to ensure sustainability, including integrating activities into the government's PDM approach, building capacity among extension staff, and linking VSLA/SILC/YSLA/PMGs groups to financial institutions and agro input service providers.
A crucial aspect of the project was empowering women and youth, often marginalized in agriculture and rural development. Women were trained in Climate-Smart Agriculture and offered access to markets and finance through VSLA/SILC groups. Furthermore, Role Model Men were involved in raising awareness on gender-responsive actions, family planning, and women empowerment within smallholder farmers' households, fostering attitudinal changes towards gender equality and encouraging women to play an active role in agricultural production.
To achieve success, the project effectively engaged both public and private extension workers, disseminating information on Climate-Smart Agriculture practices to smallholder farmers and boosting production and income. Additionally, collaboration with Tillage Service Providers promoted entrepreneurship among youth and reduced manual labor burdens for smallholder farmers.
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The Project employed an Inclusive Market Development-Based approach, emphasizing economic gender equality, women empowerment, youth engagement, and community-based nutrition, while also focusing on the value chain. This strategy involved multi-stakeholder engagement and synergizing with existing government and development partner initiatives like DADO, CRS, and SORUDA. By implementing this approach, the project provided smallholder farmers with opportunities to enhance their incomes through the cultivation of high-value crops, such as sesame, cotton, soybean, and iron-rich beans. Additionally, measures were taken to ensure sustainability, including integrating activities into the government's PDM approach, building capacity among extension staff, and linking VSLA/SILC/YSLA/PMGs groups to financial institutions and agro input service providers.
A crucial aspect of the project was empowering women and youth, often marginalized in agriculture and rural development. Women were trained in Climate-Smart Agriculture and offered access to markets and finance through VSLA/SILC groups. Furthermore, Role Model Men were involved in raising awareness on gender-responsive actions, family planning, and women empowerment within smallholder farmers' households, fostering attitudinal changes towards gender equality and encouraging women to play an active role in agricultural production.
To achieve success, the project effectively engaged both public and private extension workers, disseminating information on Climate-Smart Agriculture practices to smallholder farmers and boosting production and income. Additionally, collaboration with Tillage Service Providers promoted entrepreneurship among youth and reduced manual labor burdens for smallholder farmers.
Read More...
GAP ANALYSIS AND LINKAGE READINESS ASSESSMENT FOR YOUTH/VILLAGE SAVINGS AND LOANS ASSOCIATIONS (Y/VSLAs)
The Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU), a Government of Uganda initiative with support from European Union, supervised by the Office of the Prime Minister is being implemented by a consortium led by CARE Denmark. The program is being implemented in the Karamoja sub region (covering 11 districts) as well as Kitgum and Katakwi districts. CARE Denmark commissioned gap analysis for Y/VSLA linkage to identify interventions aimed at contributing to improved access to credit through community saving and credit schemes.
The objectives of the study included gap analysis of Y/VSLAs, linkage readiness assessment for mature Y/VSLAs and evaluation “digital readiness” of group members. A representative sample of 773 Y/VSLAs from drawn from all the project districts were covered the study. The sample was classified in three categories: Mature groups totalling 350 (45.3%) Mature and ready for Linkage groups, 390 (50.5%) and Watch Category/Maturing groups and 33 (4.3%)
The analysis revealed that the gaps identified in Mature and Ready-for-linkage Y/VSLAs were closely similar to those in Watch Category (Maturing Groups) category and required more or less similar interventions.
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The objectives of the study included gap analysis of Y/VSLAs, linkage readiness assessment for mature Y/VSLAs and evaluation “digital readiness” of group members. A representative sample of 773 Y/VSLAs from drawn from all the project districts were covered the study. The sample was classified in three categories: Mature groups totalling 350 (45.3%) Mature and ready for Linkage groups, 390 (50.5%) and Watch Category/Maturing groups and 33 (4.3%)
The analysis revealed that the gaps identified in Mature and Ready-for-linkage Y/VSLAs were closely similar to those in Watch Category (Maturing Groups) category and required more or less similar interventions.
Read More...
Building Resilience of the Urban Poor Baseline Report
CARE Bangladesh, with the support from C&A Foundation, has been implementing a project titled ‘Building Resilience of the Urban Poor (BRUP)’ through CARE’s partner organization- Village Education Resource Center (VERC) in two wards (Tongi and Konabari) of Gazipur City Corporation. The overall goal of the project is to achieve enhanced resilience of targeted urban communities and targeted institutions to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from shocks and stresses. NIRAPAD (Network for Information, Response And Preparedness Activities on Disaster) has been commissioned to conduct the baseline study and to develop a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework for the project. This report describes the current situation of the project area in Gazipur as well as presents a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework based on the finding of the study. Read More...
Chomoka Savings Group Member Insights
Results from rapid surveys with 269 Chomoka members who use the Chomoka savings app to manage their group savings and record keeping from the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA). Some key results are:
* 35% said their quality of life was "very much improved"
* 30% spoke of investing in an existing business, and 16% investing in a new business.
* 36% said crop revenue very much increased, and 35% said crop production very much increased. Read More...
* 35% said their quality of life was "very much improved"
* 30% spoke of investing in an existing business, and 16% investing in a new business.
* 36% said crop revenue very much increased, and 35% said crop production very much increased. Read More...
Farmer Field Business Schools and Village Savings and Loan Associations for promoting climate-smart agriculture practices: Evidence from rural Tanzania
A quasi-experimental data collection was used in Iringa Tanzania to investigate the impact of a community based approach to promote the adoption of climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices. Based on two community-based organizations, Farmer Field Business Schools (FFBS) and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), this approach combines interventions on farmer training, access to microfinance, and women’s empowerment in agriculture to introduce and enhance the adoption of the practices. We find a positive effect of the interventions on the adoption rates of CSA practices, including mulching, manure composting, crop rotation and rhizobium inoculation, and soybean production. This effect was more pronounced for farmers that participated in the trainings provided by the FFBSs and members of VSLAs. Farming households scoring high in terms of women’s empowerment are also more likely to adopt the introduced practices when compared to those scoring low. Soybean production results increased soybean sales and consumption, showing the contribution of the interventions to the incomes and nutrition levels of the farmers. These results show that FFBS and VSLA serve as promising community based platforms to introduce interventions on farmers training, microfinance, women’s empowerment to upscale the adoption of CSA practices. Read More...
Technologically Enhanced Agricultural Livelihoods (TEAL)
interviews, focus groups discussion with community women and men and relevant project stakeholders, and reflection with project team and partner. (2) Secondary sources included data from the desk review with the relevant project documents such as project reports, project MEL data, local reports, relevant policy and statistical data from the baseline study and MTR. The evaluation report is structured in three parts. Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Findings (Demographic characteristics of the survey sample are showed in Section 2.1. Section 2.2 demonstrates the project outreach. Sections 2.3 to 2.8 give the evaluation criteria. PwD participation is covered in
sections 2.9 and sections 2.10 discusses how the Project contributes to preventing gender-based violence (GBV)); and Chapter 3: Conclusion and recommendation. The findings in the final evaluation report (are presented in Chapter 2) are summarized here:
● Project Outreach: The TEAL project has realized the plan in reaching out to the intended beneficiaries, in terms of numbers. At the endline, the number of direct beneficiaries is significantly higher than the target. The same goes for the number of indirect beneficiaries.
● Relevance: (i) The TEAL project complies fully with the approaches of CARE's WEE Framework; (ii) The approaches of the TEAL Project are consistent with the long-term orientations of Son La and Dien Bien and are considered a leverage to achieve the provincial economic development objectives; (iii) The Project is suitable for the needs of ethnic minorities and the needs of people with disabilities in many respects; and (iv) The TEAL project has found every creative solution to meet the needs of people with disabilities in the project.
● Coherence is assessed high when the project's intervention is not overlapped/duplicated with other similar interventions that takes place in the same location, target the same beneficiaries and aims for the same impacts. Project coherence is also considered high when it is implemented as a complemented to other interventions in terms of resources and approaches
● Effectiveness: Almost indicators are achieved, even some of them have exceeded the plan. However, there are still a few limitations, such as: the design of VSLA has not significantly contributed to the achievement of expected outcome 3 - EM women in the Arabica coffee value chain are financially included
● Impacts: The changes in women's agency are generated by contribution from TEAL intervention. The project also builds women's relationships with other actors in the specialty arabica coffee value chain by supporting a lead processing actor who is committed to inclusive business. An unexpected positive impact of the Project is to build a culture of enjoying local specialty coffee among the coffee-growers community. Another unexpected positive effect was noted. The TEAL Project has contributed to building a sustainable relationship between processing groups and leading coffee experts in Vietnam.
● Sustainability: (i) Both male and female project beneficiaries are highly available and committed to continue project's activities; (ii) At the end of project evaluation, two women-led processing groups (Ara-Tay Cooperative and CFCE) were able to understand the concept of fixed asset depreciation and formulate a plan on using profits estimated from business operations to replace existing equipment by purchasing new machinery at the end of the depreciation period; (iii) The large investment of the Project for Ara-Tay Cooperative and CFCE while the number of their satellites remains low indicates a risk of distribution of the project benefits in the long run if these two processors are not proactive in extending links to new satellite farmers; and (iv) The project has done a good job when introducing processing solutions that have less impact on the environment .
● Engagement of PwD: The stories shared by the participants in the final evaluation strongly illustrate PwD's engagement in the TEAL Project.
● Gender-based Violence: In recent times, it has been observed that the number of quarrels between husband and wife has been a lot decreased. Men are more aware that forbidding their wives to engage in social activities is also a type of violence. The Pearson's Chi-squared test shows that the correlation between participation in discussions about gender and gender inequality held by the TEAL Project and the change in social norm about domestic violence was statistically significant. Read More...
sections 2.9 and sections 2.10 discusses how the Project contributes to preventing gender-based violence (GBV)); and Chapter 3: Conclusion and recommendation. The findings in the final evaluation report (are presented in Chapter 2) are summarized here:
● Project Outreach: The TEAL project has realized the plan in reaching out to the intended beneficiaries, in terms of numbers. At the endline, the number of direct beneficiaries is significantly higher than the target. The same goes for the number of indirect beneficiaries.
● Relevance: (i) The TEAL project complies fully with the approaches of CARE's WEE Framework; (ii) The approaches of the TEAL Project are consistent with the long-term orientations of Son La and Dien Bien and are considered a leverage to achieve the provincial economic development objectives; (iii) The Project is suitable for the needs of ethnic minorities and the needs of people with disabilities in many respects; and (iv) The TEAL project has found every creative solution to meet the needs of people with disabilities in the project.
● Coherence is assessed high when the project's intervention is not overlapped/duplicated with other similar interventions that takes place in the same location, target the same beneficiaries and aims for the same impacts. Project coherence is also considered high when it is implemented as a complemented to other interventions in terms of resources and approaches
● Effectiveness: Almost indicators are achieved, even some of them have exceeded the plan. However, there are still a few limitations, such as: the design of VSLA has not significantly contributed to the achievement of expected outcome 3 - EM women in the Arabica coffee value chain are financially included
● Impacts: The changes in women's agency are generated by contribution from TEAL intervention. The project also builds women's relationships with other actors in the specialty arabica coffee value chain by supporting a lead processing actor who is committed to inclusive business. An unexpected positive impact of the Project is to build a culture of enjoying local specialty coffee among the coffee-growers community. Another unexpected positive effect was noted. The TEAL Project has contributed to building a sustainable relationship between processing groups and leading coffee experts in Vietnam.
● Sustainability: (i) Both male and female project beneficiaries are highly available and committed to continue project's activities; (ii) At the end of project evaluation, two women-led processing groups (Ara-Tay Cooperative and CFCE) were able to understand the concept of fixed asset depreciation and formulate a plan on using profits estimated from business operations to replace existing equipment by purchasing new machinery at the end of the depreciation period; (iii) The large investment of the Project for Ara-Tay Cooperative and CFCE while the number of their satellites remains low indicates a risk of distribution of the project benefits in the long run if these two processors are not proactive in extending links to new satellite farmers; and (iv) The project has done a good job when introducing processing solutions that have less impact on the environment .
● Engagement of PwD: The stories shared by the participants in the final evaluation strongly illustrate PwD's engagement in the TEAL Project.
● Gender-based Violence: In recent times, it has been observed that the number of quarrels between husband and wife has been a lot decreased. Men are more aware that forbidding their wives to engage in social activities is also a type of violence. The Pearson's Chi-squared test shows that the correlation between participation in discussions about gender and gender inequality held by the TEAL Project and the change in social norm about domestic violence was statistically significant. Read More...
KUKUA NI KUJIFUNZA (GROWING IS LEARNING) PROJECT
the knowledge and skills acquired by participating women farmers brought positive changes in their lives. About 72.5% and 61.87% of the female and male respondents respectively reported that the trainings were useful in their day to day lives while 27.5% and 37.35% respectively reported that the trainings were very useful. However, 0.78% of female respondents reported that the trainings were not useful. Enabling gender equality and empowering vulnerable and rural small-scale women farmers was an important aspect in the KnK project. Consequently, rural small-scale women farmers were the most targeted in the KnK project. Out of 341 respondents from 15 villages, 260 (76.2%) were female, and 81 (23.8%) were male. People with disabilities were 101 (2.6%) out of the 3,825 direct participants of the KnK project.
Participants in the KnK project were given an opportunity to engage in soya production as one of the strategies to eradicate malnutrition. During the endline evaluation process, it was revealed that a high proportion of the KnK participants (99.2%) engaged in soya beans production. Before the KnK project, soya was not ranked as a food crop implying that farmers did not know its nutrition value, and that the crop was not considered as a reliable source of household income. The endline evaluation revealed that farmers realized the value of soya crop production, in terms of nutrition value and source of income. The mode of operandi of the KnK project laid a solid foundation that could make it sustain for years to come. The legacy of the project in terms of knowledge and skills acquired by participants, as well as the positive changes in their lives, may encourage them to sustain
activities implemented during the project. In fact, there is cause for participants to continue to engage in economic and social activities implemented by the KnK project. The KnK project had good institutional arrangements in place, and this made it easier to coordinate the project activities. Strong partnership with other stakeholders contributed significantly to overall performance of the project. Read More...
Participants in the KnK project were given an opportunity to engage in soya production as one of the strategies to eradicate malnutrition. During the endline evaluation process, it was revealed that a high proportion of the KnK participants (99.2%) engaged in soya beans production. Before the KnK project, soya was not ranked as a food crop implying that farmers did not know its nutrition value, and that the crop was not considered as a reliable source of household income. The endline evaluation revealed that farmers realized the value of soya crop production, in terms of nutrition value and source of income. The mode of operandi of the KnK project laid a solid foundation that could make it sustain for years to come. The legacy of the project in terms of knowledge and skills acquired by participants, as well as the positive changes in their lives, may encourage them to sustain
activities implemented during the project. In fact, there is cause for participants to continue to engage in economic and social activities implemented by the KnK project. The KnK project had good institutional arrangements in place, and this made it easier to coordinate the project activities. Strong partnership with other stakeholders contributed significantly to overall performance of the project. Read More...
Rapport d’évaluation rapide du marché dans le cadre des opérations de transferts sociaux (Intrants agricoles et produits enrichis)
Ce rapport rend compte des résultats de l’étude d’évaluation rapide du marché réalisée dans les cercles d’intervention (Mopti et Tombouctou) de Sugu Yiriwa. Initiée dans le cadre des opérations de transferts sociaux destinés à l’achat des intrants agricoles et des produits locaux nutritifs, l’étude a pour but de faire un diagnostic rapide des marchés d’intrants et des produits alimentaires transformés, en vue d’identifier les tendances et dégager une stratégie d’intervention adaptée. Les travaux ont été réalisés par une équipe constituée d’agents recrutés, mobilisés et formés sous la supervision de l’équipe MEL de Sugu Yiriwa. Le rapport est structuré en plusieurs parties dont le contexte, les objectifs et l’approche méthodologique utilisée lors de l’étude, suivi des résultats obtenus. Read More...