GiZ Uganda Contracts FRIENDS Consult (FCL) to Strengthen Agricultural Development in Northern Uganda
Background
We at FCL are glad to be of initiatives that matter. GiZ recently signed a contract with FCL to strengthen Business Development Services (BDS) to agribusiness in the region. This is under GiZ’s second Promoting Rural Development in Northern Uganda (PRUDEV II) programme. PRUDEV aims to enhance the resilience of Agro-ecosystems and communities in Northern Uganda. It aligns well with contribution to Living without hunger – transforming agricultural and food systems” concept.
As part of the initiative, GiZ has engaged FCL for a two-year period until July 2026 to provide consultancy services geared towards bolstering the supply of good quality, affordable advisory and business development services to the SME agribusiness sector. This initiative seeks to empower local farmers and businesses by enhancing access to essential knowledge and expertise, ultimately contributing to the sustainable development of Northern Uganda’s agricultural sector.
Existing Gaps
In supporting the growth and development of agribusiness SMEs, BDS providers must focus on enterprise challenges limited technical and entrepreneurial knowledge, scarcity of responsive financing, low productivity, capacity, modest or low expertise, land fragmentation, low sustainability, regulatory environment, and fast-changing market dynamics. Addressing these hurdles necessitates collaborative efforts from Government, Development Partners, Civil Society organizations, and the Private Sector. Investing in building BDS providers’ capacity, enhancing the enabling environment for BDS provision and fostering collaboration among stakeholders are essential for overcoming these challenges.
What FCL will do
FCL will train, advise providers of BDS to the agribusiness sector in Northern Uganda so that they get more established to provide critical business and technical advice to farmers and other agribusinesses in a sustainable way. The focus of the assignment is to enhance the accessibility and quality of affordable business development services for Farmer Organizations and MSMEs in Northern Uganda.
In the above context, FCL will:
- Assess and profile different BDS providers with the aim of strengthening their capacity to help MSMEs, producer organizations (for instance supply, market and demand driven models, embedded services
- Explore and design with lower BDS providers new ways of working to form sustainable business relationships that are affordable, viable and sustainable.
- Identify the skills, competencies and capacities needed by BDS providers to adopt new ways of sustainably working with MSMEs and farmer organizations.
- Identify and categorize areas where business development services are required by MSMES and Farmer Organizations, and help BDS providers develop of refine responsive service to address such areas.
Conclusion
This initiative is a significant contribution towards fostering economic growth and food security in Northern Uganda. By leveraging expertise and resources, GiZ and FCL are committed to driving positive change in this direction.
Joseph SSerunjogi
Senior Projects Officer – FCL