IICD and Ugandan Government to Expand Information System for Rural Farmers
Dec 03 2009, Uganda [UG], Livelihood opportunities
- Source:
- Marc Lepage [mlepage(at)iicd.org]
- Country:
- Uganda [UG]
- Sector:
- Livelihood opportunities
IICD and the Ugandan government have signed an agreement to expand a programme that helps rural farmers increase their income through ICT-enabled crop marketing services. The Rural Information System (RIS) programme enables farmers to send and receive production and market information through 26 information centres in isolated areas throughout the country. The information helps farmers sell their produce at better prices. The Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry (MTTI) will build ten new centres.
The programme has been piloted through a collaboration between the Uganda Commodity Exchange (UCE), MTTI, IICD and Dutch NGO SNV since 2002. This expansion is made possible through funding from MTTI, the existing RIS Centres, Close the Gap and other funds in Uganda.
The new phase in the programme will begin in early 2010. The involvement of MTTI significantly improves the sustainability of the RIS programme. Together with UCE, MTTI will drive the programme and work with existing farmer cooperatives to set up new centres. IICD will act as project advisor, sharing its experience in rolling out the existing centres and its expertise in monitoring and evaluation.