Background

ESAFF Uganda believes that the ability of the Government to implement responsive strategies for improved service delivery in the agriculture sector relies on sustainable financing, and accountability, as a prerequisite for prudent and adequate financing to the sector guided by the 2014 Malabo declaration of the 10% commitment by all the EAC member states and the Public Finance Management policy and Regulations of 2016.

Actions & Achievements

Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS): ESAFF Uganda since 2015 has built the capacity of small-scale farmers to take up their responsibility of active participation in budget policy development processes and demanding accountability on government expenditures for sound service delivery in the agriculture sector using the Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS). Over 36 PETS committees in more than 12 ESAFF Uganda membership districts have been instituted and empowered, each tracking 2-3 agriculture-related projects. Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys are being led by small-scale farmers on identified agriculture projects and end with organized advocacy meetings, which involve formally a total of 326 local government officials, farmers, and media in sharing about accountability and finding solutions to ensure practical access to sector services and ending corruption at the community level.

National CSO Budget Reviews: ESAFF Uganda every financial year interfaces with the Agro-industrialization program through the Sector Working Group (SWG) to develop program policy statements for program financing. ESAFF Uganda organizes budget listen in every June of the year for the farmers, analyzes and develops farmers’ positions on the same budget allocations from the national budget reading to inform farmers’ participation in the processes when the sector budget is drawn and submitted for review in January and March of every Financial Year, and this review is used to influence the Agriculture Sector Committee of Parliament. This has been informed by the government’s Malabo 2014 commitment of a 10% budget allocation from the national budget to the agriculture sector which was thought to spur the growth of 6% per year since 2015. Further, Annually, ESAFF Uganda mobilizes and supports small-scale farmers to actively participate in the Joint Agro Industrialization Programme Annual Review(JAPAR) engagements as it was done in the FY 2020/21 and FY2021/22.