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EDITION 04 April 10 TheSPRING Quarterlyis published by SPRING, a USAID-funded project.
Collective Marketing Program(continued from page 1)
From Friday 28 to Saturday 29 Janu-ary 2010, Ker Kwaro Acholi orga-
nized a two day workshop at the
Royal Palace to establish and docu-
ment Acholi traditional laws on cooperative
farming and alternative dispute resolution.
It aimed at creating the tools necessary to
strengthen SPRING Farmer Groups com-
mitment to cooperation and nonviolent
dispute resolution through the assistance of
Acholi traditional leaders. The participants
provided content for the development oftraining materials and Acholi cultural by-
laws on cooperative farming. The workshop
was attended by selected traditional lead-
ers (Rwodi), elders and community leaders.
These individuals were chosen based on
their enthusiasm, level of traditional knowl-
edge, community leadership and the will and
skills to educate others. The issues shared
and discussed included types of traditional
farming practices, farmer group governance
and structures, land demarcation and non-
violent dispute resolution. The group ac-
knowledged that the documentation will
revitalize the rich Acholi customs that were
eroded by the prolonged armed conict.
The materials and by-laws have been nal-
ized and were recently shared at a work-
shop with traditional leaders who will be
responsible for disseminating the traditional
farming practices to selected SPRING farm-
er groups. A select group of Ker Kwaro
chiefs will also be responsible for providing
necessary groups strengthening and conict
resolution support on an ad hoc basis. This
integrated and conict sensitive support
provided by KKA comes at a critical time
when SPRING is in the process of institu-
tionalizing its 35 collective marketing groups
(representing 276 farmer groups and 8,000
farmers) and ensuring effective management
of their newly established marketing cen-
ters. By reinvigorating cultural leadership
and dispute resolution practices, SPRING is
ensuring the long term sustainability of its
commercial farming groups.
A copy of Traditional By Laws on
Co-op Farming book, can be accessed at
http://www.springuganda.com/publications
major outcomes has been the
establishment of 35 collective
marketing committees (CMCs)
comprised of 5 to 20 SPRING
farmer groups (150 600
farmers). SPRING CMCs began
operating in early 2010 after
the completion and handover
of 30 marketing centers. Each
marketing center is equipped
with a warehouse (65 - 250
metric tons of storage capacity)
and agro-processing facilities
(milling, hulling and shelling
equipment).
Over the last quarter SPRINGsCMC Program achieved the fol-
lowing impressive results:
139,358 kg of produce
bulked and sold for a total
value of $136,545 (273,040,040
UGX);
$2,641 (282,050 UGX)
generated from agro-processing
activities.; and,
31,975 kg of produce bulked,
stored and ready for sale.
The nal phase of SPRINGs
economic security program will
aim to sustain and increase the
operational performance of its
CMCs through a mix of techni-
cal trainings, study tour visits
and value chain linkage facilita-
tion so that economic ben-
ets are spread widely among
SPRINGs network of farmer
groups. With many develop-
ment partners now launching
similar collective marketingprograms, SPRING is delivering
on its mandate to develop and
scale-up innovative stabilization
interventions.
SPRING and Ker Kwaro Acholi
Help Farmers Get Back to the
Roots of Cooperative Farming
Rwodi, Elders, communityleaders and KKA team posed for
a picture during the workshop.
You look at that warehouse
there. My mother contributed making
bricks for the construction of that
warehouse. And now my family is
opening up the rice gardens whose
harvest we shall store in that
warehouse, because it belongs to us
- Child in Pabbo Sub-county, Amuru
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EDITION 04 April 10 TheSPRING Quarterlyis published by SPRING, a USAID-funded project.
During the last week of
February SPRING and
its implementing partner
Kitgum Women Bee-
keepers Association (KITWOBEE)
organized an exposure visit for 37
KITWOBEE members. The visit aimed
at enhancing members apiary manage-
ment skills through knowledge sharing
and showcasing model beekeepers
farms. Beneciaries received training
on apiary management topics such as
the placement of hives, honey harvest-
ing and quality control methods. They
were also left with the understanding
that they were responsible for sharing
this information with their neighbors
who are also beekeepers.In order to promote information shar-
ing, a KITWOBEE member, Ocan Cae-
ser, was recognized for his leadership
and enthusiasm for sharing beekeeping
skills with others in his community.
Mr. Ceaser was presented with a new
bicycle to allow him to better monitor
activities in his sub-county. Now I can
check on the beekeepers in Agoro-Min (an
area of his sub-county 4 kilometers from
his home)! Once given the knowledge,
startup tools and the ability to see his
potential Ocan has now become an
excellent example of what a beekeeper
can be; an example that his family,
friends and neighbors wont just see
from a distance, but will no doubt hear.
The SPRING-KITWOBEE project is
also training local artisans in modern
hive production as well as produc-
ing several radio talk shows on theeconomic potential of beekeeping in
collaboration with district ofcials, bee
keeping support staff, KITWOBEE and
AVSI staff.
Kitwobee was also able to par-
ticipate in another valuable exchange
visit when it was represented at the
Apimoda Congress last September in
Montpelier France by its project ofcer,
Ocola Simon. The conference provided
an opportunity to share experiences
with beekeepers from many different
countries and to learn about other bee
keeping projects and their impact on
environmental conservation.
To date the SPRING/Kitwobee project
has produced 1,675 kg (5,024,250
UGX) of raw honey of which 697 kg
has been processed and sold for a total
value of 5,576,000 UGX to supermar-
kets and hotels in and around Kitgumtown across its 160 members.
SPRING and KITWOBEEOrganize Beekeeper Study Tour
Left; KITWOBEE Member Ob-
serves Kenyan manufactured Top
Bar hives while a US Peace Corps
Volunteer and a KITWOBEE mem-
ber observe a traditional log hive.
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EDITION 04 April 10 TheSPRING Quarterlyis published by SPRING, a USAID-funded project.
On 5 March, SPRING, held
a grants signing eventfor 23 CBOs across the
Acholi Sub-region. Or-
ganised under the Gulu District NGO
Forum, the CBOs will implement mi-
cro stability projects worth US$75,000,
covering activities in SPRINGs corecomponents of peace building and
economic security.
The grants will enhance the de-
velopment of local community-
based initiatives, promote peace
and reconciliation at the parishlevels and improve standards of
living through income gener-
ating activities. The projects
are supporting a wide range
of grassroots initiatives such as: crop
production, animal traction, livestockrearing, irrigation and grain milling,
music, dance and drama, community
dialogues and debates, radio shows and
sporting events.
The Gulu District NGO Forum will
strengthen the CBOs in proposal
development, nancial management,
and general project implementation, as
well as provide continuous technical
support and monitoring. The project isalso strengthening partnerships among
SPRING Micro-Stability and Stability
Fund implementing partners.
On Friday 12 March 2010,
Lira District Farmers As-
sociation (LIDFA) ofcially
commissioned a storage facility and
rice mill for 300 farmers in Adwari
sub-county. The marketing center is
part of SPRINGsCommercializationof Rice And Groundnuts Production
In Okwang, Adwari And Orum Sub
Counties, Lira Districtproject that
is promoting economic stabil-
ity through group marketing and
value addition of rice and ground-
nuts. The aim is to increase family
incomes by 45% by 2010.
Olet Donald the LC 5 Chairperson,
Otuke District, addressed the farm-
ers, by saying,This is your property.Maintain and use it for the benet
of all farmers. He also said that
lack of transparency causes many
farmer organizations to fail. He
encouraged them to remain
united and accountable in all you
do, and the district will nd ways to
support you.
Group presentations and music kept
the day lively as participants lled
the room where demonstrations
were made on how to operate the
two rice mills. The marketing center,
which houses bulking and process-
ing operations, has a storage space of
262 tons and a processing capacity of
1.5 tons/hour of rice. The center is
equipped with pallets, weighing scales,
record books and ofce furniture. The
warehouse will be hired out when not
in use by the farmers. Similar centers
were recently commissioned in Orum
and Okwang sub-counties. SPRING and
LIDFA will be working with the col-lective marketing groups over the life
of the project to link to national and
regional markets and ensure proper
management and usage of the facilities.
Lira District Farmers Association (LIDFA)Marketing Center Ofcially Open for Business
SPRING and Gulu District NGO ForumSign Micro Stability Grants with 23 CBOs
LC V of Otuke receivingthe keys to ofciallycommission the warehouse.
LIDFA farmers test run therice milling equipment.
Representatives of the
CBOs signing the
grant agreements.
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EDITION 04 April 10 TheSPRING Quarterlyis published by SPRING, a USAID-funded project.
On Saturday 27 February,
Concerned Parents As-
sociation (CPA), through
the SPRING supported,
Fortifying Families in Recovery Stabil-
ity Fund project, organized a Peace Day
in Okwang sub county, Lira District, to
raise community awareness and buildconsensus about solutions to the physi-
cal, social, and psychological impacts of
war that have the potential to destabilize
peace in the settling communities. The
theme of the event was Peace building is
our social responsibility. It brought to-
gether four groups of parents, two youth
groups, and two childrens groups, each
of which prepared and presented
activities focusing on various peaceissues in the community, portraying
the best solutions to conict. This
was done through dialogue, music,
dance, and drama. The event ended
with a football match between
parents and youths.
The chief guest, Okwang LC3
Chairperson, asked the com-
munity to use the existing peace
to increase production and send
children to school. The time for handouts
is gone. Each family should work hard to
produce enough for consumption and sale
so that all our children are in school, the
chairperson said.
The Fortifying Families in Recovery
Project is a 10 month initiative that will
strengthen families in four sub counties
in Lira & Oyam Districts to resettle in
their homes and rebuild their lives by
addressing their immediate and longterm needs through supporting interven-
tions that target 1) economic security, 2)
peace building, and 3) early child care ac-
tivities. The project exemplies SPRINGs
integrated model to stability by utilizing
a holistic approach to support CPAs Par-
ents Support Groups and Youth Groups.
Parents and Youth JoinTogether to PromoteCommunity Peacebuilding
CPA Youth Group performing atraditional dance to depict the
need for peace in the community
SPRING Staff Profile
Sebi Ali is a Lira Office
Focal Person
Professional Expertise:Community development work/ Social admin-
istration
Education:BA Social Work and Social Administration
[SWASA] -Makerere University, Uganda
Work Experience:Assistant Program Manager, AVSI- January 2009-
2010-SPRING Project
Assistant Program Manager, AVSI 2007 2008
-Livelihoods, Education and Protection (LEAP)
to end child labour in Uganda funded by US
Department of Labour (US DOL)
Assistant Program Manager, AVSI 2005 2007-
Community Resilience and Dialogue (CRD)
funded by USAID
Program Coordinator, AVSI- 2003- 2004- Psy-
chosocial program
Community training coordinator, AVSI -2000-
2002-Psychosocial program
District Coordinator, Islamic Medical Association
of Uganda-1996-1999, HIV/AIDS Project
Program Ofcer, Agency for Cooperation and
Research in Development (ACORD)-1987-1995
Home:Nebbi/ Jonam/Pakwach sub county/Panyigoro
clan
Hobby: Watching footballThe SPRING project is timely in addressing landconict as people in Lango and Acholi sub regions return
home and information SPRING provides on land has
made people aware and empowered about land tenure and
ownership.
Sebi Ali is the Lira Ofce Focal Person and the
Assistant Programs Manager working with AVSI
in the SPRING project. He manages several
projects out of SPRINGs Lira Ofce. With
support supervision from Sebi Ali, LIDFA
has realized a great change in the livelihood of
farmers supported under theCommercializationof rice and groundnuts production in Okwang, Adwari
and Orum sub counties Lira districtproject and isanticipating the same success with the Fortfying
Families in Recoveryproject. Fortifying Families in
Recovery project.
As part of its mandateto provide USAID with
regular briengs on conict
risks, dynamics and trends,
SPRING and its partner the Great Lakes
Centre for Conict Resolution (GLA-
CCR) conducted a conict assessment
that collated the opinions of 200 partici-
pants across SPRINGs six districts using
the USG Inter-Agency Conict Frame-
work (ICAF). The report also provides
a Peace and Human Security Forecast
based on the windows of vulnerabil-
ity and opportunities as identied by
participants.
For a copy of the report please contact
SPRINGs Peace andJustice Program Director,
Jessica Huber,
SPRING Releases NewConflict Briefing Report
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EDITION 04 April 10 TheSPRING Quarterlyis published by SPRING, a USAID-funded project.
Notes from the Field
Head Office: Plot 1GA Samuel Doe RoadP.O.Box 36 Gulu, UGANDA Tel: +256 (0) 471 433506,Website: www.springuganda.com Email: [email protected]
Date of Establishment: 1996
Location:
Lira Municipal Council(Head ofcer)
Coverage:
Lira District (Okwang and Adwari subcon-ties) and Oyam District(Otwal and Minakulu sub counties)
Number of Staff:
30(Lira and Oyam)
SPRING Project:
Fortifying Families in Recovery (FFIR)
Project Highlight:
Fortifying Families In Recovery (FFIR),a 10 month project, strengthens families infour sub counties in Lira & Oyam districtsto resettle in their homes and rebuild theirlives by addressing their immediate andlong term needs through supportinginterventions to improve their economic
security, peace building and leadership skills.Support is also extended to strengthenthe capacities of families to support earlychild care and development. Actions takenemploy an integrated and holistic approachtargeting Parents Support Groups (PSGs)and Youth Groups (YGs).
Lira Ofce focal person:
Sebi Ali Ubanjagiu,[email protected]
During the second half of2009, SPRING and its part-ners established 35 Collec-tive Marketing Committees
(CMCs) that currently manage marketingcenters equipped with warehouses and
processing equipment. The major role ofthe CMCs is to supervise the marketingprocess of farmers produce. Members ofthe CMCs were elected by farmers fromSPRING supported farmer groups andare now in the process of developing selfsustainable businesses.
As mentioned in the lead article, CMCshave achieved early success realizingprots from bulked sales and agro-pro-cessing activities as well as mobilizing
local resources to purchase small scalemarketing center equipment (pallets,
weighing scales, furniture and recordkeeping books). This success, however,has not come without hurdles. TheCMCs have registered challenges, whichthey are currently working to overcome.During a SPRING supported radio talkshow on Mega Fm in Gulu, CMC leadersfrom Lango and Acholi regions men-tioned some of their challenges:
Some committee members are still not
sure of their roles, farmers are hesitant to
bulk their produce in the warehouses for
fear that a market may not be found in time
and the biggest challenge we are facing is
that of dishonesty from the farmers who
took seed loans. They will not admit how
much they got from their yields for fear that
it will all be taken away to clear their loans,
Opobbo Isaac, a CMC leader from Atiak.
SPRING is working closely with itsCMCs to ensure they can overcomecurrent challenges. Two of the capacitybuilding areas SPRING and its partners
are emphasizing are development ofgroup constitutions and managementplans and transparent record keeping.
There are policies that guide the operation
of the groups. Under these policies, honesty
is emphasized. If farmers are not honest to
clients, they lose out on the market of their
produce. So we dont encourage cheating
and corruption.Bosco Ogwang-LIDFAField Coordinator in Otuke District
The issue of cheating clients has not beenrecorded in any SPRING Marketing Center.
All produce milled from SPRING Warehouses
are branded with their weights written on
them. Before a client walks out with any
branded produce, it is weighed again to
make sure amounts are evenly recorded.- Peace Gloria Kica Ber Field Coordi-nator in Attiak.
SPRINGs CMC capacity buildingprogram will aim to address these andother institutional challenges through-
out the year so that economic benets
are enjoyed by a large number of CMC
members.
Date of Establishment: 1998
Location: Plot 3A Ayer road LiraMunicipality
Coverage: LIRA (Otuke) District:Adwari, Orum and Okwang Sub Counties
Number of Staff: 10
SPRING Project: Commercialization ofrice and groundnuts production in Okwang,Adwari and Orum sub counties Lira district(now Otuke district)
Project Highlight: The project focuses
on commercialization of rice and groundnutsproduction in Okwang, Adwari and Orum
sub counties. The overall goal of the projectis to increase household incomes by 45% bythe year 2010 and to promote peace and
reconciliation amongst beneciaries through
strengthening democratic and transparentfarmer groups and promoting cooperationacross villages, parishes and Sub Counties.The project objectives are: 1) 30 functionaland democratic farmer groups Strengthenedby the year 2010. 2) Promote value additionof rice and groundnuts to tap the increas-ing demand and reap additional prots. 3)
Effective marketing channels for rice andgroundnuts developed by the year 2010
SPRING, Lira ofce focal person:
Sebi Ali Ubanjagiu [email protected]
SPRING IP Prole
LIRA DISTRICT FARMERSASSOCIATION (LIDFA)
SPRING Implementing Team;
Cardno Emerging Markets, AVSI and STF
CMC Challenges Poor Communication Between Leaders
and Members Bad Experiences with Previous Collective
Marketing Systems. Lack of Trust. Weak Leadership Access to Reliable Market Information Transport to Marketing Centers
SPRING IP PROFILE - CPACONCERNED PARENTSASSOCIATION (CPA)
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