Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa

Overview

Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is an initiative founded in 2006 through a partnership between the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. AGRA‘s is involved in 17 African countries with the aim of forming a food secure Africa by investing in agriculture.

AGRA programs look to improve both farm productivity and the resultant incomes for farmers while safeguarding the environment at the same time.

Within this, EPRC carried out the “Towards Uganda’s Fertiliser Policy, Regulations and Strategy” project. The project was approved by AGRA in November 2010 and was aimed at supporting improved crop productivity through increased use of fertilisers and Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) technologies in Uganda. This was based on the establishment of an enabling fertiliser policy environment.

Specifically, the project aimed to:

• Support the Ministry Of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) in the process of formulation and approval of the national fertiliser policy by the end of 2011;
• Support MAAIF in the process of finalisation and approval of the national fertiliser regulations by 2011;
• Support MAAIF in the process of finalisation and approval of the national fertiliser strategy by 2013; and
• Popularise the importance of fertiliser in agriculture production and the role of policy, regulations and strategy in promoting fertiliser use.

The following are the strategies that were proposed to implement the project:

• Public awareness/sensitization
•  Coordination
•  Collaboration
• Advocacy, and
• Capacity building of agro-chemicals inspectors

Objectives

The objectives of this project are two-fold:

• Develop National Fertiliser Strategy (NFS)
• Strengthen the capacity of agro-chemicals inspectors and analysts

The following activities were undertaken in the period under review:

• National Fertiliser Strategy (NSF) validation workshop by all stake holders: Imperial Royale Hotel Kampala
• Presentation on the National fertiliser strategy to the Chemicals Control Technical Committee (ACCTC)
• Presentation on the National fertiliser strategy to the Agricultural Chemical Board (ACB)
• First round presentation of the National fertiliser strategy to Top Policy Management of the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries
• Conducted Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for Agrochemical Inspectors and Analysis
• Second round presentation of National fertiliser strategy to Top Policy Management of the Ministry Of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries