Replication of Rural Information Support with SNV - Uganda

The Rural Information System (RIS) project started in 2003. Together with the Uganda Commodity Exchange (UCE), RIS aim is to enable rural farmers to increase their income. The project is about enabling subsistence farmers to adapt a more commercial trading approach which seems deemed necessary in a country with a population growth of about 6% and an increase in agricultural production of about 3.5%.

This replication phase with SNV aims at establishing new RIS centres with organisations that will allow farmers to use the following services:

1.      The services of a warehouse system (supported by the EU) which, once fully setup, will enable farmers to store their commodities, to transport their commodities to the market of their choice and to sell their commodities whenever they want.

2.      The services of a crop marketing bureau: Farmers are able to send and receive timely, accurate and adequate market information on markets for their produce thus enabling them to market their products at good prices.

The profits of the centres go partly (to recover for investment costs) into a revolving fund to establish new centres.

Following the implementation of RIS with UCE, SNV invited IICD and UCE to join a large RIS replication project.

Read more about IICD’s Uganda Country Programme.

3 centres established in 2007: Kitgum, Kapchorwa, Kasese

6 centres established in 2008: Nebbi, Adjumani, Kasese, Mbale, Kapchorwa, Luwero 

9 centres established in 2009: Soroti, Bukedea, Kapchorwa, Kamwenge (x2), Bundibugyo, Moyo, Kitgum, Kasese

Phase 1 (from Aug 2007): 3 centres

Phase 2 (from Feb 2008): 7 centres

Phase 3 (from Aug 2008): 15 centres

Phase 4 (from 2008): 20 centres 

Several RIS centres established, but impact at the farmer's level has yet to be ascertained.

Read more about IICD’s approach towards Livelihoods.

• Farmer groups will only fully make use of and benefit of the project, once they also have access to the WRS. Therefore, this should become a criteria of selection for new farmer groups.

The project owner, the Uganda Commodity Exchange (UCE), has faced challenges with its core Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) project. The RIS centres are ways of increasing access to the WRS.