NAADS zonal review workshops set to begin next week

By George Mangula

The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Secretariat under the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has organised one- day non-residential zonal review and planning workshops in the different sub zones implementing wealth creation activities. The workshops will begin Monday next week and end on January 29, 2020.

According to a press release, the NAADS zonal review meetings will focus on strengthening of agricultural commodity value chains anchored in the local economic development (LED) initiatives, in line with the Agri-Led model, promoting the establishment of area based commodity clusters and supporting the establishment farmer service centers and logistic hubs.

The workshops will also assess progress of implementation of the Naads interventions for wealth creation and deliberate on pertinent issues including challenges and lessons that will guide the new strategic direction for agro-industrialization and inform the planning and budgeting process for the financial year 2020/21 and the medium term.

Among others, stakeholders will review and map out strategies to guide implementation of the NAADS interventions for wealth creation at various levels of implementation (national, Regional, District, Sub County, parish and farmer level) in view of the agro-industrialization agenda.

They will also agree on emerging opportunities, key undertakings and recommendations for improving implementation of the NAADS interventions for wealth creation in line with the agro-industrialization agenda to inform the budgeting process for the FY 2020/21 and the medium term.

The participants will include a wide range of stakeholders from both the public and private sectors from the various districts and sub county local governments within the respective zones.

The meetings will take place in different 15 selected venues covering all the nine agricultural zones.

“The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries through the NAADS Secretariat has been supporting farmers to access critical farm inputs in line with the Agricultural Sector Strategic Plan. This has resulted into increased agricultural production and productivity that has laid a foundation for Agro-industrialization,” says the press release.

In order to consolidate the gains so far achieved in the agricultural commercialization drive, the press release says, government is laying emphasis on the need to strengthen value chains anchored in LED initiatives.