AFIRD BROCHURE

The Agency for Integrated Rural Development (AFIRD) is an Indigenous NGO which was founded by a group of professionals in 1997 and registered as an NGO by the Ugandan Government in 1998.

AFIRD’s Vision
We envisage
A society which is free from hunger and diseases living in a peaceful and green environment

AFIRD’s Mission
We are:
A National NGO working with vulnerable communities and development partners. We aim at improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities through capacity building in sustainable natural resources management to increase household income.
Program Goals

· To increase farmer households income by 50% by 2014
Strategic Options:
1. Program area 1: Farm Production (Production & Environment)
2. Program Area 2: Market Access

PROGRAM PLAN
Program 1: Farm Production

A. Strategic Objective
· To increase farm production by 50%
B. Key Result Areas
1. Farmer’s capacity on agronomic and environmental practices built.
2. Farmer’s capacity on animal husbandry practices built.
3. Low cost post harvest technology practices promoted.
4. Producer farmer groups organized.
5. Promote labour saving agricultural technologies for people living with HIV-AIDS.
6. Appropriate and innovative technology developed with farmers and other stakeholders.

· Program 2: Market Access
A. Strategic Objective

· To increase farmers access to market

B. Key Result Areas

1. Market information disseminated.
2. Farmer groups organized for collective marketing.
3. Value addition practices/technology promoted.
4. Lobbying and advocacy workshops organized to influence policy on market access

Achievements

With support from MISEREO of Germany we are implementing a project in Wakiso District were we support two categories of farmers towards diversification of production and collective marketing of produce (2008-2011). This is aimed at improving food security and household income. This project has benefited 816 farmers organized into 38 groups.

Prior to the above project and again with support from MISEREO we supported farmers towards sustainable crop and animal husbandry projects. This project benefited 662 farmers in 19 farmer groups (2005-2008).

With collaboration from a Ugandan NGO; Environmental Alert, we gave out 8 in-calf heifers which have benefited directly 28 farmers in 8 farmer groups.

With support from Seeds for Africa; a UK Charitable organization we have supported the Government prison of Kitalya with 100 grafted tree seedlings and vegetable seeds together with training and extension. These have improved the nutrition of Prisoners; one of the disadvantaged communities in Uganda. Support from seeds for Africa has also benefited 5 primary schools by providing grafted fruit trees and vegetable seeds.

We have also collaborated with the Government of Uganda under the NAADS programme where we have participated in the strengthening of farmer groups in four sub-counties of Wakiso District.

We also support other development partners in Uganda. Among those are Grassland Foundation and the Kotido catholic Diocese that have benefited from our capacity building exercises.

We are members of the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), DENNIVA, The NGO forum and the National Organic Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU).

We offer consultancies on:
· Strategic Planning
· Monitoring and Evaluation
· Crop and Animal Husbandry
· Organic Agriculture and Market development
· Climate change and the Environment

Contacts:
P.O Box 27193 Kampala
Tel: 0414-374851
Email: afirdug@gmail.com

AFIRD INVITES SPRINGS ALIVE (SPA) TO THEIR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

In Kakiri Town Council,Wakiso District, the area where SPA Headquarters are located, apart from Development Partners like Kakiri Town Council(KTC) and Wakiso District Administration(WDA),which of course become partners with Civil Society Organizations(CSO’s) in the Development Process given the fact that they are the Governing arm of this area and thus ought to be supportive to CSO’s work, for example through getting to know how to network with CSO’s in this area etc,at Springs Alive (SPA) we have come to know that we could actually have organizations like AFIRD as Development Partners among CSO’s and that we can devise a better product to deliver to our communities mainly in Kakiri.

When asked that how comes you came up with such a decision to do good SPA, to attend AFIRD’s 5 year Strategic Planning Process, Julius Musiimenta one of AFIRD coordinators said that this would enable us build capacity, let alone networking. Julius and Sajjabi Salongo (another AFIRD coordinator) must have got an indication that their operations with SPA should stir AFIRD toward building capacity, better networking and deliver a better product to our communities, which actually came out as the main aim targeted in the strategic planning conference.

SPA barely had ever got such exposure, given that after an Organisation has been in Operation for some years say 5 or 10 and more, may need change of direction by virtue of the fact that communities we are operating in as CSO’s do change shape often, hence their problems are subject to change. These problems need to be identified and search out their root causes and effects in order to generate means and ways of how to make it better,however as long as an organisation is operational be it operationing from scratch,it has need for a strategic plan.This we have learnt from this conference.

The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) http://www.iirr.org facilitated the conference with facilitators like Dr.Kennedy N.Igbokwe (the Country Director IIRR, Dr.Angelita P. Canene (their senior programme officer) and Nakawuma Virgie of Kampala International Hospital (the wife of Dr.Kennedy N.Igbokwe).

During the conference we took some photos……..

At SPA we have come to know that part of what we are engaged in needs to undergo such strategic planning process although there is need to take it on with partners willing to be part of this process and see that the issues being brought up are addressed.

An example in this case is when SPA was approached by Mayors for peace.an International organisation of mayors based in Japan.SPA is the Civil society advisors, (with an African perspective) to Mayors for Peace(an organisation of over 2,000 cities world-wide).SPA was asked to come up with a business Plan addressing issues of Africa,given that Mayors for Peace addresses mainly issues to do with nuclear disarmament of the developed world,which may not necessarily be priority issue to address in Africa,at SPA we did not take this serious then but this conference with AFIRD has been an wakening call to resurrect such ideas.