The Agriculture Cluster Development e-subsidy program: beneficiary stories
I ntroduction The Agricultural Cluster Development Project (ACDP) is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) with support from the World Bank. The objective is to raise on-farm productivity, production, and marketable volumes of five selected priority agricultural commodities (maize, beans, rice, cassava, and coffee). In 2017, ACDP started with five pilot districts of Ntungumo, Amuru, Kalungu, Nebbi and Iganga, and by December 2019, mobilization and sensitization had commenced in 34 roll-out districts. The smart e-subsidy program is implemented in three cropping cycles, is time-bound and declines through the cropping cycles. In season one government grants 67% subsidy, in season two 50% and in season three 37%. After the third cycle, the farmer is expected to have graduated both financially and in knowledge to effectively afford the full cost of the inputs and therefore requires no subsidy. Access to the inputs is through the...