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| Research Planning and Management |
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NIDA is a recognised leader in Uganda and East Africa in the area of private sector research management and implementation. NIDA was previuosly contracted by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom Government to coordinate its agriculture and natural resources research portfolio in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for four years ending in March 2005. As such NIDA hosted the DFID Regional Natural Resources Research and Development Coordination office in East Africa for that period. The scope of work it undertook on this contract can be viewed on its website www.nida.or.ug
Agricultural Extension Planning
Agricultural extension paradigms are continuously shifting. Currently the major driving force behind these shifts is the need to increase effectiveness of agricultural advisory services by enhancing client ownership. The cornerstones of this complex process are now recognised to be social mobilisation, which includes the development of local organisations, action planning, and experiential learning. Innovation is therefore a result of social negotiation backed-up by effective institutions and communication. Extension interventions are therefore geared towards strengthening mechanisms for collaborative learning and sharing of experiences. NIDA Associates are involved at the international level in the dialogue on the mechanisms and processes on how extension interventions can best be achieved. Together with its international Associates, NIDA is involved in the roll-out of the National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAADS) Programme in Uganda. In particular, NIDA has conducted capacity building for demanding advisory services for farmers, service providers and local leaders in NAADS pilot districts.
Institutional Reform
The leading edge to structural adjustment programmes in African countries is the reform of institutions to move away from the traditional shaping of institutions guided by organisational theory to a deeper underpinning of institutions as being a compound of organs and “rules of the game� that put life into them. NIDA provided the institutional reform consultant for the (Uganda) Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture. The work included an assessment of the institutions in the agricultural sector and formulation of recommendations for the strategy of reform and strengthening of the institutions. NIDA provided the Technical Consultant for the design of Uganda National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Programme. The work included a total and innovative institutional overhaul of the extension service in Uganda. The firm was also contracted to provide technical support in the review of the Arua District Development Plan. The work involved reviewing the district’s development situation, revisiting and revising the goal, vision and mission statements, developing sectoral strategies for achieving the district’s long-term development goals and developing departmental and sub-departmental detailed annual workplans, budgets and three-year action plans. NIDA is currently involved in the reform of the National Agricultural Research System in Uganda. |
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