Background Information:
Coffee contributes substantially to Uganda’s economy, with some 15% of Ugandans directly or indirectly employed in the sector. As the seventh-largest coffee producer in the world and the second-biggest in Africa, Uganda is a global leader, but much needs to be done to help the five million Ugandans employed in the industry become fully efficient producers and exporters. The Netherlands Trust Fund Phase II Project in Uganda (NTF II Uganda) aims to improve the effectiveness of umbrella institutions and farmer organisations to provide the required support services to the coffee sector and enhance its competitiveness in the EU market.
STRENGTHENING M&E CAPACITIES OF PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
Because trade support institutions (TSIs) must be able to effectively manage, monitor and evaluate projects, ITC will coach Uganda Export Promotion Bureau (UEPB) to review and update the Uganda Coffee Sector Strategy.UEPB will use the new skills to revise export strategies related to six priority sectors. ITC is also training and coaching three TSIs to establish effective monitoring and evaluation processes and enable them to carry out those processes in accordance with internationally accepted best practices. To this end, the UEPB will design and adopt an evaluation policy and develop a framework to ensure the independence, credibility and relevance of the appraisal function.
ENHANCING SUPPORT SERVICES OFFER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF COFFEE FARMERS
The NTF II project is helping the National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE) develop new strategic and business plans. This process will enable NUCAFE to better define its position as a TSI to coffee farmers’ associations and to improve its portfolio of services to more effectively meet the needs of its constituencies, spread across five coffee-producing regions.Specific training will be provided to strengthen the capacity ofNUCAFE staff and liaison officers. These workshops cover topics such as financial planning and management, service-portfolio design and development, networking, and designing business-support services. In addition, ITC will collaborate with NUCAFE to deliver custom-made training courses to Farmers’ Associations (FAs) to enhance the supply, marketing and export of coffee. The workshops will be integrated into NUCAFE's service portfolio.
ENHANCING FARMERS’ ASSOCIATIONS’ BUSINESS CAPABILITIES
The project underpins efforts to strengthen NUCAFE’s 120 Farmers’ Associations to become business-oriented organisations and attain a certain level of professionalism to enter the European market.This is done through training which focuses on self-identified priority areas including understanding business management, financial management, understanding the coffee value-chain, export marketing and procedures for coffee, and traceability (4C). The project will also support the certification process for selected FAs.