Tropentag, September 17 - 19, 2014 in Prague, Czech Republic "Bridging the gap between increasing knowledge and decreasing resources"

Governance Challenges of Agricultural Recovery Programs in Regions under Stress: A Case Study of Post-Conflict in Northern Uganda

University of Hohenheim, Inst. of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences in the Tropics and Subtropics, Germany

Abstract

Twenty years of conflict in northern Uganda led to the displacement of the majority of the population who later were forced into internally displaced camps.
Programs that promote agricultural development play an important role in post-conflict areas because virtually all the population in the area depends on agriculture for their survival. Yet there are major governance challenges in the implementation of such programs geared at post-conflict recovery. The large scale programs that are being implemented in the post conflict situation of northern Uganda such as the Community Driven NUSAF Programme and the Local Government Led NAADS programme offer an important opportunity to learn about the opportunities and challenges of different implementation and targeting mechanisms. The goal of the paper is to study such programs in a comparative perspective with the goal to generate policy relevant information on promising strategies for achieving food security and agricultural development in post conflict areas. Taking post conflict northern Uganda as case study, this paper explores the various governance challenges in the implementation of the two large public programs and also to explore the various strategies that have been developed to address these challenges. The research was a qualitative and quantitative study using questionnaire, interviews and the participatory mapping tool, the net-map. The net-map which identifies the different steps involved in different implementation mechanisms, the actors involved, the influence level of the actors and entry points for corruption and local capture. The study identified a number of challenges and opportunities both on the demand side (individuals receiving the service) and supply side (the organisation providing the service). The study also identified a number of solutions to address the governance challenges. Furthermore the paper offers important insights in the management of livelihoods programs in post-conflict contexts.

Keywords: Demand and supply strategies, governance challenges, post-conflict

Contact Address: Emmy Wassajja, University of Hohenheim, Inst. of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences in the Tropics and Subtropics, Wollgrasweg 43, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany, e-mail: emmy.wassajjauni-hohenheim.de