Agriculture & Environment
Mak, GoU &World Bank Partner to Build Capacity in Public Investment Management
By Jane Anyango
About 20 staff from the School of Economics, the National Planning Authority (NPA) and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) convened at Essella Country Hotel in Wakiso district for a one-week (13th -17th September, 2021) Training of Trainers (ToT) to build capacity in Public Investment Management (PIM).
The training was officially opened by the Principal, Makerere University College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) Assoc. Prof. Eria Hisali on behalf of the University Management.
The training was organized by the World Bank-funded Makerere University Centre of Excellence in Public Investment Management (PIM CoE) in the School of Economics (SoE), College of Business and Management Studies (CoBAMS).
The training was conducted by paired up facilitators from Government of Uganda (GoU) and Makerere University who have built capacity in the area of PIM system and processes and moved to Queens University in Canada while others have built their capacities locally.
The training emanates from a diagnostic study undertaken by MoFPED and the World Bank in conjunction with School of Economics where weaknesses in the Public Investment Management Systems and Processes were identified.
Part of the weaknesses identified were lack of capacity in project appraisals which is a complex analysis that involves rigorous economic analysis using conversion factors and shadow prices, which are not conventional in the daily economics known.
Some of the aspects covered during this Training of Trainers included: An overview of the PIM System and processes in Uganda, Project Concept Note Presentation, Project Profile presentation, Public Private Partnerships. Integrated Bank of Projects, Integrated Project Appraisal and Economic Analysis of Projects.
The Principal Investigator Makerere University PIM CoE Prof. Edward Bbaale who is also Dean School of Economics said, as a result of the glaring challenges, interventions were mapped out to establish the PIM CoE that brought on board the Ministry of Finance, the National Planning Authority and the University in a collaborative initiative.
“Out of that, we competed and received a grant from the World Bank to establish a PIM CoE with the mandate to undertake training, research and advisory services in the area of Public Investment Management.
This training is part of the mandate for which the PIM CoE is established. We are trying to increase on a number of trainers. Initially four staff from the School of Economics have undergone training organized by the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank in the area of Public Investment Management and we feel that the four are not enough to undertake this type of training.
This type of training we are having is a training of trainers with the main intention of increasing the number of trainers in Public Investment Management. Thanks to the World Bank for the grant that is delivering the output and also thanks to the Ministry of Finance for the great partnership”, Prof. Bbaale said.
While officially opening the training, the Principal CoBAMS, Assoc. Prof. Eria Hisali thanked the management of PIM CoE for the numerous activities they have been undertaking over the past one year.
The Principal appreciated the entire management of MoFPED for the support extended to Makerere University, and trainers and participants for interesting themselves in this training program.
“When this initiative was started a couple of years ago, it seemed to be a farfetched idea but I am extremely happy that we can now see some tangible results. Thank you so much for remaining committed and I really hope and look forward to a lot more.
I appreciate the unwavering support from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. They have been participating in the training and playing a key role in having the PIM CoE get to where we are.
The support we got from the World Bank was with a very strong backing from the Ministry of finance. So, we thank you so much and we can only look forward to a stronger collaboration and partnership”, Assoc. Prof. Hisali appreciated.
Dr. Hisali described the PIM CoE as an important initiative whose strategic feet is located within the strategic focus of the college for the next 5-10 years.
“We have taken steps to establish flagship activities. Our focus currently is to have at least one flagship activity at each school. These flagship activities are going to be the main vehicle for engagement with policy makers out there and the community.
At the School of Economics we started with the Centre for Macro-economic Modelling and works are ongoing and this is yet another initiative that can fit within these flagship activities which takes us to the community and policy makers”, the Principal said.
Over the next five to ten years, Prof. Hisali reported that, the college will be keenly focused on enhancing the capacity of all staff including academic, administrative and support staff.
He said, starting the last Financial Year, the college rolled out an initiative requiring every academic staff to pick at the minimum of two new methodological areas.
The college he said trained staff in Impact Evaluation and has been running a modules in Computer Programming and Object Oriented Programming in Stata. In addition Dr. Hisali said, the college is also running a series of modules in Economic Modelling, Advanced Time Series while the School of Business will be commencing capacity building in Event Study Modelling.
Dr. Hisali said that with the support from the Ministry of Finance, NPA and other players in the public and private sectors, there is an ongoing effort to start a graduate degree program in PIMS and to integrate some of these materials into the university curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Principal advised that as government and university embark on this training, it should not be looked at as the end in itself but rather something going to equip all the partners to make bigger contributions.
One of the things Prof. Hisali proposed was the need to take up the idea of a policy lab where on a quarterly basis, the academia, Ministry of Finance, NPA and other stakeholders in PIM should be able to sit together, pick up a topical issue and take off half a day and deliberate on it fully and either make policy suggestions or agree on areas that might require further study in order to come up with meaningful policy interventions in this field.
The second idea proposed by the Principal was getting students on board as the easiest way of getting the multipliers. Dr. Hisali advised that as the university integrates the materials in the curriculum and wait for the degree program, there can be a shortcut where graduate students are encouraged to take up topics for their dissertations and encouraged to pick and use these important tools and in that way, the multiplier will increase and become bigger.
The other issue on taking up multipliers according to Dr. Hisali would be undertaking some studies like computation of shadows and parameters .In this regard, he said, the university can again collaborate with the Ministry to fund a few of these studies in groups.
Dr. Hisali reported that the college has been supporting some research and publications for the last five years but it is now having conversations on the possibility of changing the modality of that support and focus on putting together those resources to support research projects that will be using some of the new tools being learnt.
“So we will be moving away from the old approach to a new dispensation where we look into the methodology you are using and once convinced that it fits within these new areas we are trying to build capacity then we support. So the little facilitation at the college level will be biased towards initiatives like this and then definitely the tools of economic analysis that you are picking through this training will be one of those areas we want to support,” Prof. Hisali said.
Dr. Hisali expressed the university commitment to continue supporting and to ensure that these initiatives succeed saying, management was already in discussion with the ministry to ensure that the PIM CoE can be sustained not to end with the World Bank support.
The Commissioner for Projects and Public Investments in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Hannington Ashaba said Public Investment Management largely involve system, institutions, processes that government uses to appraise public investments to ensure that only tangible and viable projects are implemented to give better returns and to make sure that they contribute to the national development agenda.
Commissioner Ashaba said government has been implementing a number of PIM reforms and notable among them is to build capacity across government to ensure that they have in-country capacity that enables government ministries to do feasibility studies such that only viable projects can be included in the budget and government plan.
“It is on the basis of that that we think that working Makerere University School of Economics will help churn a large number of professionals in PIMS that will be very impactful in supporting government especially under the National Development Plan III which is focusing on core infrastructure projects that will propel the country to a middle class economy”, Mr. Ashaba said.
The commissioner said some of the challenges government is facing in PIMS go beyond capacity to include the fact that Uganda as a developing country has resource constraints. Ashaba told participants that the money is not enough so, it must be rationalized and allocated to only projects with bigger impact that will generate growth and revenue to repair the national debt.
Mr. Ashaba said besides the budget constraints, there is need to ensure that government is working as a whole to solve the coordination issue in the way projects are identified, prepared and studied such that by the time a decision to undertake a project is reached, it is really a project well-grounded to guarantee proper implementation, coordination and completion on time not to escalate costs.
“ Makerere is coming in at the right time when we are deepening the PIM reforms and we think that the academia especially the School of Economics which is setting up a PIM CoE will ensure that some of the curriculum includes PIMS aspects to ensure that graduates churned out are clearly well grounded in public investment.
But also two, we have a gap of evidence around public investment. So, if Makerere could help in undertaking topical studies, that would help generate evidence on how investment contribute to growth and also may be identify most of impactful projects where we need to deepen some of the interventions around PIMS” the commissioner stated.
Mr. Ashaba was also optimistic that the University PIM CoE will not only help government in capacity building and conducting topical studies and research but, also come in handy to act as independent reviewers of government so that they can give independent advice on viability of some of the projects so that they can assist government in taking decisions on some public investments.
The Manager Makerere University PIM CoE Dr. Willy Kagarura said the aim of the center is to train people locally and internally so as to improve what is delivered to the students to be relevant on the job market.
“Four people have been on this training with the Ministry of Finance. We want to extend our capacity at our school to deliver the mantle and train people in government offices and our students so that they don’t face challenges when out of the university.
We are continuing to update ourselves to international levels and in October 2021, we are supposed to go to Queens University but some four people have been admitted to attend the Queens University training so that we build capacity at that level, then our graduates here will be skilled continuously up the international standards.” Dr. Kagarura explained.
Another centre mandate according to Dr. Kagarura is to develop short and long term Public Investment Management curriculum and materials. He said, with the support of the Ministry of Finance, the short term courses, materials and curriculum used in the ToT training were developed.
Dr. Kagarura also reported that as part of the mandate, the center has trained government practitioners in Munyonyo and was now partnering with Ministry of Finance in partly delivering that.
“In conducting research, two impact evaluation studies have commenced and there is another study to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on Public Investment Management framework in Uganda. The other one is to roll out training and awareness to other universities where the trainees will be used to go to other universities”, Dr. Kagarura added.
Dr. Kagarura also reported that the centre has established an office for sustainably managing the trainings and was in touch with the Institute of Public Management to have an accreditation as an approved training entity so that once people train, they do exams from the Institute of Public Management and get a certificate. This will easy recruitment of interested people and service delivery.
Besides the funder’s conditions and the COVID-19 Lock down that partly delayed the commencement of the center activities, Dr. Kagurura decried the tedious process in the PPDA that hampered the center activities. He said the Centre activities planned to start in 2017 delayed till September 2020 due to multiple approvals in the PPDA.
“We need to establish the loss incurred through this PPDA processes to our economy. If I can get a laptop at the market at shs 3 million, through PPDA it will take a year in hustles and approvals and get it at shs.9 million or lowest at Shs. 7million, this is just a laptop, what about the roads! So processes are a problem”, Dr. Kagarura submitted.
He said despite the COVID-19 lock down, the trainings were conducted online with interruptions of connectivity. Dr. Kagarura called upon the, donors, University, college, Ministry of finance, NPA and other partners for support to ensure the centre is sustained beyond the World Bank funding.
Jane Anyango is the Principal Communication Officer, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES)
Agriculture & Environment
AfPEC Project Targets to Safeguard Ecosystems in the Mt. Elgon Region through Agroforestry
*****Funded by DANIDA, Agroforestry for People, Ecosystems and Climate Change (AfPEC), a five-year project (March 2024-April 2029) focusing on Mt. Elgon Highlands in Eastern Uganda aims to foster to use agroforestry to prevent climate change and loss of biodiversity in the region. The project will focus on four districts namely: Mbale, Bududa, Bulambuli, and Kapchorwa. Project Partners: Makerere University, Aarhus University & University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Youth Leading Environmental Change (YLEC), Seniors without Borders, Forests of the World, Stjernekommunikation, and FrellsenKaffe. Through the project, coffee farmers in the region will be supported to export their coffee to Denmark. The project team held the inception meeting on 25th-26th September 2024 in Mbale City.
Overview
Climate change and biodiversity loss are emerging as two of the greatest environmental challenges facing humanity. In Uganda, natural ecosystems such as forests and wetlands contribute considerably to people’s livelihoods and the national economy. However, rapid population growth has led to the degradation of these ecosystems due to increased demand for firewood and the conversion of land for agricultural purposes. Furthermore, the effects of climate change, including variable rainfall patterns and higher temperatures, are leading to a rise in the frequency and intensity of floods, droughts, landslides, windstorms and hailstorms (UNEP- Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in Uganda). Failure to tackle the effects of climate change threatens the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with catastrophic consequences that will hit the poorest and most vulnerable communities first and hardest (UCL Global Governance Institute, 2021). The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. It aims to halt the degradation of ecosystems, and restore them to achieve global goals.
Agroforestry as a climate change adaptation strategy
Agroforestry, the purposeful integration of trees or shrubs with crops and/or livestock at the plot, farm, and/or landscape scale, is one potential climate change adaptation strategy to increase the resilience of farmers and agricultural systems against climate risk, providing a range of biophysical and socioeconomic benefits. As highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports of 2022, agroforestry is a promising agro-ecological approach to climate change adaptation because of the multitude of co-benefits that many agroforestry systems provide including, enhanced food security and income opportunities, the provisioning of ecosystem services, and biodiversity conservation (Amy Quandt, et.al 2023). Agroforestry significantly impacts the environment in diverse ways that contribute to both global environmental goals and local sustainability. Despite of the benefits, promotion, implementation and sustainability of agroforestry practices is still not well addressed.
Purpose of the AfPEC project
Coffee farmers in the Mt. Elgon Region in Eastern Uganda have traditionally with success used agroforestry that protects important water catchments and biodiversity hotspots, but these areas now experience degrading soils caused by external factors such as forest loss, soil erosion and population growth. Changes in climate have also affected farming conditions favouring more drought-resistant crops and agroforestry systems with well-developed shade. Agroforestry for People, Ecosystems and Climate Change (AfPEC), a new project funded by DANIDA aims to understand the factors that motivate coffee farmers to engage in agroforestry, and to foster the use of agroforestry to minimize the effects climate change and loss of biodiversity in the region. Specifically, the project aims to document the effects of agroforestry in terms of ecosystem services and livelihood benefits, to understand motivating factors for long-term sustainable development, and to support science-based agroforestry in practice. The project will focus on four districts namely: Mbale, Bududa, Bulambuli and Kapchorwa.
Specific objectives
The project will be implemented though five work packages in line with the objectives below;
1.Quantifying the potential of agroforestry in terms of ecosystem services – Under this objective the focus is to assess the benefits of various agroforestry systems, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and other ecosystem services. This research will help stakeholders understand the potential and limitations of different agroforestry approaches and contribute to mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss. Additionally, the findings will be used to select suitable native tree species for planting in highland coffee agroforestry systems.
2.Identifying livelihood benefits from agroforestry and key factors for long-term sustainable development.
3.Channelling scientific knowledge on agroforestry into practice –Given the urgent threats posed by biodiversity loss and climate change in Africa, it is imperative to translate scientific research into practical solutions. In collaboration with NGOs and local farming communities, the project team will disseminate user-friendly information and ensure that research findings directly benefit livelihoods and ecosystems. The goal is to increase local income through sustainable coffee production, carbon credits, and potentially, emerging markets for ecosystem services.
4. Building multidisciplinary capacity at university level –The project will train four PhD students from Uganda, and at least 12 master students from Denmark.
5. Promoting optimized agroforestry systems widely.
Partner Institutions
AfPEC is composed of seven partners: three university partners with multidisciplinary backgrounds, three Danish and Ugandan NGOs and a private communication company. All partners work in close collaboration with four coffee farmer communities. These include; Makerere University, Aarhus University (Department of Ecoscience), University of Copenhagen, Youth Leading Environmental Change (YLEC), Seniors without Borders, Forests of the World, Stjernekommunikation, and FrellsenKaffe.
Project team
The overall PI is Dr Anne Mette Lykke from Aarhus University. At Makerere, the project is coordinated by Prof. John Tabuti from the Department of Environmental Management and Prof. Frank Mugagga from the Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics and Climatic Sciences. Other participants: Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience (Jørgen Axelsen), Makerere University (Dr Josephine Esaete and Dr Kellen Aganyira), University of Copenhagen (Ida Theilade, Nerea Turreira Garcia, Stine Kroijer), Seniors without Borders (Poul Kroijer, Lone Jacobsen, Kjeld Lanng, Frans Theilby, Lars Brodersen, Jan Thorn Clausen, Hazra Okem, Ann Grace Apiita, Emmanuel Alituha, Christopher Ejiku), Youth Leading Environmental Change (Daniel Esayu, Annet Nakkazi, Richard Tusabe), Forests of the World (Jens Holm Kanstrup, Kristian Lybæk, Abiyu Lencho), and Stjernekommunikation (Jan Stjerne).
AfPEC Inception meeting in Mbale City
On 25th-26th September 2024, the project team held an inception meeting in Mbale City to get stakeholder buy-in and concretize roles of team members. The meeting was attended by 52 participants including the project team, farmers from participating districts, RDCs from participating districts, representatives from the participating NGOs – Seniors without Borders, Youth Environmentalists leading Environmental Change (YLEC) and Forests of the World, and Graduate students attached to the project.
Presentations/remarks by the project team
In his welcome address, Prof. Frank Mugagga, one of the project coordinators at Makerere University appreciated participants for honouring and turning up for the workshop, noting that it was important for the team to establish a working relationship for smooth implementation of the project. Outlining the importance of research and partnerships towards the vision and mission of Makerere University, he expressed gratitude to the funders, and the Project PI, Dr Anne Mette Lykke for her unwavering efforts towards securing the grant.
Presenting an overview of the project, the lead Coordinator in Uganda, Prof. John Tabuti explained that although agroforestry systems have been around for long, their contribution has not been well understood and adopted. Discussing the different work packages, Prof. Tabuti said the project would document both negative and positive impacts of highland agro-ecosystems to improve their contribution to ecosystems and livelihoods.
At the meeting, the Project PI, Dr Anne Mette Lykke briefed participants on ethics and the rules governing the DANIDA AfPEC Grant. She presented the partnership grant agreement, highlighting the research ethics considerations, rules on publications, communication and dissemination requirements, and data sharing and management as guided by DFC. She urged the project team to familiarise themselves with the regulations to ensure timely delivery of the intended outputs.
In his remarks, the representative of farmer groups in Mbale District, also Chairperson of Bufumbo Agroforestry Group, Mr. Hussein Mafabi appreciated the project team and funders, noting that the initiative would greatly improve their skills in agroforestry. Highlighting the factors fuelling environmental degradation in the region, Mr. Mafabi decried the lack of a clear policy on plastic waste management, calling for support to avert the crisis. He emphasized the need to translate the project results into actual policy changes to further collaboration beyond AfPEC. “AfPEC has the support of local communities who are eager and willing to participate in the project activities,” he noted.
During the workshop, representatives from the partnering NGOs including Seniors without Borders, Forests of the World, and YLEC shared their experiences working in the region, outlining success stories in coffee agroforestry that the AfPEC project can leverage to achieve its targets. Prof. Jørgen Axelsen briefed participants on the biological pest control processes, whereas Dr James Johns from Forests of the World delivered a presentation on biomass and carbon sequestration in Uganda’s smallholder agroforestry systems. Speaking to participants, Dr Poul Kroijer (Seniors without Borders) noted that through the AfPEC project, farmers in the region will be able to export their coffee to Denmark. The team expressed willingness to support the project activities.
Presentations by MSc and PhD students supported by the Project
AfPEC project will train four PhD students from Uganda, and at least 12 master students from Denmark.
During the workshop, three Masters Students from Aarhus University, Denmark and four PhD students from Makerere University who will be conducting research on different aspects of agroforestry in the Mt. Elgon Region, Eastern Uganda presented their research ideas to participants who provided enriching feedback. These are; Smilie Nielsen (MSc Human Security) who will be examining the factors that motivate young coffee farmers in Mt. Elgon Region to engage in agroforestry, Ms. Josephine Fogt Anderson (MSc Human Security) who will be studying women-nature relations in agroforestry and planting initiatives (How gender equality can be addressed in tree planting and agroforestry projects), and Ms. Matilda Willemoes who will be exploring the potential for carbon sequestration and storage in coffee Forestry systems.
The PhD students include Mr. Patrick Kayima who will study value chain and livelihood benefits of coffee agroforestry, and Ms. Patricia Adoch who will evaluate the influence of different management practices of coffee agroforestry systems on pollinators and pests in the Mt. Elgon Region. Ms. Joyce Lunyolo will conduct research on incentives for stewardship efforts in coffee agroforestry among farmers in the region, whereas Mr. Derick Kisegu will study and document the contribution of Arabica coffee agroforestry systems in mitigation and adaptation to climate change in fragile highland ecosystems of Uganda.
The students will be supervised by academics from the partner institutions namely: Prof Anne Mette Lykke, Prof. John Tabuti, Prof. Frank Mugagga, Dr. Josephine Esaete, Prof. Ida Theilade, Dr. Kellen Aganyira, Prof. Stine Kroijer, and Prof. Katrine GroFriborg.
Remarks by the Chief Guest
Addressing participants, the Deputy RDC Kapchorwa District, Mr. Martin Sakajja, on behalf of the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) in the project area, expressed gratitude for the initiative noting that it holds immense significance for the country and world at large. “Agroforestry represents the fusion of agricultural productivity with ecological conservation—a synergy that is critical for sustainable development in our times. For generations, rural populations have depended on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. Yet, we know the challenges farmers face: declining soil fertility, erratic rainfall, and dwindling forest resources. Agroforestry addresses these issues by promoting sustainable agricultural practices that not only enhance food security but also generate additional sources of income from forest products such as fruits, timber, and medicinal plants. Through this project, we envision empowering farmers to increase their yields while preserving the natural resources they rely on. By embracing agroforestry, we are not only reducing our vulnerability to climate change but also contributing to global climate goals. I commend Makerere University and all the partners involved in this project for their vision and dedication,” he noted.
Remarks by the representative of Makerere University
On behalf of Makerere University, Dr Henry Ssemakula appreciated the project team for the initiative noting that it aligns with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the National Development Plan, and the Parish Development Model. “The project is also in tandem with our strategy of transforming Makerere into a research-led University responding to national, regional, and global development challenges, and contributing to global knowledge generation. Its commitment to capacity building through Masters and PhD trainings, community engagement, and internationalization is equally commendable.” He appreciated the funders for supporting AfPEC and several other projects in Uganda.
The workshop was moderated by Dr Josephine Esaete, Dr Vincent Muwanika, and Dr Kellen Aganyira from Makerere University.
On the final day of the workshop, the project team conducted a reconnaissance tour of three research sites namely; Bufumbo in Mbale, Buginyanya in Bulambuli District, and Sipi in Kapchorwa District.
More photos from the workshop
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