UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program - Technical Guidelines - 28 June 2022
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program - Technical Guidelines - 28 June 2022
For support to Micro-scale Irrigation under the Production and Marketing Grant
Name: _________________________________________
Position: _________________________________________
Phone: _________________________________________
FOR
Acknowledgements
The Technical guidelines were developed by Dr Evan Christen, Irrigation expert, Penevy Services
Pty. Ltd. and Jonathan Denison, Irrigation expert, WaterDev.
The Technical Guidelines benefitted from critical inputs from Dr Nicole Lefore, Gender in irrigation
expert, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation, Texas A & M University; Maria
Guglielma da Passano, Land tenure expert; and Line Kaspersen, Policy & Economics expert, Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The Technical Guidelines benefitted from inputs by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry,
and Fisheries (MAAIF), under the overall guidance of Eng. Ronald Kato Kayizzi, Acting
Commissioner for the Department of Agricultural Infrastructure Mechanization and Water for
Agricultural Production (DAIMWAP). Notably, substantive inputs were received by Mr Allan
Ollando, Engineer, DAIMWAP. The Technical Guidelines build upon the extensive consultations
held with Local Government staff.
The Technical Guidelines were developed under the supervision of Dr Gabriella Izzi, Senior
Irrigation and Drainage Specialist, The World Bank. The development of these Technical guidelines
was funded by DFID Trust Fund.
Contents
Table of Figures...................................................................................................................................... 6
Acronyms and abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 7
1. Changes between version 1 and version 2 ....................................................................................... 8
2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 9
1.1. Objective............................................................................................................................................ 9
1.2. Intended users of these technical guidelines .................................................................................... 9
1.3. Purpose of the guidelines ................................................................................................................ 10
2. Overview of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program ............................................................................ 11
2.1. Key components .............................................................................................................................. 11
2.2. Administrative areas included in the program ................................................................................ 17
2.3. Stakeholder activities ...................................................................................................................... 19
2.4. Timeline of activities........................................................................................................................ 21
3. Supplier pre-qualification.............................................................................................................. 23
3.1. Irrigation supplier pre-qualification outputs ................................................................................... 24
4. Important considerations for the Micro-scale Irrigation Program ................................................... 25
4.1. Inclusion of women ......................................................................................................................... 25
4.2. Land tenure ..................................................................................................................................... 32
5. Developing target areas within districts......................................................................................... 34
6. The “IrriTrack” App ....................................................................................................................... 36
7. Awareness raising ......................................................................................................................... 36
7.1. At central MAAIF level ..................................................................................................................... 37
7.2. At district and sub-county level ....................................................................................................... 38
7.3. Irrigation demonstration sites ......................................................................................................... 39
8. Recording Expressions of Interest (EOIs) ........................................................................................ 41
EOI acceptance ................................................................................................................................................ 45
9. Assessing suitability by farm visit .................................................................................................. 46
9.1. Preparing for the farm visit ............................................................................................................. 48
9.2. The farm visit ................................................................................................................................... 54
9.3. Completing the farm visit ................................................................................................................ 65
10. Environmental and social screening at the farm level..................................................................... 67
11. Procurement ................................................................................................................................ 70
11.1. Role of District Technical Planning Committee and Procurement (DTPC) ...................................... 70
Table of Figures
Figure 1 Relationship between stakeholders .................................................................................................. 13
Figure 2 Stages of implementation ................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 3 Map of districts included in Phase 1 of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program ..................................... 17
Figure 4 Map of districts included in Phase 2 of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program ..................................... 18
Figure 5 Micro-scale Irrigation Program timeline ........................................................................................... 21
Figure 6 Stages of implementation (Stage 1 highlighted in blue) ................................................................... 22
Figure 7 Mobile phone ownership in Uganda (UBS, 2019) ............................................................................. 26
Figure 8 Land ownership (UBS, 2019) ............................................................................................................. 27
Figure 9 Example of a stylised and actual Gender Balance Tree (Higher grounds Coffee & GAMEchange
Network) .......................................................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 10 Stages of implementation (Stage 2 highlighted in blue) ................................................................. 40
Figure 11 Flowchart of process – boxes highlighted in blue ........................................................................... 42
Figure 12 Flowchart of process (boxes highlighted in blue) ............................................................................ 47
Figure 13 Water source below the field, and pump above the water source ................................................ 60
Figure 14 Water source above the field, and pump above the water source................................................. 61
Figure 15 Surface pump above the water source ........................................................................................... 61
Figure 16 Use of a submersible pump in a borehole ...................................................................................... 61
Figure 17 Submersible pump and water level to land height difference ........................................................ 62
Figure 18 Stages of implementation (Stage 3 highlighted in blue) ................................................................. 69
Figure 19 Flowchart of process (steps highlighted in blue) ............................................................................. 72
Figure 20 Flowchart of process (steps highlighted in blue) ............................................................................. 81
Figure 23 Framework of the Vision Road ...................................................................................................... 118
Figure 24 Opportunities and challenges are drawn in above and below the road ....................................... 118
Figure 25 Example of Vision Road created jointly by a man (using blue) and woman (using green) to take
their household to their vision ...................................................................................................................... 119
Figure 26 Example of a stylised Gender Balance Tree (Higher grounds Coffee & GAMEchange Network).. 121
Figure 27 Example of an actual Gender Balance Tree (Higher grounds Coffee & GAMEchange Network) .. 121
Figure 28 Who is in the household – the trunk ............................................................................................. 123
Figure 29 Who does what is drawn into the roots ........................................................................................ 124
Figure 30 Who gets what is drawn into the branches................................................................................... 125
Figure 31 What is pushing the tree drawn to the side of the trunk .............................................................. 126
Figure 32 What needs to be changed shown as items highlighted or crossed out....................................... 127
Figure 33 Examples of common issues found when using Gender Balance Tree ......................................... 128
Figure 34 Groundwater Potential Map ......................................................................................................... 135
Figure 35 Water Supply Technology Options Map ........................................................................................ 136
Figure 36 Farming systems of Uganda .......................................................................................................... 138
Figure 37 Adaptation figure highlighting chosen weather stations associated with each cluster. ............... 139
Figure 38 Assessing soil texture by feel (source: FAO) .................................................................................. 171
Figure 39 Soil texture triangle ....................................................................................................................... 172
Figure 38 Different states of soil water content ........................................................................................... 174
New inclusions:
• Phase 2 Districts
• Definition of Certificate of Customary Occupancy (CCO)
• Demonstration sites
• Farmer field schools
• Rainguns added to the equipment
• Tender bidding document
• Tender evaluation guide appendix
• Environmental and social screening
• Report Grievances IrriTrack module incorporated
• Farmer acceptance form
• Added quotation requirements as an appendix
• Added info sent to suppliers as an appendix
• Impact assessment
Updates:
• Irrigation system costings to reflect assessment of real costs provided in quotations updated
• Removed guide to MIS
• Additional items on list of non-eligible items
• Detail of procurement and the IrriTrack procurement module
• Payments to suppliers changed to 95% at installation and 5% 6 months later.
• Updated installation and verification module
• Deletion of incomplete appendices
• Deletion of section on solar systems
• Improved diagrams and explanation of water sources and pumps being ‘above’ or ‘below’
2. Introduction
Irrigation: when and why?
Irrigation is used to supply additional water for crop production in addition to rainfall. Irrigation can
specifically serve to:
• Extend the growing season, by providing crops with additional water after most of the rains in the
rain season have fallen
• Secure crop growth during dry spells within the rainy season. A dry spell is an extended period of
dry days, where a dry day is a day with precipitation less than a preselected threshold. These dry
spells may last up to several weeks within the rainy season, so harvests will be affected without
supplementary irrigation
• Produce crops during the dry season when irrigation is the primary source of water for production.
1.1. Objective
The objective of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program is to support farmers to purchase and use micro-scale
irrigation equipment. Targeted farmers are primarily smallholders who are mainly subsistence but willing to
move into more commercial agriculture.
• Staff of the Ministry for Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF)
• Staff at District level, including District Agricultural Engineers (DAEs), District Agriculture Officers
(DAOs), Sub-county Agricultural Officers (AOs), District Commercial Officers (DCOs), District
Procurement Officers (DPOs)
1. Provide detailed guidance on the management of the Micro-scale irrigation grant at District level
2. Provide uniform procedures for the management of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program
These guidelines cover all aspects of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program, specifically:
1. Registration of Farmer
6. Farmer support to secure loan or Pay as you go terms for their co-payment
13. In case of married male farmer, participation of the wife in the process.
! These guidelines can be read in conjunction with the Micro-scale Irrigation Program Grant,
Budget and Implementation Guidelines (Appendix 1). Which provide more details on the Grant,
budget and management processes
2.1.Key components
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program will support individual Farmers to purchase and use micro-irrigation
systems.
• Simple technologies, including Solar-pump technology and small petrol pumps; hosepipe, sprinkler
or drip systems; and irrigation management tools (soil moisture monitoring and/or other)
• Use already existing water sources that are easily accessible (rivers, streams, tanks, ponds, wells)
within 700m of the proposed irrigation plot
• Co-payment by the Farmer of 25% of the cost for a solar-powered system and 75% of the cost for a
petrol-powered system, and a value cap of the subsidy of USh 18,000,000 for solar pump systems
and USh 5,000,000 for petrol pump systems
• Include women headed households and women in the household (wives) in the decision making
process under the Program.
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program is led by the Department of Agricultural Infrastructure Mechanization
and Water for Agricultural Production (DAIMWAP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and
Fisheries (MAAIF). The Program is run by the District. The Program is supported by the World Bank through
the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Program (UgIFT).
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program has the following four key stakeholders, with the following key
responsibilities:
a. MAAIF:
viii. Undertakes verification of the supply and installation of equipment, with the
Farmer
x. In case of a married male Farmer, ensures participation of the wife at key steps of
the Program
xi. Provides extension support to the Farmer (and in case of a married male Farmer, of
his wife), including support to Farmer Field Schools.
c. The Farmer:
i. Expresses interest
vi. Undertakes verification of the supply and installation of equipment, with the LG.
iv. Gives basic training to the Farmer (and in case of a married male Farmer, to the
wife)
2. Contract for the provision of the irrigation equipment: between LG and irrigation equipment supplier
District Procurement
District Commercial DCO • Guidance on the matching grants
Officer • Guidance on access to loans to finance
The overall process is shown in Figure 2 below. These steps can be divided into three stages.
The different stages a farmer application passes through are described in Table 2.
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program will use the IrriTrack App to register Farmer, record
the farm visit, track application progress, and record the installation of the equipment.
The Phase 2 districts and their clusters are shown in Figure 4 and Table 4.
S/N CLUSTER 6 CLUSTER 7 CLUSTER 8 CLUSTER 9 CLUSTER 10 CLUSTER 11 CLUSTER 12 CLUSTER 13 CLUSTER 14
1. Rubirizi Mbarara Gomba Dokolo Busia Ngora Kotido Gulu Koboko
2. Buhweju Kiruhura Kasanda Kwania Bugiri Katakwi Karenga Lamwo Yumbe
3. Kasese Sheema Nakasongola Amolator Bugweri Kumi Kaabong Agago Maracha
4. Bunyangabo Rwampara Kiboga Apac Budaka Bukedea Napak Kitgum Arua
5. Bundibugyo Isingiro Kalangala Kapelebyong Namayingo Bukwo Moroto Pader Moyo
6. Kabarole Lyantonde Masindi Amuria Butaleja Bulambuli Nabilatuk Oyam Madi-okollo
7. Ntoroko Kazo Bulisa Kalaki Namutumba kween Abim Lira Adjumani
8. Kagadi Rukiga Kiryandongo kaberamaido Buyende Pallisa Amudat Kole Obongi
9. Kikuube Kabale Kakumiro Soroti Kaliro Butebo Nakapiripirit Alebtong Zombo
10. Kanungu Kisoro Kyakwanzi Serere Buvuma Kibuku Otuke Nebbi
11. Mitooma Rubanda Hoima Namisindwa Pakwach
12. Terego
Table 4 Districts and their clusters for Phase 2
2.3.Stakeholder activities
A summary of stakeholder activities and responsibilities is provided in Table 5.
1 Awareness raising X X
2 Farmers submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) to LG X X
3 Integration of the planned procurements into the LG annual X
work plan, budget and procurement plan to be approved by
DEC
4 Pre-qualification of irrigation equipment suppliers X
5 Develop target areas within districts X
6 Determining eligibility of farmers X
7 Farm visit of Eligible farmers and technology choice X X
The ministry will undertake the pre-qualification exercise to identify eligible firms/companies to
participate in the program, the ministry shall present to the districts the list of pre-qualified service
providers.
The 40 Phase 1 districts have been put into 5 clusters and the 95 Phase 2 districts have been put
into a further 9 clusters. Teams of DAIMWAP engineers have been formed and attached to each of
the clusters. These engineers will provide technical assistance as required to the districts in
implementation of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program. The teams will review assessment reports
and designs on a sample basis, prepared by either the Agricultural Engineers or the Equipment
suppliers for compliance with the technical guidelines. The teams will also inspect the installation
works on a sample basis.
7. Review of work plans and budgets and issuance of no objection before submitting to the DEC
The DLGs are expected to prepare work-plans and budgets and submit them to the Ministry for
review and issuance of no objection before submitting the work-plans to the DEC for approval. This
is to ensure compliance with the grant guidelines. MAAIF will undertake annual reviews of the
work-plans together with the districts.
MAAIF will convene quarterly meetings with districts leadership and technical staff to engage with
them on the program implementation. Biannual meetings will also be held to engage with the
agricultural engineers. MAAIF will also do quarterly monitoring of the program implementation.
The Districts are expected to implement and thereafter report to the Ministry against the budget
estimates and the work plans.
9. Data collection
The districts are expected to collect and submit data and information to the Ministry relating to
the Program as required. The ministry will collect data from the districts on the different
parameters under the program. MAAIF will maintain a Management Information System into
which all the information will feed.
2.4.Timeline of activities
The program timeline is shown inFigure 5. Based on the performance of the Program, MoFPED might decide to keep funding it beyond this time.
STAGE 1
This section covers Stage 1 as highlighted in Figure 6 below.
3. Supplier pre-qualification
This section describes how irrigation equipment suppliers will be pre-qualified by MAAIF. Only pre-qualified
irrigation equipment suppliers will be able to respond to calls for quotations by LGs for the Micro-scale
Irrigation Program.
The pre-qualification will occur at a National level by MAAIF. Screening at a National level will ensure
uniform technical standards across the Micro-scale Irrigation Program districts.
Irrigation equipment suppliers will be pre-qualified so that Farmers will be able to buy irrigation equipment
with confidence in design and quality.
Irrigation equipment suppliers will be screened to be placed upon a “Pre-qualified equipment supplier list”.
Only quotations by suppliers on the pre-qualified list will be accepted for the Micro-scale Irrigation
Program.
The detailed technical features, performance characteristics, and operations and maintenance aspects of
the irrigation technologies will be established by the pre-qualified suppliers. Suppliers will produce the
necessary brochures, media and maintenance booklets.
6. Provision of appropriate soil water and nutrient measurement tools to aid in irrigation management
8. Capacity to provide after sale service – (warranty claims and general backup) across the Micro-scale
Irrigation Program districts
9. That they understand the guidelines covering assessment of quality, installation, commissioning and
training will be part of the contract between supplier and the LG.
Each pre-qualified irrigation equipment supplier will supply a list of their equipment indicating the
following:
1. Full specifications of the solar modules including quality, make (manufacturer) and model number.
What Ugandan/International standards are met? (Appendix 2)
2. Full specifications of any controllers/inverters and drawings and specifications of the solar array
mounting structure. What Ugandan/International standards are met? (Appendix 2)
3. Full specifications of the pump also including the pump curve and design point. What
Ugandan/International standards are met?
4. Full specifications of suction and delivery systems including pipe materials/sizes and any valves and
filters. What Ugandan/International standards are met? (Appendix 2)
5. Full specifications of the irrigation system including any tanks, filters, hoses, sprinklers, drippers. What
Ugandan/International standards are met? (Appendix 2)
6. Full specifications of the soil water and nutrient irrigation management tools. What
Ugandan/International standards are met?
The list of pre-qualified irrigation equipment suppliers will be kept by the MAAIF. There will be audit
mechanisms to ensure only pre-approved irrigation equipment suppliers are used at LG level under the
Micro-scale Irrigation Program.
The pre-qualification process will be repeated at twelve (12) monthly intervals so that new irrigation
equipment suppliers can enter the list and non-performing irrigation equipment suppliers can be deleted
from the list. MAAIF will solicit feedback from LGs regarding the performance of irrigation equipment
suppliers.
2. Information from each pre-qualified irrigation equipment supplier on their equipment packages that
will be used in farmer awareness raising and will also be compiled by MAAIF into a booklet that farmers
can use in making their choice of irrigation equipment.
4.1.Inclusion of women
“Gender is simple: it means women and men treating each other like equal human beings with
equal human rights and social responsibilities” Linda Mayoux
For a number of reasons women (but also youth, disabled, disadvantaged minorities) will find it harder to
engage with the Micro-scale Irrigation Program than men and those that are overall better endowed
financially (cash and assets) and educationally.
The Program needs to consider how to encourage suitable female farmers to apply, and how to ensure
women in households will benefit equally from the Program.
Simply looking at the Human Development Index (HDI) when it is differentiated for gender we can see that
in Uganda women have a 14% lower HDI, have only 65% the amount of schooling that males get and have
an income of only 57% that of men (see Table 6).
Because women have half the schooling (with a bigger gap in rural areas) women have a literacy rate of
71% vs 83% for men, and this difference will be bigger in the rural areas. Thus, women will be less likely to
read about this irrigation program.
Women also have fewer opportunities for communication as they are less likely to own a mobile phone
(Figure 7).
Only 55% of women have access to a mobile phone versus 95% of men, consequently it will be harder for
women to contact Government staff officers.
Women are also restricted in social and civil society and so are less likely to hear about the Micro-scale
Irrigation Program, less able to visit government offices, less able to make phone calls. Therefore, women
are less likely to be able to engage with the Micro-scale Irrigation Program.
How do women prefer to receive information? What are the best channels to reach women?
What information do women need to have to make decisions on participating?
ALSO CONSIDER THE DIFFERENCES REQUIRED WHEN ENGAGING WITH WOMEN HEADED
HOUSEHOLDS AND WOMEN WITHIN A MALE HEADED HOUSEHOLD
In Uganda women have less income than men (only 57 %) and they have less land ownership. Only 20% of
women have sole ownership of land, with 45% in joint ownership with men (Figure 8).
Therefore, apart from communicating with the Program there are two other important constraints for
women to be part of this Micro-scale Irrigation Program:
2) Women will be less likely to be able to prove that they have access to land.
In Uganda there were 27% female headed households in 2015, therefore these restrictions will apply to a
significant proportion of households.
These constraints will not only adversely affect women (and other disadvantaged groups) it will also affect
the ability of the Program to meet its targets unless mitigating actions are undertaken. Also, the Program
must ensure that the activities do not exacerbate or perpetrate unlawful exclusion or abuse.
Because micro-scale irrigation largely falls outside of state and community control, women’s participation
in irrigation management is decided within the household. It turns out that even projects that seek to
improve the assets of women by requiring women’s participation and giving them technologies may not be
benefiting women as expected. Projects that target women to close the gender gap in technology and
assets may help women become aware of and “try out” new technology but they overlook the household
dynamics that ultimately influence whether a technology continues to be used or is abandoned.
After a technology gets to a household, men often become the de facto ‘owners.’ This has been observed
even when motor pumps were distributed to women. Depending on the context, women may have rights
to use and manage an irrigation technology, but they also may carry many of the labour costs. Moreover,
women often miss out on the benefits, as they are generally unable to control produce sales and the use of
that income, except under limited conditions.
Projects that promote irrigation for women should be aware that targeting women with irrigation
technology alone is unlikely to give them full rights over the technology, since the rules of the household
often override any project-level rules and expectations. Generally, implementers should not assume that
use and benefits are the same. Likewise, projects should be aware that attempts to empower women may
fail if they do not also secure support from the men within households. Men can block women’s
participation or choose to withhold information to limit decision-making power, such as not informing
them of meetings.
Empower women to manage water resources and related irrigation technologies. The Micro-scale
Irrigation Program can raise awareness around division of labour, money, assets and household
decision making. Women are most likely also going to have to obtain and secure rights to use a
pump.
This will vary by technology, if solar is installed then where? Is it on a man’s plot or between plots
for men and for women? If it is a petrol pump, then who controls when and where it is used?
Understanding of these issues at the household level can be increased by understanding the
“Vision Road” and the “Gender Balance Tree” models (Figure 9). Although there will not be enough
time to apply these models in the Micro-scale Irrigation program, they can give LG Staff a good
insight into gender issues and participatory decision-making, which can be applied to irrigation and
other interventions, to empower women to manage and benefit (receive income) from irrigation
equipment or other interventions.
Figure 9 Example of a stylised and actual Gender Balance Tree (Higher grounds Coffee & GAMEchange Network)
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program can help improve the balance of information between men and
women to strengthen women’s claims to income from production with the irrigation equipment.
Women often need support to obtain and secure the right to use cell phones, radios, and bicycles,
all of which enable them to participate more effectively in meetings, extension activities and
markets.
The Program can also assist women and men with mobile phones to equally be able to access
contacts in markets and government to support them. The Program can encourage this through
the Farmer Field Schools.
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program should support the crops and locations of irrigation equipment
that women prefer. So-called female-friendly technologies should also consider portability and
location of installation to ensure women’s rights to use and benefit, and women’s safety.
The Program should be cautious about attempting to shift women’s production to different crops
or rapidly increase revenue, as this may jeopardize women’s rights to income. It is better to allow
women to continue with their production and location preferences and change gradually.
This aim can be supported at the household level through the tools mentioned above. It can also be
integrated into other activities, such as the farm visit. Field assessments should include questions
related to women’s production and women’s multiple uses of water.
Women state that involvement in groups for irrigation strengthens their access to farming inputs,
increases income and improves social status, all perceived benefits of irrigation by women.
Explaining that women’s participation in farmer groups can benefit the whole family, save money,
and potentially free up women’s time for other activities may be a necessary first step to facilitate
women’s involvement in a support group.
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program can encourage this through the Farmer Field Schools.
1. Carefully planned communication that can effectively reach women farmers (women headed
households) and facilitate women to engage with the program and become a registered participant
2. LG staff understands gender issues and gender role tools, see Appendix 3.
3. Engage both women and men in households. This will require both men and women to participate in
Expression of Interest, on-site assessment, installation and trainings
4. Provide information linkages to men AND women throughout the program stages; equalise the level of
information access and money management that men and women have access to, such as phone
numbers of LG staff, market traders, irrigation suppliers, websites of information like market prices,
links to banks & MPESA type services to have money management. This can be done at Expression of
Interest or if not possible then at the on-site visit
5. Support women’s preferences in the on-site visit to ensure that the chosen irrigation equipment, crops
to be grown and location suits BOTH the man and woman in the household
6. Bring women together to support each other. At a county or suitable level hold meetings for all the
women (wives and female headed households) so that they can meet and discuss their desires and
concerns and build networks to support each other. The Micro-scale Irrigation Program can encourage
this through the Farmer Field Schools.
1. For women farmers (women headed households) – Organize awareness raising events specifically for
women farmers.
2. For women in a male headed household - At Expression of Interest (EOI), in case of married male
Farmers, strongly encourage the male Farmer to provide the wife’s name and phone number (if the
wife has their own phone)
4. Adopt tools provided in the Guidelines to identify and mitigate risks of exclusion or abuse.
The Micro-scale Irrigation Program has four main objectives when addressing land issues:
1. Establish applicants’ eligibility by assessing their capacity to securely access the land
2. Avoid the situation where the person loses access to the land where they are using the irrigation
equipment
4. Avoid elite capture in the Program, i.e. the irrigation equipment ends up with rich absentee
landholders.
To achieve these objectives, District Officers need to understand the rules regulating the applicant’s access
to land. The aim is not to make the land issue onerous for the process, but to identify risks for different
tenure types and provide District Officers with tools to flag and mitigate them.
Factors affecting tenure security are linked to ownership, access, and conflict. They may be divided into:
• Risks that concern the land in the planning context of the District (i.e. land falls within a protected
area / buffer zone / area of urban expansion, etc) and in the context of local social dynamics (i.e.
existing land conflict episodes, etc.). Location and destination of use can be verified through the
use of the National Land Information System (NLIS) maps and the consultation with the District
Land Office. History of conflict in the area can be verified with the District Land Office, local
leadership and Area Land Committees.
• Risks related to the ownership and management of the land itself (Land not under the control of
the Farmer, any other right holders that will be dispossessed because of the project). These risks
are rated based on the application details and further assessed during the field visit.
In Uganda, land can be legally held under four tenure systems: Freehold, Mailo, Customary and Leasehold.
Each system regulates the different rights related to the land, including ownership and use.
• Freehold: A holder of a freehold is an individual who enjoys full powers of ownership over land in
perpetuity. Freeholds are captured in the NLIS
• Mailo: the Mailo system permits the separation of ownership of land and development on the land
by formal lawful occupants (Bibanja holders) and informal (bona fide) occupants. Mailo titles are
for the most part captured in the NLIS
• Customary: Under customary tenure individual and collective rights are originated by local
customary norms and practices. A customary right may be orally transmitted or documented
through the issuance of a Certificate of Customary Ownership (CCO). CCOs are captured in the NLIS
CCOs have in recent years proven to be an affordable, transparent and inclusive way to secure
legitimate tenure rights to customary land and an increasing number of districts in Uganda is
implementing them as a way to secure tenure rights, mitigate land conflicts and promote
sustainable investment.
By law, customary tenure The Certificate of Customary Ownership (CCO) is the instrument devised
by the 1998 Land Act to formalize customary tenure rights through registration. It offers the same
level of protection against external interests as freehold, but it is subject to restrictions of use and
transfer as per the norms and practices of the community. The law recognizes CCOs as conclusive
evidence of the customary land right holder in the registered land.
CCOs allow communities, families and individuals holding land under customary tenure on former
public land to obtain formal recognition of their rights, but have seldom been implemented due to
capacity constraints.
The District Land Boards (DLB), the office of the Recorder, the District land office and the Area Land
Committees (ALC) are responsible to issue CCOs and transmit the information to the National Land
Information Centre to record it in the integrated land repository.
• Leasehold: Leaseholds are created by law or contract. Leasehold is the only type of tenure available
for both citizens and non-citizens (for a period not exceeding ninety-nine years) and can be created
from any of the three tenure types above. Leaseholds are captured in the NLIS.
Applicants’ tenure security will vary depending on the nature of their rights and the local context. The
applicant’s right to use the land needs to be carefully assessed to avoid creating conflict or supporting land
grabbing.
If the Farmer does not have any land tenure documents then they can be provided with
a template document to fill out ready – See Appendix 4.
Within each district there needs to be a preliminary assessment of what areas should be targeted based on
water availability for irrigation. This is to avoid the situation of the awareness raising campaign being
conducted in areas where there is already water stress due to many users, lack of water availability or
water quality issues.
This preliminary assessment should be led by the District Agricultural Officer (DAO) with assistance from
the Senior Agricultural Engineer (SAE) and include the District Water Officer (DWO). There should be
consultation with the Catchment Management Committee if there is one. Maps and data from the Ministry
of Water and Environment should be consulted.
This process should result in a list of sub counties that have High, Medium and Low priority for the Micro
Scale Irrigation Program.
The LG/LLG officers will need to engage with the Water Management Zones (WMZs), and, where they are
established, the Catchment Management Committees (CMCs). Guided by the groundwater and surface
water hydrologists and other water management officials, the District will need to obtain and review all of
the available information about water resource availability and water stress including: groundwater maps;
information regarding surface water; and Catchment Management Plans where these have been prepared.
The DWO will be a key person to be involved in setting up and guiding this process.
There are two main aims to work with the WMZ’s and CMCs:
• First is to identify the areas of high water stress in the District where irrigation development should
be avoided. This may be related to a river of sub-catchment system that is already fully allocated
and overstressed, or to groundwater reserves which are depleted, or where water quality is a
problem for irrigation.
• The second is to identify those areas which are likely to have the highest water resource potential
for irrigation development, both surface water (streams and rivers) and groundwater (suitable for
shallow wells with irrigable quality).
This process of identifying both high stress areas (to be avoided) and high potential areas (to be focused on)
will guide the rollout of the awareness raising effort. It will also help District and Sub-county staff explain to
farmers the risks they may face in getting water permits if they come from an area where there is high
water stress already. The Micro-scale Irrigation Program should be careful with applications for irrigation in
water stressed areas. Too many applicants in a water stressed area will only make the situation worse, and
may lead to farmers having their water permit applications rejected.
There are groundwater maps for each district showing stress and water quality. If the water to be used is
from a well or borehole then these maps should be checked.
For surface water the information is not so readily available and the WMZ and CMC personnel will provide
guidance.
For example, maps and methodology for calculating irrigation requirement see Appendix 5.
At the end of water resource planning process the District team should have a map of the District with the
high stress areas (to be avoided) marked up and areas with low or no water stress (to be targeted). This
map should be shared with the teams who are rolling out the Program so they understand where water
stressed areas are and why they should be avoided and the high water availability areas that will be
targeted.
This map for targeting of the program should be sent to the Zonal water management office for their
information and feedback.
NOTE: Once the Farmer applications have been processed, the farmers will be provided with a printout of
the water permit application form by the District, which will be generated from the IrriTrack App. The
District team will then arrange for all the permit applications to be submitted to the WMZ, or the CMC
where they are established, for onward processing.
This App is available on Google Play Store, there is only an Android version. Users have to have their
credentials entered into the system by the MAAIF central staff to be able to log in. Therefore, it is not open
for anyone to use.
The App is used to register farmers into the Micro-scale Irrigation Program and keeps all their relevant data
and the stage of application. It is also used to keep a record of awareness raising events.
The IrriTrack App currently has 12 modules that mostly align with the stages of the Micro-scale Irrigation
program:
Linked to the IrriTrack App there is also a web based Management Information System (MIS) that provides
access to the farmer applications and summary data on the number of farmers registered, their gender,
what stage their application is at etc. This MIS can be logged into using the IrriTrack credentials at
http://microirrigation.agriculture.go.ug/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2F
The roles and access rights of different users of the App and MIS are shown in Appendix 6.
NOTE: There is an accompanying app called ‘IrriTrack Test’, also available on Google Play. This is a training
app, this app should be used to get used to how the IrriTrack app works. The IrriTrack Test app should be
used for learning purposes only as none of the data is stored in the Micro-irrigation program database.
7. Awareness raising
This section outlines the process of awareness raising in order to get Farmer to join the Micro-scale
Irrigation Program.
Relevant section of the IrriTrack App is called “RECORD AWARENESS RAISING EVENT”
Farmer awareness raising will be based on a communication strategy and user-friendly communication
materials developed and issued by MAAIF. These include for example brochures outlining the costs and
benefits, guidelines, processes at different levels, timelines and processes for application, co-payment;
approval, role of the Farmer in the selection and supervision of suppliers.
The awareness raising will carefully consider its content and processes to ensure
women farmers are aware of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program and to commit
specific resources to targeting women headed households. Recording awareness
raising events in IrriTrack requires the number of men and women Farmers to be
reported separately.
1. grant guidelines,
3. communication strategy, including methods for Farmer (men and women) awareness raising,
mobilization and to the LG staff and support from political leadership.
MAAIF will also conduct national level awareness raising activities for example publicity in the press and
electronic media.
The LG staff will disseminate the materials at LG and LLG level (sub-county, town councils) and parishes and
mobilize farmers in line with the national communication strategy.
LGs and LLGs will use the guidelines to sensitize Farmers (and in case of married male Farmers, their wife)
and will encourage and actively support women and youth to apply.
The purpose of these meetings is to provide information about the available grants and the application
procedures. The team will also be taken through the farm and crop business plan assessment and the
evaluation and grant awarding process.
The central MAAIF will undertake media coverage in radio, newspapers, TV etc.
It is important in the awareness raising process that women farmers are specifically targeted, otherwise it is
likely that women will be underrepresented in this Program. A failure to include women will increase
inequity.
When considering how awareness raising can reach women there are two main
points:
1. The media and approaches used should be designed to ensure that they will reach women. For
example, if radio, then consider time of day and which programs promote the information, i.e. women
generally have certain programs and time of day they listen
2. The message of the awareness raising should be such that it makes clear that women are welcome to
apply and are wanted in the Program. Messaging should include issues that address risk aversion of
women, highlight the types of benefit women will receive from micro-irrigation, and openly outline the
risks and requirements at future steps in program participation. Include women’s groups and women’s
activities for awareness raising. The messages should also be clear that women farmers are eligible to
apply for irrigation on their plot even if the husband has already applied to the Micro-scale Irrigation
Program to carry out irrigation on a different plot.
The awareness raising should prioritize target areas (sub-counties) identified where
there is a plentiful water supply of good quality water.
1. Develop a list of key farmers, farmer organisations, village councils and other local institutions, normal
agricultural and extension meetings, NGOs working in agriculture in the area. Special consideration will
be given to co-ordinating with:
a) existing related projects and NGOs in the District e.g. water resource development, irrigation
b) projects and NGOs that are focussed on women, in order to ensure that women farmers are as
equally aware of the program as men.
2. Visit these farmers, councils, organisations and attend any local meetings to sensitise people in the
district to the project. Also arrange targeted meetings to sensitise women and youth.
b) What is irrigation
d) Explain the financing and purchasing process, especially the requirement for a co-payment
e) Ask key farmers, village heads etc. to discuss with their people and send contact details of
interested people to the LG staff.
There will be awareness raising material e.g. brochures available. All these elements are detailed in the
communication strategy.
Irrigation equipment suppliers can also play a key role in awareness raising and encouraging farmers to
submit Expression of Interest (EOI). The LG team should work in close collaboration with irrigation
equipment suppliers who have demonstration equipment/display that can be shown at meetings and can
arrange visits to local farmers who have already installed solar powered irrigation systems.
The overall purpose of the demonstrations is awareness creation amongst farmers and also training of
farmers and key stakeholders. The criteria for selection of demonstration farmers are that they must have:
• Water source
• Agronomic experience
• Capacity to secure and maintain the system.
• Capacity to train other farmers.
• Willing to host
• Accessible
• A market oriented farmer
In future demonstrations will also be set up at seed schools and agricultural institutions. These
demonstration sites will also be part of the Farmer Field Schools approach.
The MOU template for a demonstration site between the farmer and District Local Government can be
found at Appendix 7.
STAGE 2
This section covers Stage 2 as shown in Figure 10.
‘Eligible’ Farmer Those Farmers who have had a farm visit and have been
found to meet the eligibility criteria
3 ‘Approved Farmer’ Those Farmers who have made the co-payment, provided
documentary proof of their land tenure and signed an MOU
with the LG
‘Installation accepted’ Those Farmers who have had the irrigation equipment
Farmer installed and the LG and Farmer have verified the equipment
and installation is as per quotation and standards
‘Completed Farmer’ Those Farmers where the irrigation equipment supplier has
been paid by the LG and all paperwork is complete
This section guides the receipt of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from Farmers and checking their eligibility.
These are the boxes highlighted blue in the flowchart (Figure 11).
This activity will be led by the DAO (focal point in each district) and be undertaken by the SAE, SAO, PAO
and sub-county AOs.
• During the awareness raising events, the LG needs to explain the terms clearly, especially that the
Farmer needs to make a co-payment
• The quality of awareness raising is important to create genuine interest, therefore the information
provided in awareness raising needs to cover the points discussed above.
The EOIs should be recorded directly into the IrriTrack App. Only in cases in which there is no possibility to
enter the EOI in IrriTrack App, the EOI can be recorded in paper form (for example, using the form available
in the Brochure for farmers, Part 1), and the LG officer will need to transfer the EOI in IrriTrack App as soon
as possible and anyway within 48 hours. This timely transcription is key for the transparency of the Program
as the treatment of the EOI will be done on a first come, first served basis. When the EOI is entered into
the App the applicant will be given a Farmer Unique ID. The Farmer Unique ID will be sequential and
therefore will be evaluated in the order of lowest to highest. This Farmer Unique ID will be used to track
the applicants’ progress through the entire process.
EOIs can be taken at meetings, at villages or through phone calls. Applicants can also send SMS messages,
WhatsApp or email their interest to the sub-county AO and then the sub-county AO will make a follow up
phone call or visit to complete the EOI form.
The information that will be collected for each EOI will be:
General information:
2. Name*
4. Gender*
6. Phone number*
9. Address of applicant*
* mandatory items
In case of a married male farmer, the LG official should strongly encourage the Farmer
to provide the name and contact number of the wife. This will allow the Program to
engage effectively with women in the household, notably at the stage of the farm visit
and for training opportunities.
Criteria to assess the suitability of the application must also be collected. The criteria are:
1. Does the Farmer* have land available to use for irrigation for the next 12 months,
YES/NO
of up to 2.5 Acres?
3. Is the Farmer willing to make a co-payment for the irrigation equipment? YES/NO
5. Has the Farmer already applied for support from the Micro-scale Irrigation
YES/NO
Program?
*The Farmer must be over 18 years of age
These suitability criteria are self-assessed by the farmer. Therefore, the response of the farmer is accepted.
A site visit later will confirm if the Farmer meets these criteria.
When Points 1-4 are responded to as “YES” and point 5 as “NO” then the Expression of Interest (EOI) is
accepted. Confirmation of a negative point 5 will require that the details of the Farmer are checked against
the database for the Micro-scale Irrigation Program. This will be done automatically by the IrriTrack App.
Note that a woman farmer is eligible to the Program even if the husband has applied to the Micro-scale
Irrigation Program to carry out irrigation on a different plot for which the woman is applying.
EOI acceptance
The EOI will be checked automatically by the IrriTrack App.
Yes: then the Farmer is accepted and the Farmer will be entered on the
‘Interested list”
No: explain the reasons the Farmer cannot be accepted so that they understand.
They can resubmit their Expression of Interest if their situation changes.
After “Decision point 1” the Farmer needs to be informed of their status of their EOI. The IrriTrack App will
send a SMS message to the Farmer (and to his wife in case of a male applicant, if telephone number of the
wife is provided) informing them if their application has been accepted or not. If the Farmer does not have
a phone, then the Sub-county AO will have to contact the Farmer personally.
The Expressions of Interest will be processed on “first come, first served” basis. Therefore, recording the
EOI in IrriTrack rather than in paper form is particularly important.
The Farmer status is recorded in the IrriTrack App on the “Interested” list. The order of Farmers on the list
cannot be changed.
There should be many more interested farmers than expected funds available, this is due to:
• Inability to make co-payment or lack of a good crop production and marketing plan.
When an EOI is collected from a farmer they should be given the brochure “Preparing for a farm visit”. If
they do not have any land tenure documents then they can be provided with a template document to fill
out ready – see Appendix 4.
2. Undertake farm visits to Interested Farmer (in case of a male Farmer, also with the presence of the
wife) to assess site and crop business plan
There are four aspects to determine the suitability of the interested Farmer:
2. The physical characteristics of the farm and water supply are suitable
The above aspects will be assessed in detail by conducting a visit to the farm to discuss the Expression of
Interest with the Farmer, and to survey the land area and water source.
A visit to the farm by the LG/LLG staff is mandatory, only by going to the farm can the
true situation be assessed.
In case of a married male Farmer, it is key to ensure the participation of the wife
throughout the whole duration of the Farm visit, encourage the wife to speak up,
voice her questions and concerns, and ensure that by the end of the farm visit both
husband and wife are in agreement on the way forward.
The preparatory steps prior to the field visit are outlined below.
• Relevant section of the IrriTrack App is called “PREPARATION FOR FARM VISITS”
Once the EOI is accepted and before the field visit, there are two main tasks in preparing for the farm visit:
A) Make contact with the Farmer by telephone to arrange the visit and get more information on the
application.
B) Make an initial risk assessment on the Farmer’s access to land for the next 12 months.
Contact the Farmer by telephone will seek to clarify the following points:
1. The location of the land. This may be different to the address that was given in the EOI. Try to get as
accurate a location as possible.
2. Is the land they are considering using in a wetland (swamp), forest, park or other protected land? If it is
then irrigation there is illegal and the application cannot proceed. However, the Farmer may have
another piece of land that is suitable, need to check. (Appendix 8)
3. Is the land within 100m of a scheduled river or 30m of a non-scheduled river? If it is then irrigation
there is illegal and the application cannot proceed. However, the Farmer may have another piece of
land that is suitable, need to check. (Appendix 8)
4. Is the land within 200m of a scheduled lake or 100m of a non-scheduled lake? If it is then irrigation
there is illegal and the application cannot proceed. However, the Farmer may have another piece of
land that is suitable, need to check. (Appendix 8)
5. Is the proposed land in an urban area? If YES, then ask if farming is allowed there and will be the land
be available for 12 months.
6. Is the proposed land in an area designated for urban expansion or other development? If YES, then ask
if farming is allowed there and will be the land be available for 12 months.
7. What is the water source that they propose to use, is it surface water or groundwater?
8. What is the estimated distance from the water source to the proposed site to be irrigated?
9. Land tenure:
a) Is the Farmer the owner of the land? Do they have any verifying document? What type? If they
do not have a document, then they need to get a letter verifying ownership of the land from
the Sub-county chief or LC1 (template document in Appendix 4). It is preferable if the Farmer
can have the document ready by the time of the farm visit. The document needs to be
submitted by the time they accept a quotation for the irrigation equipment, and it represents a
prerequisite for the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the
Farmer and the LG.
b) Is the Farmer using/renting the land? Who is the owner? Do they have any document showing
that they are renting or allowed to use that land? If they do not have a document, then they
need to get a letter verifying that they are allowed to use the land from the Sub-county chief or
LC1 (template document in Appendix 4). It is preferable if the Farmer can have the document
ready by the time of the farm visit. The document needs to be submitted by the time they
accept a quotation for the irrigation equipment, and it represents a prerequisite for the
signature of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Farmer and the LG.
10. Is the Farmer willing to make a co-payment for the equipment? The Farmer will have to make a co-
payment of the cost of the equipment. The amount of the co-payment will depend upon the area to be
irrigated (2.5 acres maximum), distance to the water source, elevation differences and irrigation type,
and so is hard to define. The farmer co-payment may be between 2 and 26 million Shillings per acre
depending on farm situation and the irrigation equipment. See Table 8 and Table 9 for example costs.
The approximate costs for an individual farmer will be calculated during the farm visit using the ‘Carry
out farm visit’ module of the IrriTrack App.
12. In case of a married male Farmer, the officer should ensure that the wife will be there for the whole
duration of the farm visit. Explain to the Farmer that it is particularly important that the wife will be
there as they need to understand and support this investment too. Therefore, ensure that the timing of
the visit is convenient for the wife considering other duties such as child caring. Encourage them to
make arrangements for child care so that the wife can be present.
The above data will be entered directly into the IrriTrack App. On completing this section, the App will
automatically send a SMS message to the Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also to the wife)
indicating the date and time of the visit.
Having completed the above data collection, the LG/LLG officers need to make a preparatory assessment
of:
a) Water source
b) Land tenure.
The aim of consulting these documents is to assess whether the locality is already under water availability
stress. The Micro-scale Irrigation Program should be careful with applications for irrigation in water
stressed areas. More irrigation may make the situation worse. However, there may still be opportunities
for micro-irrigation within water stressed areas.
There are groundwater maps for each district showing stress and water quality. If the water to be used is
from a well or borehole then these maps should be checked. If the locality is shown to have groundwater
stress or poor-quality water, then the Staff should be very cautious when assessing the water source in the
field.
For surface water the information is not so easily available. In some areas there are Catchment
management plans that be consulted (See Appendix 5).
Land location
The location of the land proposed to be used by the Farmer may have some use risks associated with it,
such as: irrigation is not allowed on that land class (Appendix 8), that land will soon be taken over for
development, that locality has a history of land grabbing or conflict over land.
These factors may affect the ability of the Farmer to use that land. For the Micro-scale Irrigation Program, it
is required to ensure that the Farmer can use the land for at least 12 months.
Question Response
NO Yes
Risk level
Is this a locality with a history of Confirm during farm Discuss risks during -
land conflicts? visit farm visit
Have there been episodes of land Confirm during farm Discuss risks during -
grabbing in this locality? visit farm visit
Owner Owners of registered land (freeholds, leaseholds, Mailo and CCOs) Low
Owner Owners of customary land inherited without a title (tenure security is generally Low
strong within community but may be weaker if confronted with external actors)
User Users with formal agreements (Bibanja or lease holders on customary land) Low
User Users with written agreement with owner (seasonal/long-term rentals, bona-fide Medium
occupants)
User Users with oral agreement with owner (family/clan members, seasonal occupant) Medium
User Users without a verbal agreement with the owner (absentee or unknown High
landowner)
To reduce the level of risk all the categories will need to get a document supporting their right to use the
land. If they do not have a document, then they need to get a letter verifying that they are allowed to use
the land from the Sub-county chief or LC1. If they have no document then they can use the template
provided in Appendix 4.
It is preferable if the Farmer can have the document ready by the time of the farm visit. The document
needs to be submitted by the time they accept a quotation for the irrigation equipment, and it is a pre-
requisite for the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the farmer and the LG.
The document that is provided needs to be checked as outlined below.
Relevant section of the IrriTrack App is called “UPLOAD LAND TENURE DOCUMENT”
When documents are provided to LG staff before, during or after the site visit, they must be
checked for authenticity following Table 12.
Response
Type of document Check required YES NO
Action required
1. Titles - Freehold a) Is the applicant’s name Contact Zonal Land office
2. Customary Certificate on the title? and verify in the NLIS
of Ownership (CCO) b) If there are other co-
Follow-up during visit, refer
3. Bibanja owners, have they signed
If the answer to local leadership for
the application /letter of
to all 3 checks verification of ownership
consent?
is YES, then
c) Are the documents valid? upload photo
(Names and dates are of document
verified, serial numbers and If documents are forged -
other identifiers are in NON ELIGIBLE
place, names on signatures
correspond, etc.)
4. Sub-County Chief/ LC1 If documents are forged -
letter verifying NON ELIGIBLE
ownership Are the names/ biodata of
5. Rental or lease the applicant, owner, Sub- If documents are not
Upload photo
agreement County Chief/ LC1 correct? complete /fully accurate,
6. Letter from the owner refer to local leadership for
countersigned by Sub- verification and follow-up
County Chief or LC1 during visit
Table 12 Checks for validity of land tenure documents
If the document appears to be genuine, then it should be photographed and uploaded into the
IrriTrack App “Upload land tenure document” module.
If after the process of checking land location and land tenure there are still remaining concerns,
then the District Land Officer should be invited to join the farm visit.
As land is an extremely sensitive topic it must be handled with care. Therefore, the community
and the community leadership needs to be made aware of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program and its
objectives.
Timing: Preparing for a farm visit will be undertaken from July – December
A visit to the farm by the LG and LLG staff is mandatory, only by going to the farm can the true situation be
assessed.
At least two LG staff, preferably one man and one woman, with expertise in agronomy, irrigation
engineering and farm crop business planning will undertake the farm visit. These staff may be SAE, SAO,
DAO and AOs. However, only those who have completed the Micro-scale Irrigation Program training are to
undertake site visits. Where possible an SAE, SAO, DAO or WO will accompany the AOs. The DEO may also
accompany the team where there are specific environmental or social concerns. The DEO role and the
environmental and social screening are covered in more detail in chapter 10.
In case of a married male Farmer, wife should be present during the farm visit. If the
wife is not present, then the LG officer should strongly encourage rescheduling the
farm visit.
Things to take:
Note: Preserve your battery! All memory intensive apps (for example Facebook) need to be
closed prior to using the IrriTrack App. Better to have only IrriTrack App open during the farm
visit. At the beginning of the farm visit, LG staff should disable their data connection when
capturing farm visit information. Internet is ONLY needed when uploading photos and
reviewing farm visits.
b. Field measurement tools: Hand sight level or builders’ level and tape measure. If available, also
sight staff and soil auger or shovel.
c. Farmer brochure number 2 regarding the farm and equipment. This will be left with the
Farmer.
d. Farmer brochure number 3 that guides the selection of the irrigation equipment
e. Farmer brochure number 4 that shows the next steps following the farm visit. This will be left
with the Farmer. In case of a married male Farmer, a second copy of the brochure needs to be
left with the wife.
f. “Agreement to proceed for quotation” form that will be filled out and signed
g. Template letters for Land Tenure that can be left with the Farmer to be filled out.
Then ask why the Farmer (and in case of a married male Farmer, the wife) are interested in irrigation and
what their vision for their farm and family is. Find out what difficulties do they face in their farming. Discuss
how irrigation may help with addressing the difficulties identified and vision outlined.
Take pictures of the farmer and wide and upload to the IrriTrack App.
Give the Farmer Brochure number 2 to the farmer and read it together with the farmer, this will ensure
that the farmer understands about the program.
Land location
Use IrriTrack “Carry out farm visit” submodule 1. “Farmer & Land”.
• Check that the land referred to is the same as was entered for the “Prepare farm visit”. If it is a
different piece of land then enter the location of the new piece of land into the App.
• Check that the land meets the environmental requirements as was discussed in the “Prepare for farm
visit”, refer to Appendix 8) for constraints to land use.
Land tenure
The purpose of the land tenure discussion during the field visit is:
1. Discuss with Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also with the wife) and verify the land
ownership and current use to verify the application information. If they declare to be co-owners, the
information should be up-dated on the application. Discuss with the Farmer (and in case of a married
male farmer, also with the wife) their level of tenure security and the need to get appropriate letters. If
they have documents check them using the documents module in the IrriTrack App.
2. Assess the existence of on-farm primary or secondary right holders who have not been consulted
resulting in their possible dispossession of rights. If during the visit it becomes apparent that other
individuals hold primary or secondary rights over the land and they have not been included in the
application, it is necessary that the application (using IrriTrack App) be amended including those names
before proceeding further.
3. Check if there is a history of land conflict or land grabbing in the area, verify with the Farmer (and in
case of a married male farmer, also with the wife) and their neighbours whether it applies to the
applicant’s land. Should there be an open conflict over ownership or access to the land, it is advisable
to declare the applicant not eligible.
4. Check if there are any access issues if the pump and supply pipe are to be located on neighbouring
farms or common land.
There are a number of “red warning flags” to look out for in terms of land tenure. These are things that the
Staff should be aware of that may affect the land use. If they see any of the red flags they should note them
down and make sure to clarify them. Some of the red flags are shown in the Table 13 below
A part of the land proposed for Ask the farmer who is currently cultivating that separate
irrigation is separate and cultivated area and what will happen when irrigation is in place. The
differently from the rest. smaller plot may be cultivated by a widow or vulnerable
individual who depends on it for food security and
livelihoods. The smaller plot farmer should be identified to
ensure they are in agreement.
There is a house on the plot with Ask the farmer who are the women in the house and, if
adult women in it, yet the women in appropriate, encourage him to involve them in them in the
the house are not participating in the discussion.
visit
There is a beaten path cutting across Ask the farmer who uses that path and ensure that it is not
the farmer’s plot leading to one or included in the area to be irrigated and that the rights of
more homesteads passage are maintained
There is a beaten path cutting across Ask the farmer who uses that path and whether it is
the farmer’s plot leading to a difficult currently used for cattle and ensure that it is not included in
to reach water source the area to be irrigated and that the rights of access to the
water are maintained
The plot is currently used for Ask the farmer / wife / and other family members present
cultivation of the household’s staple how they are going to divide the profits and explain that
food, yet the farmer is indicating he there may be a risk to undermine food security in case the
intends to use the irrigated plot food needs of the entire family are not prioritized as an
exclusively for commercial expenditure.
agriculture.
These are just some illustrative examples of situations that should call the Staff attention and that must be
addressed during the visit in order to reduce tenure risks. Should a conflict emerge, the Staff can call upon
community leaders, neighbours and LC1 or Area Land Committee members to help clarify the issue. They
should not underestimate the negative impact that an unresolved tenure issue may have on the
implementation timelines, the farmer’s chances of success, and the overall the up-take and reputation of
the Micro Scale Irrigation program.
Remember to discuss whether the pump and supply pipeline will be outside of their land. If it will b, then
do they have permission to use the other person(s) property for the pump or pipe? If so make sure to add
this in the comments and provide name and telephone number of owner, or indicate it is customary or
other right. If they don’t have permission to use the other person(s) land yet then they must get permission
and provide the name and telephone number of the owner at a later date. This must be before the signing
of the contract.
Following the discussion then the following questions can be answered and responses entered into the
IrriTrack App:
2. The farmer is the user of the land, but not the owner? YES/NO
3. Are there other people with rights over this land? YES/NO e.g. the owner of the land if the Farmer is a
user/renter
If YES: Take a photograph and upload it in to the IrriTrack App. If not ask the farmer to provide it before
the time of signing and MOU. If there is no document then provide the Farmer with the template LC1
letter for them to get completed.
If the Farmer does not have the relevant land tenure documents ready, then the
application can still proceed but the land tenure document will need to be ready and
photograph uploaded into IrriTrack App prior to the signature of the MOU with the LG.
Farm data
Use IrriTrack “Carry out farm visit” submodule 2a. “Irrigation Site”.
a. The area of the whole farm. This can be an estimate based on the Farmer’s knowledge.
b. The area of the land identified for irrigation. Note maximum area = 2.5 acres.
i. What is the area of the land? The area needs to be first assessed manually and then
using the IrriTrack App, See Appendix 10. Using the IrriTrack App will geolocate the
area planned to be irrigated, the water source using tracking in the IrriTrack app. See
Appendix 12. NOTE: The manual assessment of the area of land is what will be used to
make the cost calculations so ensure it is correct.
ii. Take pictures of the land to be irrigated from the North, East, South and West.
c. Is the soil suitable? The soil texture (if sand not suitable) and depth (needs to be more than
900mm deep), See Appendix 11
g. Does the land comply with buffer zones for rivers and lakes? See The National Environment
Regulations, Appendix 8
h. Is not within a wetland (swamp). See The National Environment Regulations, Appendix 8
Use IrriTrack “Carry out farm visit” submodule 2b. “Water Resource”.
i. Identify the water source – type (stream, river, pond, well) NOTE: Cannot extract water from a
wetland (see The National Environment Regulations, Appendix 8).
j. If groundwater, then compare with District level groundwater map to check if this is a stressed
area or any water quality constraints.
k. Simple assessment of the water resource (Details of methods to answer these questions are in
Appendix 12):
i. Who are the other users and uses of this water source?
ii. How reliable is that water source – does it dry up? Any water sharing conflicts?
v. If it is a well, can the well deliver enough water? What will be the effect on other users
e.g. domestic, stock?
vi. What is the quality of the water? – clean, muddy, full of sticks/leaves/weeds, algae
growing. Is the water ‘hard’ or saline? Will a pump get clogged; will the
drippers/sprinklers get clogged?
vii. Take two pictures of the water source from two angles
l. Assess the location of the water source and the route of the water pipe from source to
irrigation field.
i. Where will the pump be located? Consider security issues for women accessing the
pump
ii. Will the route cross land not owned by the farmer?
m. Measure distance from the water source to fields. This needs to be done manually and using
tracking in the IrriTrack App See Appendix 12. NOTE: The manual assessment of the distance is
what will be used to make the cost calculations so ensure it is correct.
n. Is the water source above or below the field? In Figure 13 below the water source is BELOW the
field to be irrigated, and the pump is ABOVE the water source. The vertical height is the height
difference between the field and the pump location. This height cannot be more than 40m.
Figure 13 Water source below the field, and pump above the water source
In Figure 14 the water source is ABOVE the field to be irrigated, and the pump is ABOVE the
water source. The vertical height is the height difference between the field and the pump
location. There is no limit to the vertical height difference when the water is ABOVE the field.
Figure 14 Water source above the field, and pump above the water source
In Figure 15 below the pump is ABOVE the water source. The vertical height is the height
difference between the pump and the water. This height cannot be more than 6m.
If a submersible pump is used, say in a borehole or well, then the pump location to field vertical
height is still measured the same way as before, as shown in Figure 16.
For a submersible pump, the water source is ABOVE the pump. The vertical the height
difference to be measured is between the WATER and the land SURFACE, Figure 17
o. The method to measure the vertical height from the water source to fields is described in
Appendix 13.
p. Measure the vertical height of the water below (or above) the point where the pump will be
sited. For a surface pump the water must not be more than 6m below the pump.
Shifting from rainfed agriculture to irrigated agriculture has a major impact on the agricultural system and
farmers’ lives. It allows cultivating during the dry season, often enabling a whole new production cycle. It
also enables farmers to produce more water demanding crops or crops that are more vulnerable to water
shortages and produce outside of the standard season when the market values are higher. The same
applies for improved irrigation technologies in existing irrigated areas as it allows for increase of water
quantity and the reliability of water availability.
Therefore, it is important to analyse what impacts (financial and labour for the man and wife) the planned
irrigation system will have. This should be done by understanding the existing production system the
potential changes in crop types marketing.
The following points needs to be discussed with the Farmer (and if a married male farmer, also with wife):
b. What area will they grow of each of these three crops? (must add up to the area of land
measured for irrigation).
c. Who will do the labour on these crops? Husband, wife, children (>14 years), paid labourers?
Take note if the wife or children will have to do all the labour. Discuss the sharing of labour to
ensure that the wife and/or children are not overburdened.
d. What proportion of these crops will they sell or consume? Note that the Farmer should be
aiming to sell at least 50% of their production in order to pay for the equipment.
e. How will they sell the crop? From home, local market, off taker, out-grower supply chain?
g. Who will control the income from these crops? Husband, wife or both?
To help the Farmer (and wife if a married male farmer) choose the irrigation system and understand the
costs use Farmer Brochure number 3.
i. Note that submersible pumps are more expensive (about 25% more) than surface
pumps, so they should only be selected where the water source is a borehole or
well, or in another exceptional case where a submersible pump is required.
ii. Note that submersible pumps need clean water only, so very dirty water or sticks
and leaves etc is not suitable water for a submersible pump.
iii. Note that when a submersible pump is required then the program assumes that it
will be solar powered.
b. For a surface pump find out if the farmer wants solar or petrol? LG staff to discuss the
advantages of disadvantages, including cost, of both.
c. What type of irrigation system do they want? The choice is limited to i) hosepipe, ii) sprinkler,
iii) drip and rain gun. As there will not be detailed designs the types of sprinklers, drip system
and rain gun will be left with the irrigation equipment suppliers to provide what that they think
most suitable. The LG staff will need to discuss the overall advantages and disadvantages,
including costs, of each.
d. Consider if there will be secondary water demands for the system – domestic, livestock, kitchen
garden? This is especially important especially for women who have the burden of water
collection and growing food for the home. Please note that the primary use is always to be for
irrigation.
e. Whether a water tank is required? The choice is for none, 5,000L, 10,000L or 20,000L. Note that
these size tanks will store 1 day of peak irrigation demand (5mm/day) for 0.25, 0.5 and 1 acre
respectively.
f. Having made the selections the IrriTrack App will calculate the approximate cost. It will also
provide a range of values with the lower range being 15% less than the approximate cost and
the upper range being 20% more than the approximate cost. This is intended to communicate
to the farmer that the cost and therefore their co-payment will be within a range, that the
IrriTrack App and the Staff cannot give an exact cost. The Farmer and Government co-payments
are also calculated by the IrriTrack App.
g. If the Farmer thinks that they cannot afford the calculated co-payment then the LG Staff can
change the equipment selections to lower the cost e.g. no tank, use hosepipe, petrol pump. It
may also be necessary to reduce the area to be irrigated. This will require returning to
Submodule 2 to change the area of the land to be irrigated.
MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW COSTS ARE CALCULATED CAN BE FOUND IN APPENDIX 14.
The LG Staff will need to discuss with the Farmer their willingness and ability to make co-payment? Do they
have savings they can invest? Are they willing to take a loan.
The following questions need to be asked, these are in the IrriTrack App:
• “Is the Farmer willing to make a co-payment in this range?” If the Farmer is not willing, then the
cost of the system can be reduced by changing the equipment selections and changing the area. If
however, the Farmer is still not willing then the application cannot proceed. The application can be
saved in IrriTrack after responding ‘No’ to the final question in Submodule 3 “Does the Farmer want
to proceed to quotation stage using the data collected here?” After answering ‘No’ there is space to
enter comments.
• Does the Farmer have money available to make a co-payment within this range?”. If the answer is
‘Yes’ the IrriTrack App will proceed to the last question and the application can be completed. If the
answer is ‘No’ then the question “Is the Farmer willing to answer additional questions to assess
their credit worthiness and for their information to be shared with financial institutions that may be
able to offer them a loan?”. If the Farmer answers “Yes” then there is a series of questions that
help to assess their financial situation.
• It should be explained to the Farmer that the Micro-scale Irrigation Program has been in contact
with financial institutions to assist Farmers with getting loans.
1. The Irritrack App costing is only an estimate! The final cost will be known after
quotation
2. The farmer must make a co-payment. The co-payment must be paid in full. There is no
opportunity for instalments. Therefore, if necessary the farmer may arrange a loan for
themselves to make the payment.
3. There is no possibility of changing systems after the farm visit stage, no possibility of
changing assessed field/site.
After collecting all the data and completing all the fields of the IrriTrack App the application is then finalised
by filling out an ‘Agreement to proceed for quotation’ form (see Appendix 15). Both the LG staff and the
Farmer sign the Agreement. In case of a married male farmer, also the wife signs as a witness. Note that
this form also allows the farmer to have their details sent to financing institutions if they desire.
Also the Farmer Brochure number 3 is completed and photographed and uploaded. Pictures of the land to
be irrigated and pictures of the Water Resource are also uploaded. When all the photographs are uploaded
the ‘Carry Out Farm Visit’ section of the Irritrack App is complete.
At the end of the farm visit the Farmer receives a package which includes a brochure (Brochure for farmer,
Part 4) of the next steps. In case of a married male farmer, a second copy is left with the wife.
At this time the Farmer may still not have provided the land title deeds or a suitable letter, they should be
asked to provide or fill out the template document in Appendix 4.
Upload Photos
In the ‘Review visits, Photos and Sign off’ you need to ensure that all the photos are uploaded
using the ‘Upload Photos’ submodule. You need to upload of photos of:
5. Is the head difference between water source and field within limits? YES
6. Does the Farmer crop production and marketing plan appear reasonable? YES
7. Can the Farmer arrange co-payment, either through own funds or through loan? YES
8. Has an “Agreement to proceed for quotation” form been signed and uploaded to
YES
IrriTrack App?
DECISION POINT 2: Does the application meet the above suitability criteria?
Yes: then the Farmer is “Eligible” and will be updated by the IrriTrack App onto
the ‘Eligible” Farmer list
No: explain the reasons the Farmer are ineligible, they may resubmit later.
After “Decision point 2”, the Farmer need to be informed of their status of their application. The IrriTrack
App will send a SMS message to the Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also to the wife).
The Farmer status is automatically recorded in the IrriTrack App on the “Eligible” Farmer list. The order of
Farmers on the list cannot be changed.
Once the application is “Eligible”, the Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) will be
provided with a printout of the water permit application form by the District, which will be generated from
the IrriTrack App. The District team will then arrange for all of the permit applications to be submitted to
the WMZ, or the CMC where they are established, for onward processing (Appendix 16).
5. Notification of the District Water Officer and Catchment management committee (if exists) of the
potential water extraction. Location, type (surface/groundwater) and volume
For each applicant to the Micro-scale Irrigation Program, an environmental and social screening will be
required. The environmental and social screening will be led by the Environmental Officer at District level.
As a default, the environmental and social screening will be as a desk review based on the data collected
during the farm visit by the DAO, SAE, and Extension Officers. Following the farm visit, the IrriTrack App will
automatically generate an Environmental and social screening output sheet, which will be accessible to the
District Environmental Officer and to the Social Officer through the Micro-scale Irrigation Program MIS. The
Environmental and social screening output sheet is presented in the next pages, and it includes only the
information which are highly relevant for the environmental and social screening. The District
Environmental Officer and to the Social Officer will also have the possibility access the full Farm visit output
sheet through the MIS.
Based on the desk review, and should this raise specific environmental or social concerns, the
Environmental Officer and to the Social Officer will have the faculty to carry out an additional farm visit for
the environmental and social aspects. This additional farm visit will have to be carried out within two
weeks maximum from the original farm visit, to ensure that results are adequately captured in the
procurement process for the irrigation equipment. If no action is taken within two weeks from the original
field visit, it is assumed that no environmental nor social flags are raised.
The District Environmental Officer and to the Social Officer have the faculty of joining any farm visit by the
DAO, SAE, and Extension Officers, and thus they should be allowed to access the calendar of the visits
through the Micro-scale Irrigation Program MIS.
Under the Environmental guidelines to local governments for strengthening compliance with safeguards
requirements in development projects developed by Ministry of Water and Environment (November 2020)
the LG must report on environmental factors. The approach to this will be to take a random selection The
DEO may use the Environment and Climate Change Screening form to report To be filled by the
Environment focal point person at sub-county level or Environment Officer at the District Municipal
Council.
STAGE 3
Stage 3 is where the procurement phase starts, Figure 18.
Key stages of a Farmer Application in Stage 3 are highlighted below, Table 16.
‘Eligible’ Farmer Those Farmers who have had a farm visit and have
been found to meet the eligibility criteria
11. Procurement
The procurement process has 9 steps that are shown in the IrriTrack App in the ‘Procurement’ module.
These steps are:
The first submodule ‘Finalise farm visit’ is in order to verify that all processes to this stage have been
conducted correctly and the opportunity to enter comments regarding the application including concerns
or needs for clarification. The other aspects of procurement and associated submodules are described in
the section below.
The date of the DTPC review and the DTPC decision, approved/not approved, are entered into the ‘DTPC
approval’ submodule of IrriTrack.
Then the list of approved farmers with the correspondent applications will then be sent to the District
Procurement Officer (DPO) to proceed with request for quotation from pre-qualified irrigation equipment
suppliers.
Contact details of Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also of the wife) and design details of
irrigation system and management equipment will be sent to pre-qualified irrigation equipment suppliers
to provide quotations. This will be done at least on a monthly basis. See the next section and procurement
guidelines regarding these processes.
2. LG checks the quotation(s), selects the lowest cost option, and Farmer accepts it
DECISION POINT 3. Is the irrigation system design and costing suitable according to the LG? Does
the Farmer accept the quotation?
4. Farmer provides documentary evidence of land tenure (if they have not already done so)
5. Farmer signs MOU with LG office (and in case of a married male farmer, also to the wife signs as a
witness) (July- August)
6. An SMS message sent to Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also to the wife) notifying
them of completion of this step and relevant contact details of irrigation equipment supplier.
7. LG office then notifies the irrigation equipment supplier that the quotation is accepted in the
period January to May and definitely before the end of June
8. The LG office and supplier will then sign contract as soon as budget is available
These steps are equivalent to the highlighted blue boxes on flowchart in Figure 19.
For each farmer the appropriate information collected through IrriTrack will be sent to the equipment
suppliers. The list of information to be sent to suppliers is shown in Appendix 17, downloading this data
from the Management Information System (MIS) is an automated process. The bidders will be sent the
Micro-scale Irrigation Program ‘Bidding document’ titled “Bidding Document for the Procurement of Works
under selective/restricted bidding”. The cover page for this document is shown in Appendix 18.
The date that a tender request is sent out and the deadline for receipt of quotation must be entered into
the ‘Farmer quotation’ submodule of the ‘Procurement’ module.
It is hoped and encouraged that the suppliers will make a farm visit to assess their actual situation and get
more information for design and quotation, however this is not mandatory.
The suppliers will send their quotations to the LG office. There may be one or more quotations provided
per Farmer.
The supplier will need to supply specific details of not only the equipment, but also the field data used for
the design and the assumptions made. This will need to be included in the quotation to be checked by the
LG office, as outlined in Appendix 18
Once the LG office has received the quotation(s) from the supplier(s) they will check that the quotation
meets the technical requirements and cost boundaries of the quotation. The SAE and DAO will check the
quotation in detail:
4. Irrigation design, especially daily flowrates, matches norms for the crop x district x irrigation method.
5. The pump must meet the irrigation flowrate at the hydraulic head required
6. The solar array must provide sufficient power for the pump selected.
7. The soil water and nutrient measurement tools must be applicable to the situation
8. The cost of the system must be reasonable. The guidelines for a reasonable cost based upon area, type
of system, flow rate and head. This assessed in comparison with the IrriTrack App original costing and
also other comparable pricing approaches.
The ‘Tender Evaluation Guide’ is in Appendix 20. It can be used to assist in assessing the quotations
provided.
Table 17 shows broad descriptions of the eligible materials in the Micro-scale Irrigation Program.
Pumping
1 Solar power:
Irrigation
Management
Maintenance
16 Spare parts and Maintenance and repair of the Any spares and tools
maintenance equipment items above associated with the
and tools equipment listed above
All items outside the eligible list, and notably some items that could be associated with this type of
installation, are explicitly excluded, Table 18.
3 Tank stand
5 Land preparation
The LG staff will then enter the details of the lowest cost tender in the “Lowest Tender” submodule. This
farmer co-payment will then be calculated by IrriTrack.
The LG staff then discuss with the farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also with the wife) then
the farmer decides if he/she will accept that quotation.
Then the decision of the farmer to accept/not accept the quotation is entered into the “Farmer
acceptance” submodule.
DECISION POINT 3: Is the design and costing suitable? Does the Farmer accept
the quotation for meeting their requirements and cost of co-payment?
Yes: then the Farmer continues in the next steps of the Micro-scale Irrigation
Program. SMS message sent to Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer,
also to the wife) notifying them of completion of this step and relevant contact
details of supplier.
No: explain the reasons the application is not acceptable that the Farmer (and
in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) and/or supplier understand.
Once the Farmer has accepted a quotation the LG officer informs the Farmer of the co-payment they are
required to make. The Farmer then has 45 days within which to make the co-payment.
NOTE: the co-payment receipt must be photographed and uploaded into the “Procurement
module” using the “Review procurement and upload photos” submodule.
IMPORTANT: The farmer co-funding must be banked onto the Local Government General
fund account and shall only be utilized upon submission of the proposed workplan to
MAAIF for concurrence and approval.
If they have not already done so, the Farmer provide document(s) of land tenure and copies are uploaded
to the IrriTrack App – use the “Upload Land Tenure Document” module.
The date of signing of the MOU is the entered into Irritrack in the “MOU complete” submodule.
NOTE: the MOU document must be photographed and uploaded into the “Procurement module”
using the “Review procurement and upload photos” submodule.
DECISION POINT 4: Has the Farmer made the co-payment, provided land
tenure documents and signed an MOU with the LG?
Yes: then the application is ‘Approved' and will be entered on the ‘Approved’
Farmer list.
No: explain the reasons the application is not acceptable that the Farmer (and
in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) understand.
An FFS is a capacity building method based on adult education principles using groups of farmers. It is best
described as a ‘school without walls’, where farmers learn through observation and experimentation in
their own fields. This allows them to improve their management skills and become knowledge experts on
their own farms.
An FFS is a process, not a goal. It aims to increase the capacity of farmers to test new technologies in their
own fields and assess results and their relevance to particular circumstances. Farmers interact with
extension workers on a demand driven basis, only asking for help where they are unable to solve a problem
themselves. As an extension methodology, an FFS is a dynamic process that is practiced, controlled and
owned by the farmers to help them transform their observations to create a better understanding of their
crop system.
FFS is not about technology, it is about people development. It brings farmers together for them
to assess their problems and seek ways of addressing them.
• facilitate farming communities to learn new ways to solve problems and adapt to change
• the ability of farmers to make critical and informed decisions that strengthen their coping
mechanisms
• help farmers learn how best to organize themselves and their communities
• enable farmers‘ livelihoods to become more resilient and less vulnerable to disasters, such as
drought and other climate change factors.
The group members may be drawn from nearby villages or parishes but should not be more than 15 km
from the FFS site for convenience of access to the training sites. For each group, two skilful farmers, one
female and one male, will be selected to become lead farmers responsible for facilitating the extension
services to the members in their groups. The lead farmers will be trained by Master Trainers alongside the
extension workers to become MIP FFS facilitators provide regular extension service to their group
members.
FFS facilitators will be responsible for each FFS group (FFSG) established. For each FFSG, two skilful farmers,
one female and one male, will be selected to become lead farmers responsible for facilitating the extension
services to the members in their group. The lead farmers will be trained to provide regular extension
service to their group members alongside the extension workers.
Facilitators should understand FFS principles and have good oral, listening and facilitation skills. They must
have charisma and understand participatory learning processes, although some of these skills are also
strengthened in training.
Training of Facilitators will cover a range of topics that equip the FFS facilitator to adapt the given FFS
curriculum with FFS participants, local context and needs throughout the growing season of the chosen
enterprise based on what is happening in the field and in the group, rather than proposing the same
standardized training everywhere.
NOTE: There is a “Farmer Field Schools” module in IrriTrack. This is ONLY for use by the FFS facilitators and
supervisors. The module will be record the details of each FFS.
1. LG office then notifies the irrigation equipment supplier that the quotation is accepted.
2. The LG office and supplier will then sign contract as soon as budget is available.
The LG will sign a contract with the supplier. The contract will specify:
1. A fixed price
2. Bill of materials
5. After-sale service
6. Warranties
When the contract is signed the details will be entered into IrriTrack in the “Supplier contract” submodule.
The information entered is also the deadline for delivery and installation.
LG staff will track the payments and the delivery timeline of supplier.
1. The irrigation supplier provides the equipment as per contract and the standards and conditions of
the contract
2. The irrigation supplier installs the irrigation equipment. This must be done by the irrigation
supplier, not a third party.
3. The Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) must be on site during the
installation
4. LG/LLG staff must be on site during installation to verify the equipment and installation are as per
quotation
5. The Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) must receive training in operation
and maintenance and receive appropriate operation and maintenance manuals from the supplier.
DECISION POINT 5. Is the irrigation system equipment and installation as per quotation?
b. The Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) and LG must be present at the
time of installation
c. The system must be commissioned and tested with the LG and Farmer (and in case of a married
male farmer, also the wife) present
d. The Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) must receive training in the
operation and maintenance of the system and be provided with suitable operating and
maintenance booklet. It is preferable that both husband and wife and older children also receive
the operation and maintenance training
e. The installation, commissioning, testing and training must all occur on the same day.
Pre-installation
The irrigation system supplier must provide all necessary information to the installer. This will include
drawings, plans, or specifications that the installer requires to correctly install the system.
1. Ensure that the installer has the necessary relevant skills prior to starting work
2. Monitor the progress of the installation to ensure that the design specifications are being met
The contract between LG and supplier states all the roles of the supplier.
Installation
The installation of irrigation systems involves close cooperation between the farmer, supplier and LG.
The system installation must follow the design specifications prepared by the supplier and agreed by the
farmer. Where something is not explicitly specified by the design, the supplier will consult the farmer for
further clarification. The system supplier and the farmer must both accept any variations to the original
specification before the change is implemented. The LG staff and farmer must:
1. Check that all equipment supplied is of the make, size, model as on the purchase order – Solar panels &
controller, pump, pipes, drip and sprinklers, filters (including mesh size), irrigation management
equipment
Commissioning
Commissioning is the final part in the installation process and is undertaken by the supplier.
A properly executed commissioning process will demonstrate if all components of the system are installed
and operating properly, and in accordance with the system specification.
The LG is involved in this process at the system testing phase and to provide input on how to correct
performance issues.
System Testing
The system must be tested at the time of installation and the results of the test agreed by the farmer,
supplier and LG.
System testing should include all new components, as well as all pre-existing components that are being
incorporated into a system upgrade.
The following should be tested during installation and prior to handover of the system:
2. Pressure-test the pipelines at 1.5 x the normal operating pressure, if possible. If this pressure is not
achievable with the installed pumping equipment, then pressure-test at the maximum achievable
pressure
4. Ensure that all sections of the system receive the required pressure and flow rate. Check that the flow
rate at the irrigation system is as per design – at the main inlet (if possible), at sprinklers/drippers
spread across the irrigation system.
5. Test water application depth, intensity, and uniformity as per contract. If sprinklers or drippers, then
check the uniformity with a catch can uniformity test
6. Test all valves and the foot valve on the suction line
7. Check that the soil moisture and nutrient irrigation management equipment is operating
8. If any variations from the original design are identified during the system testing, these must be
documented.
Unless otherwise outlined in the contract, the acceptable installed deviation from the system specification
is:
System Acceptance
If at the end of the installation and testing all parties are satisfied with the system (materials and/or
installation), then they will complete the “System acceptance / non-acceptance” document (Appendix 23)
that will be signed by the Farmer, LG staff in attendance and the irrigation system supplier staff in
attendance.
If the Farmer or LG staff are not satisfied then all the deficiencies (material and/or installation) of the
system should be noted in writing on the “System acceptance / non-acceptance” document (Appendix 23)
signed by the Farmer, LG staff in attendance and the irrigation system supplier staff in attendance. There
will then be follow up action by the SAE, DAO and DPO to rectify the deficiencies.
The IrriTrack submodule “Installation and verification” will then be completed indicating the dates of
installation and whether the installation is accepted.
NOTE: the installed equipment in the field must be photographed AND the Installation acceptance
document must be photographed and uploaded into the “Procurement module” using the “Review
procurement and upload photos” submodule.
Yes: then the application is “Installation accepted” and will be entered on the
“Installation accepted” Farmer list and the equipment supplier receives 95%
payment.
LG staff will track all installations that are deficient for follow up with the supplier until rectified.
1. Training of the Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also to the wife) at the time of installation
of the irrigation system
3. Ongoing support to the Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also to the wife) through:
13.2. Evaluation
To ensure that the irrigation systems are operating satisfactorily and that the Micro-scale Irrigation
Program is operating effectively the following evaluation will be conducted for each Farmer (and in case of
a married male farmer, also the wife):
1. After 1 week: LG staff call Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) to check system
is operating correctly and that they are receiving extension support and training. Any deficiencies are
reported to supplier to be rectified
2. After 1 month: LG staff call Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) to check
system is operating correctly and any support is being received. Any deficiencies are reported to
supplier to be rectified
3. After 6 months: LG staff to visit farm, repeat flow rate checks and conduct questionnaire evaluation
with the Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) on the Micro scale Irrigation
process. Any deficiencies are reported to supplier to be rectified.
The modality of implementing this initial impact assessment will be determined by the Micro-irrigation
program leadership team.
14.1. Impartiality
The application process shall be impartial. The Farmers’ eligibility and application shall be evaluated using
the published eligibility and evaluation criteria in this guideline.
14.2. Equity
The process shall ensure that there is no segregation of applicants against race, religion, gender, age, tribe
or any other reason outside of the published eligibility criteria in this manual.
14.3. Non-cumulative
No individual Farmer (husband and wife) may receive more than one grant financed by the Micro-scale
Irrigation Program. However, a husband and wife may apply separately with reference to different plots of
land to irrigate.
14.4. Non-retroactivity
No grant may be awarded retroactively. Grants may only cover costs incurred after the date on which the
grant contract is signed.
• Provide affected people with avenues for making a complaint or resolving any dispute that may
arise during implementation of LG micro irrigation sub-grant funded activities and associated
MAAIF and supplier activities
• Ensure that appropriate and mutually acceptable corrective actions are identified and implemented
to address complaints
• Avoid the need to resort to judicial (legal court) proceedings unless it is warranted.
There are a number of types of grievance (highlighted in the Table 19 below), and a number of stakeholders
who may be the source of grievance. These may include:
• Neighbours or those affected in any way by the intervention (Project Affected Persons)
• Other people.
FARM LEVEL
LG LEVEL
• Quality of training/manuals
NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
NOTE: that to register a grievance use the IrriTrack “Report Grievances” module. This module collects the
personal details of the complainant and records the details of what the grievance is.
1. Receipt of complaints – The first step is when a verbal or written complaint from a complainant is
made, received and recorded in a complaints log by the Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) within 5
working days of receipt of the complaint. The MAAIF should be notified of any changes in the log within
10 working days.
2. Determining and implementing the redress action - If in his/her view, a grievance can be solved at this
stage, the GRC will determine a corrective action in consultation with the aggrieved person. Grievances
will be resolved and the status reported back to complainants within 5 working days. If more time is
required this will be communicated clearly and in advance to the aggrieved person
3. Verifying the redress action - The proposed corrective action and timeframe in which it is to be
implemented will be discussed with the complainant within 5 days of receipt of the grievance. Consent
to proceed with corrective action will be sought from the complainant and witnessed by the area’s local
council chairperson (LC Chairman)
4. Amicable mediation and settlement - Agreed corrective action will be undertaken by the project or its
contractor within the agreed timeframe. The date of the completed action will be recorded in the
grievance log
5. Dissatisfaction and alternative actions - To verify satisfaction, the aggrieved person will be asked to
return and resume the grievance process, if not satisfied with the corrective action.
In the event that there is no resolution to the grievance, then: (a) The GRC at the institution and the
aggrieved Projected Affected Person(s) shall refer the matter to the relevant District Authorities; (b)
Ugandan laws allow any aggrieved person the right to access courts of law. If the complainant still remains
dissatisfied with the District’s Decision, the complainant has the option to pursue appropriate recourse via
a judicial process in Uganda. Courts of law will be a “last resort” option, in view of the above mechanism.
APPENDICES
Solar equipment:
1. 1678. US ISO 9488:1999, Solar energy – Vocabulary This Uganda Standard defines basic terms relating
to solar energy. STATUS: VOLUNTARY
2. 2162. US IEC TS 61836:2007, Solar photovoltaic energy systems — Terms, definitions and symbols -
This Uganda Standard includes the terms and symbols compiled from the published IEC technical
committee 82 standards, previously published as technical report IEC 61836:1997. (This Uganda
Standard cancels and replaces US 218: 2005, Solar photovoltaic power systems — Terms and symbols,
which has been technically revised).
3. Solar panels: IEC 61215 & IEC 61730 greater than 100Wp/UL 1701, IEC 62257 below 100Wp/UL 1701
5. Solar batteries: IEC 61427/IEC 62616/ IEC 60896 /UL 1973 with UL-2054/UL 1989 with UL-2054.
6. 2095. US IEC 60904-3:2008 Photovoltaic devices – Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial
photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data - This Uganda Standard applies
to the following photovoltaic devices for terrestrial applications: solar cells with or without a protective
cover; sub-assemblies of solar cells; modules; systems. (This Uganda Standard cancels and replaces, US
463-3:2005 Photovoltaic devices — Part 3: Measurement principles for photovoltaic (PV) solar devices
with reference spectral irradiance data, which has been republished). STATUS: VOLUNTARY
Irrigation equipment:
1. 1666. US ISO 9261:2004, Agricultural irrigation equipment — Emitters and emitting pipe —
Specification and test methods - This Uganda Standard gives mechanical and functional requirements
for agricultural irrigation emitters and emitting pipes, and, where applicable, their fittings, and provides
methods for testing conformity with such requirements. It also specifies the data to be supplied by the
manufacturer to permit correct information, installation and operation in the field. It is applicable to
emitters, emitting and dripping (trickling) pipes, hoses, including collapsible hoses (“tapes”) and tubing
of which the emitting units form an integral part, to emitters and emitting units with or without
pressure regulation and with flow rates not exceeding 24 l/h per outlet (except during flushing), and to
fittings dedicated to the connection of emitting pipes, hoses and tubing. It is not applicable to porous
pipe (pipe that is porous along its entire length), nor does it cover the performance of pipes as regards
clogging. STATUS: VOLUNTARY
2. 1810. US ISO 16438:2012, Agricultural irrigation equipment — Thermoplastic collapsible hoses for
irrigation — Specifications and test method - This Uganda Standard specifies requirements and test
methods for reinforced and non-reinforced thermoplastic collapsible hoses, which are intended to be
used as main and sub-main supply lines for the conveyance and distribution of water for irrigation at
water temperatures up to 50 °C. It is applicable to irrigation hoses with nominal diameters between 40
mm and 500 mm and working pressures between 0,3 bar (0,03 MPa) and 6 bar (0,6 MPa). This
International Standard is applicable to two types of hose configurations: distributor hose (with outlet
connections) and plain hose (without outlet connections) .STATUS: COMPULSORY
3. 1044. US 264-1:2001/EAS 182-1 Specification for pipes and fittings made of Unplasticized Poly Vinyl
Chloride (PVC-U) for water supply - Part 1: General requirements - This Standard Specification for
plasticized PVC pipes for cold water services specifies requirements for UPVC Pipes up to and including
a nominal diameter of 630mm for conveying cold water at pressures up to and including 4, 6, 10, 12.5
and 16 bars at 250C depending on the size. STATUS: COMPULSORY
4. 1045. US 264-2:2001/EAS 182-1 Specification for Pipes and Fittings made of Unplasticized Poly Vinyl
Chloride (PVC-U) for water supply - Part 2: Nominal diameters, wall thicknesses and nominal pressures(
metric series) - This standard specifies nominal pressure outside diameters, calculated wall thicknesses
and nominal pressures of circular section Unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride (UPVC) pipes used for water
services. STATUS: COMPULSORY
3.1.Introduction
Section 4 of the technical guidelines for the Micro-scale Irrigation Program outlines considerations about
how to ensure that women are included in the Program. There are two groups of women for whom there is
need to ensure participation in the Program:
• Women Farmers applying for the Micro-scale Irrigation Program (these can be women head
households, widows, or married women).
• Wives of male Farmers who are applying for the Micro-scale Irrigation Program (women in the
household)
With reference to the first group (women Farmers), in order to ensure participation there is need to carry
out targeted awareness raising activities for women, provide extra support to women to prove access to
land, provide extra support to women to access loans for co-payments, etc.
With reference to the second group (women in the household), there is need to ensure that they benefit
from the Program and are not “adversely included”. Adverse inclusion occurs where women are included in
a program or activity but it actually burdens or disempowers them. This can occur for instance when a
husband decides to have a new income generating activity in a household, sets it up, but then leaves the
women to do all the work.
To ensure inclusion of women in the household under the Micro-scale Irrigation Program, it is paramount
that gender aspects are discussed with the whole household (women and men). The opportunity for
gender aspects to be discussed is during the Farm Visit (section 9.2 of the technical guidelines). That is why
it is very important to have both the men and women of the household present for the farm visit, also any
children and other members of the household if possible.
Appendix 3 provides details on how to ensure that women in the household benefit from the Micro-scale
Irrigation Program.
Patterns of inequalities
There are inequalities in many areas:
• Political power and representation - Women are often underrepresented in formal decision-making
structures, including governments, community councils, and policy-making institutions.
• Economic participation and opportunities - In most countries, women and men are distributed
differently across sectors. Women are receiving lower wages for similar work, are more likely to be
in low-paid jobs and unsecured work (part-time, temporary, home-based) and are likely to have
less access than men to productive assets such as education, skills, property and credit.
• Educational attainment - In most countries women have lower literacy rate, lower level of
enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education.
• Sexual and domestic violence - Women tend to be more often victims in a form a domestic violence
by woman’s intimate partner, sexual exploitation through trafficking and sex trade, in wars by an
enemy army as a weapon of attempted ‘ethnic cleansing’ etc.
• Differences in legal status and entitlements - There are many instances in which equal rights to
personal status, security, land, inheritance and employment opportunities are denied to women by
law or practice.
Gender equality
Gender equality can be defined as the state or condition that affords women and men equal enjoyment of
human rights, socially valued goods, opportunities and resources, allowing both sexes the same
opportunities and potential to contribute to, and benefit from, all spheres of society (economic, political,
social, and cultural).
Example: A family has limited funds, and both daughter and son want new pairs of shoes for the new school
year, but only one can get new shoes this year. If the family decides which child will get the new shoes
based on the child’s NEED, and not on the child’s sex, this is an example of gender equality.
Reflective exercise:
1. What roles or jobs are there in your family/community/workplace that are always done by just women,
or just men?
2. Reflect on the consequences these expected roles and views for the wellbeing and development in
your family/community/workplace.
Introduction
In order to achieve the above two aims, and support the staff involved in the Micro-scale Irrigation Program
to overcome gender based issues, the LG Staff can learn about two tools from the Gender Action Learning
System. The two tools are the “Vision Road” and the “Gender Balance Tree”.
The “Vision Road” allows for the creation of individual and shared visions in a household; this allows the
people to understand what they are aiming for as individuals and a household. This then encourages the
people in a household to support each other and work together co-operatively to achieve the vision.
Once a vision has been established it is then important to discuss the division of labour in achieving that
vision and also the division of benefits. This is where the “gender Balance Tree” can be used. Using the
Vision Road tool first and then The Gender Balance Tree tool allows the household to deal with the
complexities of differing opinions about what is important (the vision) and then the realities of achieving
that vision and sharing the benefits that is equitable between men and women.
The lack of shared visions and plans within households leads to disagreements, stagnation and even
domestic violence. In this situation interventions can even possibly make the matter worse by increasing
conflict over work, income and assets. To overcome this there needs to be shared visions and plans. This is
why we use the “Vision Road”.
Many households will have inequality in who does most of the household work; spends most for the
household income; benefits most from household income; who owns property and decision-making. This is
why we use the “Gender Balance Tree” to help the household members appreciate that these imbalances
exist and how they might be addressed.
In 2011 GIZ co-funded a review of Gender Action Learning System in the coffee value chain in Uganda. The
review demonstrated conclusively that the Gender Action Learning System had been successful in
unseating powerful cultural norms. Remarkable life changes related to the division of both domestic and
farm work, household decision making, control and access to assets and services and decreases in alcohol
abuse and violence were indicated.
These tools will be used to highlight and discuss gender based issues at the household level. Since these
tools encourage participatory decision-making, we will use them to empower women to manage and
benefit from the irrigation equipment.
Introduction
The Vision Road approach is a very detailed participatory strategic planning framework used to help
individuals, households or groups plan their transition from their current situation to a better future as
outlined in their desired future vision.
Methodology
The basic framework is to compare the process of moving from the “current situation” to the “desired
future vision” as a road journey. The methodology consists of 5 steps:
This process starts very simply with a vision circle up on the top right, a current situation circle at the
bottom left, and a road from the current situation to the vision circle, Figure 21.
The road journey is divided into three lanes. Each lane is used to take a broad aspect of the household from
its current situation to the future vision. Examples of these areas are: the farm, the home, the business, the
children, or the community.
The opportunities and challenges along the road journey are indicated above and below the road. The road
itself contains the action to achieve the vision, Figure 22.
Figure 22 Opportunities and challenges are drawn in above and below the road
The framework is filled out pictorially starting with the current situation, then the future vision and then
with the steps of the road journey. Figure 23 shows an example of a Vision Road with the steps marked on
it. The drawing is done using different colours by the man and woman and red for the targets.
Figure 23 Example of Vision Road created jointly by a man (using blue) and woman (using green) to take their household to their
vision
This is an experiential learning process for the householders about how to vision change, share and discuss
that vision so that is shared in the household, and then plan the steps to jointly achieve it.
The Vision Road they create is left with them and they should be encouraged to review and change it.
Introduction
The Gender Balance Tree was developed to critically analyse gender beyond just stating what women and
men do. The Gender Balance Tree helps identify gender imbalances at the household level that fuel
poverty. Such imbalances include: women’s heavy workload, inclusiveness in decision making on income
expenditure, and lack of control and ownership over resources by women.
The Gender Balance Tree uses the analogy that households can be considered to be like trees; they need to
be properly balanced if they are to bear rich fruit. If the roots are not equally strong on both sides, then the
tree will fall over in the first storm. If the fruits on one side are heavier than on the other, then again the
tree will fall over and there will be no harvest next year. Often the household tree bends towards the
woman to do the work and towards the man to receive the benefits.
The inequalities between women and men in households are a key cause of imbalances and stress in the
household tree which make them fail. Often women and men do not work equally, leading to inefficient
labour inputs to the tree. Women and men may not benefit equally in the fruits and unproductive
expenditures may cause the tree to fall over.
The household trunk is often made to bend one way or the other because of inequalities in ownership and
because decisions are not shared. This means everyone goes their own way without caring about the other
and the whole tree becomes weak. It is important that the forces acting on each side of the trunk are equal
to help it to grow straight and help the flow of goodness from roots to branches.
The household tree is being blown this way and that by power inequalities - and maybe even uprooted
altogether. Even if fertiliser is given to the roots, if this is done on one side only e.g. training or inputs only
for the men or if the forces acting on the tree are not made equal e.g. asset ownership, then the tree will
just grow faster on one side and may fall over even faster.
The gender balance tree aims to promote discussion of these imbalances and help men and women and
women in the household to develop realistic and concrete actions to address the issues.
Methodology overview
The aim of the Gender Balance Tree tool is to identify who (women or men):
• Spends most for the household income and benefits most from household income? (the branches).
Figure 24 Example of a stylised Gender Balance Tree (Higher grounds Coffee & GAMEchange Network)
Figure 25 Example of an actual Gender Balance Tree (Higher grounds Coffee & GAMEchange Network)
The basic framework is to draw a stylised outline of a tree and the have the household members fill in the
elements pictorially. The methodology consists of five steps:
Step 4: Who has the property and decision making? – at the sides of the trunk
Step 5: Decide if the tree is balanced and actions to be taken to balance the tree
2. Then put symbols for each household member on either side inside the trunk. Working women
(including co-wives living in the same family) should go on the left side of the trunk in one colour (e.g.
green), working men on the other in another colour (e.g. blue), with dependents in the middle to the
side of their respective sex in the respective colour.
2. On the outside root on each side put the activities which people of that sex performs alone for
themselves. Ring in black those which take most time as something they may want to change. Ring
those which earn most income with a blue ring, thickness indicating relative amount of income and
something which they probably want to keep.
3. On the inside roots put the activities which people of that sex perform alone for the family i.e.
housework following the above size and ring convention.
4. In the central root put those activities which both women and men do, putting the symbol on the side
of the sex who does most. Again using the above size and ring convention.
2. On the outside branch on each side, draw symbols for personal expenditure that each sex makes for
themselves alone. Ring the largest personal expenditures in black with thickest line for largest expenses
as probably things they want to change.
3. Household expenditure which only one person pays for should be on the inside branch on each side.
Ring the largest expenditures in black, with thickest line for largest expenses as possibly things they
want to change.
4. Put similarly ringed symbols for joint expenditures in the middle top branch - putting the symbol to the
side of the sex who contributes the most. Ring the largest expenditures in blue as probably things they
want to keep.
a) The property which women and men own - e.g. who owns the land? Who owns the livestock?
Who owns the house?
b) The types of decisions which women and men make – which decisions are made by women
only, which by men only, which are made jointly? Or is one person overall decision-maker or
do they always sit down together?
Figure 29 What is pushing the tree drawn to the side of the trunk
2. Ring in blue the things the family think that help the tree to balance. These do not need to change.
3. How do they think they can make the tree balance better? e.g. which tasks should be done jointly,
which expenditures could be cut, what property should be shared? Of the income earning activities can
they increase income or decrease time?
4. Identify 5 action commitments - things they want more of or less of to make the tree balance, these are
the “fruits”. Place them on the roots, on the branches or on the stem. Mark these in green or cross the
original symbol with a black cross and draw a new green symbol in the appropriate place – as unripe
fruits which they want to change and turn red.
Woman does all the domestic work while the man just
sits and relaxes
Figure 31 Examples of common issues found when using Gender Balance Tree
The Gender Balance Tree has proved very effective in highlighting the high frequency of gender imbalance
whereby in many households women do most of the work but men control and spend most of the income.
For women, the burden of unpaid household work and lack of control over income from their income-
earning activities prevents them from increasing their economic efficiency and/or using income for
productive investment and/or their own or household wellbeing.
For both men and women gendered norms of behaviour and peer pressure (e.g. male alcoholism) may
often prevent them from using income productively. It has been a surprise for many men to realise just
how much work their wives do, and how much money they themselves waste which could be used
productively and/or to help their family. This is disastrous for the women and children left behind with very
little income. It leads to a lot of discord and unhappiness and also violence in families mainly, but not only,
perpetrated by men on women and children.
It may be possible to more than double family income simply through addressing inefficiencies in division of
labour and expenditure caused by gender inequalities. These type of issues need to be considered with
respect to the Micro-Scale Irrigation Program. How will these types of issues affect the purchase,
installation and use of the irrigation equipment, what crops are grown, and who in the household benefits?
Preparation
Familiarise yourself with the tools and draw your own Vision Road and Gender Balance Tree. Only by
actually doing these tools can you understand them and the issues they address. “Learning by doing” is the
key here. You may also find out something about your home!
Prepare an introductory explanation for the Farm Visit that you will use to explain what you will discuss
with the farmer, their wife and any family.
4.1. Background
Who needs the Owner LC1 Letter?
An owner of land that does not have formal documents to prove his/her right (such as title, CCO, Bibanja)
will need to have an LC1 letter as evidence.
Who needs the User LC1 Letter?
The LC1 letter is required for the user/s of the land where there is no registered formal agreement
(leasehold) to document the right to use the land.
What does the LC1 Letter achieve?
The letter will be used to document the applicant’s rights to the land, to avoid land grabbing and
infringement of existing land rights, and to prevent future conflicts.
What does the LC1 Letter rely on for success?
The LC1, an elected representative very close to the community is called up-on to verify existing land rights
and claims. To ensure transparency the letter is countersigned by at least one witness from the community
or the family and, if possible, one Area Land Committee member.
Signatures
You will need to enter specific details and delete any incorrect information.
Date of birth
Place of birth
National ID no.
Telephone no.
Declare:
District
Sub-county
Parish
Village
Area known as
(Plot identifier)
2. That the plot is on mailo/customary land and has an approximate area of …………. Acres.
I/we obtained the land in the year………... through purchase/inheritance/gift by family head/other (please
detail).
To the North
To the East
To the South
To the West
5. That I/we am/are not aware of any other claim or conflict on this land.
Signed:
Persons Name Signature
Owner/s of the land
Witness 1, LC1
Witness 2, family member
or
community member
Date of birth
Place of birth
National ID no.
Telephone no.
Declare:
District
Sub-county
Parish
Village
Area known as
(Plot identifier)
2. That the plot is on Mailo/Customary/Freehold/Leasehold land and has an approximate area of ………….
Acres.
I/we obtained the land in the year………... through purchase/inheritance/gift by family head/other (please
detail).
To the North
To the East
To the South
To the West
5. That I/we am/are not aware of any other claim or conflict on this land.
Date of birth
Place of birth
National ID or
Passport/other
Telephone no.
8. The land is leased/rented for use for a period of ………… months/years starting from (date) …………………..
9. That Mr/Ms …………………………………………… will compensate/not compensate me/us for the use of the
land. The compensations shall consist of (amount and kind of compensation) ………….…………………………. to
be corresponded every month/every season/every year.
10. That in case of breach of this agreement I am entitled to claim the plot back after a period of
……….…. Months.
Signed:
Persons Name Signature
Owner/s of the land
User/s of the land
Witness 1, LC1
Witness 2, ALC member
You can obtain climate data for your area from local meteorological agency, Uganda National Meteorology
Authority may already have data (https://unma.go.ug/).
ClimWat offers observed agroclimatic data of over 5000 stations worldwide for support of the computer
program CropWat, which is used for the calculation of crop water requirements and irrigation requirements
based on soil, climate and crop data.
ClimWat can be downloaded from the FAO website. In the program, click on one of the stations in Uganda
(Figure 34) and then ‘Export Selected Stations’. Two files are then created: CLI (for rainfall) and PEN (for
climate) extensions. Next, go to CropWat, click on ‘Climate/ET0’, and open the .PEN file; click on ‘Rain’ and
open the .CLI file. Rainfall and ET0 values are then shown in tables and can be made visible in charts as well.
• Climate in Uganda is very location dependent – even within regions there is considerable
variation;
• Climate data show averages for multiple decades – a certain year may have for example a
longer dry period or an earlier start of the rainy season;
• Climate is changing – this mainly influences amount and intensity of rainfall in Uganda.
Climate change in Uganda
Most climate change studies project an increase of more than 10% in average precipitation rates for
Uganda during both the long- and short rains season (March – May and October – December). A
longer wet season extending into January or even February is also projected. This increases the
amount of water available for agriculture, although average temperatures are also expected to
increase by about 2 degrees towards 2055, which means higher evapotranspiration.
For more information on climate change effects for Uganda, see (I) and (II).
Figure 35 Adaptation figure highlighting chosen weather stations associated with each cluster.
Each cluster is represented by a ‘best fit’ weather station chosen according to its relative location with each
respective cluster. The location of each station is outlined by a star in Figure 35.
Weather stations were chosen based on centrality to the cluster, where possible, otherwise stations were
selected according to general proximity, Table 20 below.
Rainfall datasets were download and subsequently imported into the CROPWAT 8.0 application to calculate
Effective Rainfall (ER) (see http://www.fao.org/land-water/databases-and-software/cropwat/en/).
Effective Rainfall (ER), a term interchangeable with Effective Precipitation (EP), is a measure of rainfall that
is actively absorbed and stored in the root zone. The formulae used to calculate these values therefore aim
to discount all water that is lost through run-off or to groundwater. According to the USDA Soil
Conservation service, ER can be effectively calculated by Equation 1and Equation 2 which is the chosen
method of calculation in the CROPWAT 8.0 application:
Rainfall data (mm) and the associated ER estimate (mm) are presented for each cluster in 16.
Source datasets for each figure presented in Table 21 can be found at the end of this section.
120
100
80
60
Effective Rainfall (ER):
40
Mean: 83mm 20
Max: 119mm 0
Min: 36mm
Total: 992mm
Millimetres (mm)
140
120
100
80
60
Effective Rainfall (ER): 40
20
Mean: 83mm
0
Max: 124mm
Min: 51mm
Total: 999mm
Rainfall:
Mean: 96mm Cluster 3
Max: 176mm
Min: 34mm 200
Millimetres (mm)
100
50
Effective Rainfall
(ER): 0
Mean: 78mm
Max: 126mm
Min: 32mm
Total: 941mm Rainfall Effectvie Rainfall (ER)
Rainfall:
Mean: 130mm
Max: 209mm
Cluster 4
Min: 17mm 250
Millimetres (mm)
Table 21. Monthly rainfall data and figures for all selected cluster stations
The ET0 values, Error! Reference source not found.Table 22, were calculated via the CROPWAT 8.0
application employing the Penman-Monteith equation.
The Penman-Monteith equation predicts the average daily ET0 predominantly calculated in accordance with
the FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56, with some minor alterations.
Precise outlines of the Penman-Monteith method can be found in the same CLIMWAT 2.0 for CROPWAT
manual by Muñoz & Grieser (2006) (see http://www.juergen-grieser.de/downloads/CLIMWAT_2.pdf).
Table 22. Monthly evapotranspiration estimates for each selected cluster station
Crops each have different rates of evapotranspiration, values for which can be accounted for through crop
coefficient (Kc) values. The Kc value, according to FAO, incorporates individual cropping coefficients and
utilises the averaged effects of evaporation from the soil and plant leaf (see
http://www.fao.org/3/x0490e/x0490e0b.htm).
Kc values were obtained for three different crops; i) Banana, ii) Small Vegetables, and iii) Coffee.
Crops have varying Kc values throughout the growth cycle. For micro-irrigation design , we selected only
the peak Kc to predict the maximum crop evapotranspiration rates. The Kc values used are displayed in
Table 23.
Table 23. Crop coefficient (Kc) values for Banana, Vegetables and Coffee. Source: FAO
Individual crop evapotranspiration rates can then be calculated by using the selected Kc and multiplying it
by the regional ET0 estimate (Equation 3).
Crop evapotranspiration rates are calculated for each crop and cluster region in Table 24, and full data
displayed at the end of this section.
mm/day
Mean: 5
6
Max: 6
Min: 4 5
Cluster 3
4
Mean: 5
Max: 7
Min: 4
Cluster 4
Mean: 5 Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
Max: 7
Min: 4
Cluster 1
Mean: 4 Vegetables
Max: 5 7
Min: 4
Cluster 2 6
mm/day
Mean: 4
5
Max: 5
Min: 4 4
Cluster 3
3
Mean: 5
Max: 6
Min: 4
Cluster 4
Mean: 5 Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
Max: 6
Min: 4
Cluster 1
Mean: 5 Coffee
Max: 5 7
Min: 4
Cluster 2 6
mm/day
Mean: 4
5
Max: 5
Min: 4 4
Cluster 3
3
Mean: 5
Max: 6
Min: 4
Cluster 4
Mean: 5 Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
Max: 6
Min: 4
*For irrigation design purposes, values are rounded to nearest mm
Table 24. Crop evapotranspiration estimates and figures for Banana, small Vegetable, and Coffee crops
The IWR states the volume, or depth, of water required for application to a crop to offset water lost by
evapotranspiration. Different crops demonstrate that rates of evapotranspiration are specific to each as
defined by their individual ETc. As such, an IWR value must also be calculated for each.
The IWR of a crop is simply the difference between the crop specific evapotranspiration rate (ETc) and the
Effective Rainfall (ER), Equation 4 :
The IWR equation therefore produces the volume/ depth of supplementary irrigation required for specific
crops to offset losses through evaporation.
IWR values were calculated for each crop for all clusters and is displayed in units of millimetres (Table 25). A
complete dataset of values used in these figures are outlined at the end of the section.
Further detail on IWR calculation can be obtained from FAO; Irrigation Water Requirements (see
http://www.fao.org/3/w4347e/w4347e0c.htm).
mm/day
4
Max: 4 3
Min: 1 2
1
Cluster 3 0
Mean: 3 -1
Max: 5
Min: 1
Cluster 4
Mean: 2 Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
Max: 6
Min: 0
Cluster 1
Mean: 2
Max: 4 Vegetables
Min: 1
6
Cluster 2 5
Mean: 2 4
mm/day
Max: 3 3
Min: 0 2
1
Cluster 3 0
Mean: 2 -1
Max: 5
Min: 0
Cluster 4
Mean: 2 Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
Max: 5
Min: 1
Cluster 1
Mean: 2
Max: 4 Coffee
Min: 1
6
Cluster 2 5
Mean: 2 4
mm/day
Max: 4 3
Min: 0 2
Cluster 3 1
Mean: 2 0
-1
Max: 5
Min: 0
Cluster 4
Mean: 2
Max: 5 Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
Min: 0
*For irrigation design purposes, values are rounded to nearest mm
Table 25. Crop Irrigation Water Requirement estimates and figures for Banana, Small Vegetables and Coffee crops
5.9.Climate Data
Cluster 1
Month Min Temp Max Temp Humidity Wind Sun Rad ETo
°C °C % km/day hours MJ/m²/day mm/day
January 16.2 26.6 67 372 5.5 17.2 4.66
February 16.1 26.7 67 389 5.5 17.9 4.86
March 16 26 70 406 5.6 18.3 4.7
April 15.7 24.7 77 406 7 19.9 4.25
May 15.7 24 79 406 7.5 19.6 3.92
June 15.8 24.1 74 432 8.4 20.2 4.29
July 15.5 24.1 72 389 6.5 17.8 4.15
August 15.1 24 75 372 6.6 18.8 4.07
September 15.2 24.2 76 406 5.5 17.9 4.02
October 15.5 24.3 77 372 6.9 20 4.15
November 15.6 24.7 75 346 6.9 19.4 4.18
December 15.7 24.8 73 354 7.6 20.1 4.34
Cluster 2
Month Min Temp Max Temp Humidity Wind Sun Rad ETo
°C °C % km/day hours MJ/m²/day mm/day
January 18 28.3 68 294 7.4 20.1 4.89
February 18 28.2 69 294 7.5 21 5
March 18 27.5 74 294 6.5 19.7 4.56
April 17.5 26 82 277 6 18.4 3.82
May 17.5 25.3 84 294 6.1 17.6 3.51
June 17.1 25.1 80 311 6.2 17.1 3.56
July 16.5 25 79 311 5.6 16.5 3.54
August 16.3 25.5 81 294 5.8 17.6 3.65
September 16.5 26.5 79 294 6 18.6 4
October 16.8 27.1 77 268 6.2 18.9 4.16
November 17.2 27.1 76 251 6.2 18.4 4.11
December 17.3 27.1 74 277 6.9 19.1 4.3
Cluster 3
Month Min Temp Max Temp Humidity Wind Sun Rad ETo
°C °C % km/day hours MJ/m²/day mm/day
January 15.6 32.1 59 233 7.4 20 5.39
February 16.3 31.6 61 233 7.5 20.9 5.48
March 16.8 30.8 66 233 6.5 19.7 5.08
April 17.1 28.8 74 233 6 18.5 4.35
May 16.8 27.8 80 233 6.1 17.7 3.86
June 16.2 27.7 78 216 6.4 17.5 3.84
July 16 27.2 77 251 5.6 16.5 3.78
August 15.7 27.5 77 251 5.8 17.6 3.98
September 15.5 28.1 76 251 6 18.6 4.23
October 15.7 28.7 75 233 6.2 18.9 4.33
November 15.8 29.8 71 233 6.2 18.3 4.49
December 15.7 30.3 67 251 6.9 18.9 4.8
Cluster 4
Month Min Temp Max Temp Humidity Wind Sun Rad ETo
°C °C % km/day hours MJ/m²/day mm/day
January 16.5 32 53 268 4.8 15.9 5.39
February 17.1 32.2 54 268 6.7 19.5 5.85
March 17.6 31.2 61 268 4.6 16.6 5.12
April 17.7 29.3 73 251 5.6 17.9 4.43
May 17.5 28 78 233 5.7 17.3 3.93
June 17 27.5 77 199 5.9 17.1 3.76
July 16.6 26.5 78 199 4.9 15.8 3.49
August 16.6 26.7 79 199 5.4 17.1 3.67
September 16.6 28 76 216 6.4 19.3 4.21
October 16.7 28.7 74 233 7 19.9 4.48
November 16.5 29.6 68 233 7.6 20.2 4.81
December 16.2 30.3 61 251 8 20.2 5.19
Coffee IWR
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
January 3.97 3.58 4.89 5.40
February 3.44 3.42 4.21 5.22
March 2.35 1.64 3.10 3.08
April 0.88 0.08 0.88 0.84
May 1.49 0.65 0.17 0.11
June 2.89 2.11 1.45 0.15
July 2.84 2.25 1.24 -0.18
August 1.25 1.53 1.35 -0.45
September 0.71 1.53 2.04 0.29
October 0.74 1.47 2.08 0.66
November 0.90 0.70 2.64 2.18
December 2.69 2.22 4.04 4.85
Avg 2.01 1.77 2.34 1.85
6. IrriTrack App and MIS - roles and access rights of different users
Users MAAIF DLG LLG
Senior System Cluster Admin Procurement Focal Point/ Data
Admin Coord Data Collector
Collector
DAIMWAP MAAIF staff DAO/PAO/SAO DCO SAE AO (District and
DAES DPMO sub-county)
GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE OF USER
Coverage – all districts or just own district All All Cluster District District District District
ADMIN FUNCTIONS
Access to MIS x x x x x x
Submit EOI x x
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
FOR
BETWEEN
AND
The parties agree on the following roles and responsibilities with reference to the establishment,
operation and maintenance of the irrigation demonstration site as part of the Micro-scale Irrigation
Program.
• cater for all expenses involved in planning and installation of the irrigation system.
• train the farmer on irrigation, irrigated agriculture as well as operation and maintenance of
the irrigation equipment as part of the regular extension service and support offered by the
District Local Government Production department.
• provide agricultural supplies per season (i.e. improved seed, fertilisers, spray pumps,
tarpaulins, selected tools etc) to be utilised during trainings in the irrigation demonstration
site.
• host the demonstration site in his / her farm located in ………………………. Sub-
county/Town council, …………………. Parish/Ward, and ……………………Village/Cell.
• provide the land free of encumbrances for purposes of establishing the irrigation system.
• be responsible for the day-to-day cost of operations of the demonstration site (including
labour, fuel)
• carry out the required maintenance of the irrigation equipment on his / her own cost.
Income generated from the crops in the demonstration site shall be used by the farmer for
sustainability of the system.
• grant access to the District Local Government to use the irrigation demonstration site for
farmer awareness campaigns and also running of farmer field schools at no cost.
• maintain records on the farm and avail this data whenever needed to the Local
Government.
This agreement will remain in effect for three (3) years, from the date of signing, and shall be
renewable upon fulfilment of the roles by both parties and subject to mutual agreement for
renewal. This MoU may be amended by mutual consent of the Parties through an Exchange of
Notes between the Parties. During the period of the agreement, the farmer shall have ownership of
irrigation equipment and this shall hold after the end of the agreed upon period.
The agreement may be terminated by one party by giving at least thirty (30) days’ notice in writing
to the other party. In case of termination of the agreement before the agreed period, the farmer
shall no longer retain the ownership of the irrigation system, the District Local Government shall
repossess the equipment.
Any disputes arising in connection with this consent will be amicably resolved through
negotiation by all parties. Failure of which shall be referred to arbitration in accordance with the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act Cap 4, of the Laws of Uganda.
Date: ……………………………………………….
8.1.Wetlands
SECOND SCHEDULE: (Regulation 11&12)
3. Cultivation
4. Drainage
6. Sewerage filtration
7. Fishing using fish gear and weirs, fish farming and other aquaculture
8. Construction of transport and communication facilities such as roads, railways, telephone lines
9. Burning
10. Any exploitative activity which is of a commercial or trade nature, such as harvesting of papyrus for
commercial purposes.
Therefore, the Microscale Irrigation program cannot allow development of irrigation within a wetland. This
would require a permit. Likewise, extraction of water from wetland could be construed as drainage and
require a permit.
Therefore, the Microscale Irrigation program cannot allow development of irrigation alongside a wetland as
the movement of soil and pesticides in drainage water may impact the wetland. The program will therefore
treat a wetland as an unscheduled river and maintain a 30m protection zone.
8.2.Rivers
SIXTH SCHEDULE (Regulation 29)
2. R. Aswa.
3. R. Katonga.
4. R. Nkusi.
5. R Kafu.
6. R. Rwizi.
7. R. Kagera.
8. R. Mpanga.
9. R. Manafwa.
10. R. Mpologoma.
11. R Semliki.
12. R. Mubuku.
13. R. Mayanja.
14. R. Sezibwa.
15. R. Malaba.
16. R. Sipi.
17. R. Namatala.
18. R. Sironko.
19. R. Muzizi.
20. R. Nabuyonga.
The regulations state that there can be no development or works within 100m of the highest watermark of
these scheduled rivers without a permit. For non-scheduled rivers there should be no development within
30m of the highest watermark without a permit. Therefore, the Microscale Irrigation program cannot allow
irrigation development within these zones.
8.3.Lakes
SEVENTH SCHEDULE (Regulation 30)
1. L.Victoria.
2. L. Kyoga.
3. L. Albert.
4. L. Edward.
5. L. George.
6. L. Bisina.
7. L. Mburo.
8. L. Bunyonyi.
9. L. Kijanibarora.
10. L. Kwania.
11. L. Wamala.
12. L. Mutanda.
13. L. Marebe
14. L. Opeta.
15. L. Nabugabo.
16. L. Nkugute.
17. L. Katunga.
18. L. Nyabihoko.
19. L. Nakivale.
The regulations state that here can be no development or works within 200m of the edges of scheduled
lakes without a permit. For non-scheduled lakes there should be no development within 100m without a
permit. The edge is where the water or beach if there is a beach merges with the vegetation. Therefore, the
Microscale Irrigation program cannot allow irrigation development within these zones.
9. Environmental assessment
Please type or print clearly, completing this form in its entirety. You may provide
additional information on a separate sheet of paper if necessary. Kindly note that the
information you are to provide is required by Section 22 of the National Environment Act Cap
153. (To be filled by the Environment focal point person at sub-county level or Environment
Officer at the District Municipal Council)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
b. Will the project/facility require auxiliary facilities? YES….. NO……. Please include the type
of auxiliary/ancillary facilities required.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
c. Describe the land formation, topography, vegetation in/adjacent to the project area (e.g is it a
low lying land, waterlogged, rocky, swampy or wetland, etc). Estimate and determine whether
vegetation might need to be cleared
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
d. Are there any environmentally sensitive areas or threatened species that could be adversely
affected by the project (specify below)?
i. Forest YES …………… NO …………..
ii. Wetlands YES …………… NO …………..
iii. Water YES …………… NO …………..
iv. Habitats of endangered species protected by law YES …… NO ……
v. Land YES …………… NO …………..
vi. Others (e.g cultural sites, burial ground) YES …… NO ……
3. Wetland systems
a. How far is the nearest wetland from the project site? …………………KM
b. Will the project adversely affect the wetland system? YES…… NO…….
4. Rivers and lakes ecology
Is there a possibility that due to construction and operation of the project, the river and lake
ecology will be adversely affected? Attention should be paid to water quality and quantity, the
nature of productivity and use of aquatic habitats, variations of these over time.
YES……. NO………..
6. Ground Water
a. Will the project require ground water? YES……. NO………
b. If yes, does the project have plans for catchment protection?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
7. Air pollution
Will the project release pollutants in the atmosphere? YES…… NO…….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
c. Will the project activities affect the community health and safety? YES….. NO…..
d. If yes, specify the measures in place to safeguard human health and safety.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
measures to consider.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
………
16. Land use, resettlement and/or land acquisition
a. Are there any land use plans on or nearby the project location, which will be negatively
affected by project implementation? YES….. NO…….
b. Will involuntary resettlement, land acquisition, or loss, denial or restriction of access to land
and other economic activities be caused by project implementation? YES….
NO…….
17. Loss of crops, fruits, trees and household infrastructure
Will the project result in permanent or temporary loss of crops, fruit trees, and household
infrastructure (such as granaries, latrines, kitchens etc.)? YES…. NO……
18. Landscape/Aesthetics
Is there a possibility of the project adversely affecting the land scape/aesthetic attractiveness of
the local landscape? YES…. NO…..
19. Vulnerable people
a. Will the project employ the local community? YES…. NO…..
b. Will the project displace historically disadvantaged people? YES….. NO….
c. Will the project sensitize on HIV and AIDS? YES…… NO……
d. Will women and youth be considered for employment? YES….. NO……
e. Will the project lead to gender-based violence? YES….. NO……
f. Will the project lead to violence against children? YES….. NO……
g. Will the project employ child labor? YES….. NO……
EVALUATION
1. Produce significant amounts of pollutants: YES [ ] NO [ ]
2. Type of pollutants (If YES in 1) Air [ ] Water [ ] Ground [ ]
3. Negative impacts in large scale: YES [ ] NO [ ]
4. Irreversible destruction of fragile system YES [ ] NO [ ]
5. Depletion, displacement or extinction of protected species YES [ ] NO [ ]
6. Negative impacts whose mitigation requires consultation: YES [ ] NO [ ]
7. Negative cumulative impacts in foreseeable future: YES [ ] NO [ ]
8. Noncompliance to social policy: YES [ ] NO [ ]
9. Need for further studies: YES [ ] NO [ ]
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Based on the above screening results, the following recommendations are made;
Before construction/civil works can commence, the following safeguard documents must be
prepared (tick as relevant)
a. ESIA…………….
b. Project Brief…….
c. ESMP……………
d. RAP……………..
PREPARED
BY:…………………………………………………………………………………….
SIGNATURE:……………………………………………………………………………………
…..
DESIGNATION:…………………………………………………………………………………
….
DATE:………………………………………………………………………………………………
You will need to measure and map the area of the land to be irrigated. For this purpose there are two
possible approaches:
You should use both approaches. Using the IrriTrack App there should be functionality to map the boundary
of the field by walking all along the boundary of the field and it will store the boundary and calculate the
area automatically.
If the IrriTrack App is not working then use the “GPS essentials” app available from Google Play Store for
free. GPS essentials is a very suitable app for all kinds of GPS applications. More information can be found
in the manual (www.gpsessentials.com) and instruction videos on their YouTube channel
(www.youtube.com/user/gpsessentialsapp).
Also write down the GPS points at the corners of the land to be irrigated to give a hard copy backup.
As a check you can also measure the land with a tape measure, this can then also be used to estimate the
area. This provides a backup to the estimate using the IrriTrack or GPS essentials apps.
Take pictures of the land to be irrigated from North, South, East and West.
Things to check:
The land area to be irrigated must be less than 2.5 acres. If the area is more than 2.5 acres then you will
need to discuss with the farmer how to reduce the area as the Micro-Scale Irrigation Program is limited a
maximum area of 2.5 acres per farmer.
Check the distance of the land from any rivers. The regulations state that there can be no development or
works within 100m of the highest watermark of scheduled rivers without a permit. For non-scheduled
rivers there should be no development within 30m of the highest watermark without a permit. Therefore,
the Microscale Irrigation program cannot allow irrigation development within these zones.
Check the distance of the land from any lakes. The regulations state that here can be no development or
works within 200m of the edges of scheduled lakes without a permit. For non-scheduled lakes there should
be no development within 100m without a permit. The edge is where the water or beach if there is a beach
merges with the vegetation. Therefore, the Microscale Irrigation program cannot allow irrigation
development within these zones.
Is the land within a wetland? Farming in a wetland is not permitted, therefore the Microscale Irrigation
program cannot allow irrigation development within a wetland.
For the water source take pictures and get the GPS location, again also write down a hard copy.
Elevation change
To determine the height difference between the water source and the land to be irrigated use the Hand
Sight Level as described below:
A Builders Level tool will be used to The builders level has a level vial and a bubble, Look along the level whilst a colleague Whatever objects you can see
measure the elevation change. which when in the middle gives you a checks that the bubble is in the middle along the top of the level when
Measure the distance from the horizontal line of sight. so that the level is horizontal. You are the bubble is lined up is level
ground to your eye height. This now looking along a horizontal line. with your eye height.
gives you a base number to use in
your calculations.
Start at the level of the water Then move to point A. Repeat the same Repeat the same process. You can repeat this process as
source. Look towards the field along process. Look along the level. Choose an object Look along the level. Choose an object many times as is needed until
the level. Choose an object that you that you can see is level with your eye height on that you can see is level with your eye you reach the level of the field
can see is level with your eye height the slope. Think of this as point B. Move to height on the slope. Think of this as to be irrigated.
on the slope. Think of this as point A. point B. This is your next measurement point C. When you move to point C Add up the number of eye
This is your first measurement complete. The elevation is now 2 x your eye the elevation will now be 3 x your eye heights together to calculate
complete. The elevation change so height. height. the elevation from the water
far is whatever your eye height is. source to the field.
Elevation change = A + B + C
(i.e. 3 x eye height).
Technical Guidelines Version 2, June 2022 Page 166 of 220
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
Notes:
1) For the last sighting, if this is less than a full eye-height, then just estimate the height.
2) If the slope is every steep e.g. a steep sided river bank, or you need the depth of water in a well, just use a tape measure to estimate the height and
then add that measurement onto the elevation calculation.
11.1. Introduction
Since soils are literally the basis for crop production, it is important to make an initial assessment of the
suitability of the soils for irrigation. For an initial assessment, the most important soil properties for
irrigation suitability are:
- Soil texture that determines the water storage and infiltration and drainage
- Soil depth and presence of rocks and hard layers in the profile
- Soil chemical properties such as pH and salinity that influence the soil nutrient balance
Soil texture is the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay present in a soil. Water can be stored in the
spaces (soil pores) between these soil particles.
Apart from some exceptions (very sandy soils, salinized soils etc.), the assessment of the characteristics of
soils is not critical. Suitability for irrigation can be assessed easily by observing the crops that are grown in
the area, interviews with farmers and by doing some basic in-field soil tests. These tests give information on
soil texture, the presence of hard layers and the depth of the groundwater table.
• pH;
1. the depth of the soil (if bedrock is close to the surface, e.g. closer than 1 meter)
2. the depth of the water table (if the hole fills up with water)
3. compacted layers
For this a measuring tape is necessary as well. If an auger is not available a shovel, hoe or other
digging tool can be used.
A related but slightly more elaborate method (the ribbon test) is explained in this video; a ribbon chart for
detailed soil structure classification can be found here.
Soil texture can also be determined with the jar test (video). For this you fill about 1/2 of a clean jar with
soil, add water, shake for some time until all particles are in suspension, and leave the jar for 2 or 3 days for
the sediment to settle. The different layers (sand, silt and clay) are then separated, and the relative height
represents the division of particle sizes in the soil. The soil texture can then be determined using the soil
texture triangle (Figure 37) or this calculator.
Other basic in-field soil tests can be found on the FAO website.
Soil depth
For irrigation the soil needs a minimum depth of 50 cm until bedrock or another hard / compacted layer.
Moreover, if the water table is closer than 1 meter from the surface, irrigation is not recommended since
roots can then take up water directly from the groundwater and there will be a risk of soil salinity.
Soil texture
Soil texture determines how water is retained in the soil (for plant availability) and the drainage capacity.
Table 37 can be used for an indication of these soil characteristics for general soil types:
Table 37 Texture effects on soil properties relating to irrigation (Schroeder et al., 2007; from sugarresearch.com.au)
For irrigation, it is important that the soil is not too sandy (maximum percentage sand = 85%), otherwise
irrigation water will infiltrate and drain too fast, leaving less water available for the crops. Likewise, soils
can be not too clayey (maximum percentage clay = 90%), or irrigation water cannot leave the soil too
slowly, causing saturation and related problems (asphyxiation of roots).
More information
The FAO guide on irrigation design (Module 2, Chapter 3) provides more background information on soil properties
and surveys for irrigation development.
Location
Silt
Clay
Total:
Sources of information
No. Author Title Type of Topic covered Description/Comments
Document
2 Sugarresea Soil and irrigation: Info sheet Soil and irrigation: soil https://sugarresearch.com.
rch.com.au soil texture and texture and structure au/wp-
structure content/uploads/2017/02/I
S14022-Soils-and-irrigation-
soil-texture-and-
structure.pdf
Tools for fieldwork: • GPS, stopwatch (or a mobile phone with both functions)
• Lakes
• Wetlands
• Springs
In the initial water assessment, it is important to get to know the capacity of these sources – that is, how
much water is available for irrigation, but also in which time of year. Rivers, for example, contain a lot of
water after rainy seasons but may run dry soon afterwards.
Stream type: brief description regarding the stream type and its environment, e.g. ‘small, steep, fast-
flowing mountain stream in between rocks’ or ‘broad, slowly flowing lowland stream with lots of reed on
the banks’.
Discharge can be measured by the float method. With the float method the discharge in a stream is
determined by multiplying the cross sectional area of water by the average velocity of the water.
• Straight with more or less uniform cross-section along the entire section;
4. Measure the depth at three points along the width and take the average.
6. Release the float a little distance from the reach (so it has the stream’s velocity at the beginning of the
reach) and time how long it takes for it to reach the end of the section.
The FAO provides a complete manual for the float method, and a video example can be found here. It is
important to note that the used float needs to be partially submerged, so it is less influenced by the wind. A
stick or leave is thus not a good float in this case; a piece of fruit (orange, lemon etc.) or a partly filled bottle
are suitable floats.
The stream velocity is measured with the time it takes an orange to travel 10 meters in a stream.
3 timings are taken: 40.24, 39.76 and 39.04 seconds. The width of the stream is 0.6 meters and
the 3 measured depths are 0.30, 0.58 and 0.47 meters. What is the stream discharge?
Q=v*A*k in which Q = discharge (m3/s), v = velocity (m/s), A = cross sectional area (m2) and
k is a correction factor;
The average time is 39.68 seconds, the distance is 20 meters, so v = 10 / 39.68 = 0,25 m/s.
Average depth 0.45 meters. The cross sectional area A is then: A = 0.6 * 0.45 = 0.27 m 2.
Total discharge Q is then: 0.25 m/s * 0.27 m2 * 0.85 = 0.057 m3/s = 57 litres per second.
Typical discharge values for small streams are between 10 and about 200 litres per second; however, after
rains this can easily become over 1,000 litres per second.
With the first assessment of irrigation water availability from the stream one can also make an estimation
of the area. An irrigation amount of 1 l/s/ha or 0.4 l/s/acre is used as a rule of thumb, which means in this
case that with the water from the stream in the float example 57 / 0.4 = 142 acres can be irrigated. This is
off course dependent on the specific crop, but is a good first estimation of the irrigation capacity of a
stream.
12.6. Quantification of other water sources: lakes, swamps and other reservoirs
Small lakes and other reservoirs may also be used as a source of irrigation water. To estimate the volume, it
is necessary to know the area (in m2) and the average depth of the reservoir. The area can be measured by
walking around the lake with a GPS, or from satellite imagery. To make a conservative estimate of the
volume, half the measured depth should be taken for calculation of the volume.
The area of a small lake is 200 m2, and the measured depth in the middle is 0.9 m. The estimated
volume is then 200 * 0.9 * 0.5 = 90 m3
However, the volume of a lake may not be the same as the capacity for irrigation water. For example, if the
90 m3 from the lake is used within just one dry season, the inflow during the following rainy season may not
be enough to bring the water in the lake back to the same level.
Pumping test
Another possibility is to place a pump with a known capacity (in litres per second) in a pond, stream, bore
or well and see what happens if it is pumping for at least 12 hours. If the water level visibly drops, note the
height difference and amount of time the pump was active. If possible, also visit the source the following
day to check if its water level is back to normal again. In case the water level does not visibly drop, recharge
is probably sufficient for the source to be used for the proposed scale of irrigation systems.
To measure the capacity of pumps, the bucket method can be used, in which the total time it takes to fill a
bucket with a known volume is measured. The bucket method can also be used to measure the discharge of
small canals, for example if there is an elevation drop or where they are converted through hollow trees. A
video example of how to measure flow with the bucket method can be found here.
A bucket with a volume of 20 liters is filled 3 times from a pump, and the number of seconds it takes to
fill the bucket is 8.43, 8.62 and 8.31 seconds. What is the capacity of the pump?
The average time it takes to fill the 20 liter bucket is 8.45 seconds. The capacity is then:
More information on potential surface water sources can be found in the FAO
Irrigation Design Manual: Module 2 – Chapter 4
More information on groundwater resources can be found in the FAO Irrigation Design
Manual: Module 2 – Chapter 5
Depth of water
For the types of surface pumps used in this program the difference between the pump inlet and the water
source (the Vertical suction lift) should be less than 6m vertical difference.
This is because if the difference is greater than 6m then the suction of the pump will cause air in the water
to form bubbles and cause cavitation. This means the pump will not be able to pump the full flow of water
and after time will damage the pump.
With groundwater from a well or borehole there will be drawdown with pumping therefore there needs to
be an extra allowance of 2-4m for this drawdown. Therefore, the starting water level can only be 0-2m
below the inlet of the pump.
Figure 26 Drawdown
Water quality
Besides water quantity, it is also important to know the quality of the water to be used for irrigation.
Irrigation water comes from a number of different sources and so its quality varies. Water from various
sources may be of an unsuitable quality for its intended use for irrigation, stock, household or other farm
activities. It is important to identify and correct water quality problems that may affect on-farm use and
productivity.
Problems with water quality may have a chemical basis (for example, acidic or alkaline water or
concentrations of certain elements) or be of a physical nature (for example, plant growth such as algae).
Some problems may be more obvious than others, and some may require more extensive treatment than
others.
Water quality can affect plants, soils, irrigation equipment, stock and domestic use.
pH
The pH balance of a water supply describes how acidic or alkaline it is. The acidity (or alkalinity) of a water
supply can affect plant growth, irrigation equipment, pesticide efficiency and drinking water.
Water with a pH below 7 is acid and water with a pH above 7 is alkaline. Most natural waters are between
pH 5 and 8.
The generally accepted pH for irrigation water is between 5.5 and 7.5, but some problems can occur within
this range.
Alkaline water may contain high concentrations of bicarbonate (generally in water of pH 8 and above) and
carbonates (generally pH 9 and above). This can cause calcium and magnesium to precipitate from the soil,
this can affect plant growth. Some trace elements, like copper and zinc, will also be less available to the
plant in this situation.
Acidic water can also have a detrimental effect on plant growth, particularly causing nutritional problems,
while strongly acidic water (below pH 4) can contribute to soil acidification. A pH less than 6 indicates
corrosiveness, which can lead to damage to metal pipes, tanks and fittings.
Iron
Soluble iron and iron-loving bacteria can cause blockages in pipes, drippers and sprinklers and can damage
equipment such as pressure gauges. If water with high soluble iron is applied by spray, it can discolour
leaves and reduce the efficiency of transpiration and photosynthesis. High levels of soluble iron are usually
associated with deep bores and dams where oxygen supply is limited. Aeration oxidises the iron, forming
solid particles that can then settle out of solution. Iron is soluble in water where there is little or no oxygen.
Oxidising the iron makes it form solid particles that can then settle out of solution or be caught in a filter.
Hardness
Water that contains high levels of dissolved calcium or magnesium salts, or both, is described as being
‘hard’. Other cations such as iron, manganese, aluminium and zinc can also contribute to hardness. Water
hardness is defined in terms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3, also known as ‘lime’). The level of hardness
(Table 39) is expressed as the total amount of CaCO3 in milligrams per litre of water (mg/L).
Salinity
Salinity is the concentration of all soluble salts in water or in the soil. Plants are adversely affected by
salinity in several ways. The most important of these is that it limits the ability of plants to take up water. If
the soil water salt concentration is too high the plant will not be able to absorb water: it will wilt and begin
to die. The point at which this happens depends on the type of plant, some crops are more tolerant to salts
than others. Tolerance also varies with the stage of growth, especially at germination and at the seedling
stage when plants are most susceptible.
In water, salinity is usually measured by its electrical conductivity (EC), which is a measure of the
concentration of ions in water or in the soil solution. The international standard for measuring salinity is
deci-Siemens per metre (dS/m), but several other units of measurement are still in use.
For most crops more than 2 dS/m will cause reductions in crop yield.
EC readings are a general indicator of the salt concentration. They do not tell you the type of salts or their
relative concentrations. Plants can also be affected by the toxicity of some elements in saline water,
especially chloride, sodium and boron.
Basic water quality (pH and electrical conductivity (EC) can be tested with a portable meter.
MORE INFORMATION
FAO’s Water quality for agriculture (1985) presents an extensive guide on water quality for
irrigation purposes.
Basic information
Location
1 Stream
description
2
5 Channel form
10
12 Other sources
Situation sketch including sources & proposed area to irrigate & depth to groundwater table
Water Quality
EC (dS/m) pH
Ministry of Design guidelines for water manual All aspects of water supply https://www.mwe.go.ug/sites/default/files/library
Water and supply design /Water%20Supply%20Design%20Manual%20v.v1.1
Environment .pdf
(MWE)
NOTE: If you do not have a spirit level you can just use your eyes and best estimates of what is level.
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
NOTE: If you do not have a spirit level you can just use your eyes and best estimates of what is level.
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
Remember that this cost is indicative. The actual cost of the irrigation equipment will be confirmed after
irrigation equipment suppliers provide quotes and the District selected the lowest one on your behalf. For
this reason, IrriTrack gives a lower range and a upper range of the approximate total cost.
IrriTrack will then calculate the approximate Government co-payment and farmer co-payments. Also in this
case, IrriTrack gives a lower range and a upper range of the approximate co-payments.
The Government co-payment is calculated based on the subsidy formula provided in the Micro-scale
Irrigation Grant, Budget and Implementation guidelines FY 2020/2021 by MAAIF, which you can find in Annex
1 of the Technical guidelines of the Micro-scale Irrigation Program. The Government co-payment is calculated
as per below.
Let’s assume you are doing a farm visit, for a farmer who
wants to introduce irrigation over 1 acre, using a solar
pump.
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
As the farmer has selected a solar pump, the Government co-payment will be 75% of the total costs, with a
cap of 18 million for 2.5 acres (or proportionally reduced for a smaller area).
Approximate total cost is calculated at 22,2 million UGX, with a lower range of 18,9 million and a upper range
of 26,6 million.
This means:
The Farmer co-payment is the difference between the total cost and the Government co-payment:
• Lower range: 18,9 million – 7,2 million = 11,7 million
• Upper range: 26,6 million – 7,2 million = 19,4 million
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
allows
The Farmer the District to share data collected during the farm visit with Financial
does not allow Institutions.
Delete what NOT applicable
2. The permit application form is completed (filled-in on line) but if completed in hard copy 3 copies are
filled in.
3. The Applicant is issued with a Bank Payment Advice Form (BPAF) whose requirements are e-mailed to
[email protected] or communicated by calling 0779800020:
a. Tax Identification Number(TIN) or Name of District, County, Village and Sub county
b. Type of permit (Surface water abstraction, Ground water abstraction, Drilling, Wastewater
discharge, Construction, Easement)
Note that:
• TIN must be in the names that will appear on the application forms and therefore the
Permit.
• Annual fees vary depending on the rate of water abstraction or the discharged load of
wastewater into the environment
4. After payment in the Bank, the applicant submits or e-mails a copy of the Payment Slip to the above
given address. The applicant will then receive a URA confirmation Receipt for his or her payment.
5. The Applicant then submits a copy of a URA receipt, PLUS two sets of a completed permit application
forms to the Director, DWRM.
Further clarifications can be sought from the Commissioner, Water Resources Planning and Regulation on Tel
No 0414 699486 or by e-mail: [email protected]
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
1. Farmer details:
a. Name and Last name
c. Unique Farmer ID
d. Phone number
b. Sub-county
c. Parish
d. Village
3. Contact details of the District and sub-county staff who carried out the farm visit:
a. Name
b. Designation
c. Telephone numbers
4. Farm details:
a. Date that the farm visit was carried out
g. Soil type
a. Height difference between area to be irrigated and water source (metres), Above or Below
b. Height difference between pump location and water source (metres), Above or below
g. Diameter and depth of borehole or well, water depth in dry season (metres)
c. Type of irrigation method – drip, sprinkler (solid set or rain gun), hosepipe
7. Comments
a. Any comments noted by the sub-county and district staff
8. Photos
a. Photos of the area to be irrigated
b. Photos of the water source
UgIFT Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
Republic of Uganda
Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and
Fisheries in collaboration with selected Local
Governments
Bidding Document for the Procurement
of works
UNDER SELECTIVE/RESTRICTEDBIDDING
Subject of Procurement: DESIGN, SUPPLY AND
INSTALLATION OF MICRO-
SCALE IRRIGATION
SYSTEMS IN 40 SELECTED
DLGS
Procurement Reference Number: (………………………….……)
Date of Issue: (……………………………….)
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
1. Farmer (and in case of a married male farmer, also the wife) name and contact details and Farmer
Unique ID number.
2. Complete set of design drawings and a site layout plan. Site layout plan must indicate where the solar
panels and pump will be located.
3. Full specifications of the solar modules including quantity, make (manufacturer) and model number or
the petrol pump.
4. Full specifications of any controllers/inverters and drawings and specifications of the solar array
mounting structure.
6. Full specifications of the pump also including the pump curve and design point.
7. System capacity
8. Pumping rate
10. Full specifications of suction and delivery systems including pipe materials/sizes and any valves and
filters.
11. Full specifications of the irrigation system including any tanks, filters, hoses, sprinklers, drippers.
12. Full specifications of the soil water and nutrient measurement tools to support irrigation and fertiliser
management.
a) Irrigation requirement calculation covering: crop, time of year, area, plant water
requirement, number of irrigating days and hours of irrigation per day to give a minimum
flowrate
b) Hydraulic design showing the details of how the head and flowrate was calculated to meet
the irrigation requirement and how the pump meets this requirement
c) The design of the irrigation system including flow rates and uniformity.
14. The expected performance of the system and how it will meet the irrigation requirements, explicitly
indicating any periods in the year when crop water requirement over the full area may not be met
15. Description of how the solar panels, pump and irrigation equipment will be kept secure from vandalism
and theft
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
22. A firm price, which shows the installed cost of the complete system, valid for 90 days
24. Warranty information relating to each of the items of equipment and the overall system performance
6. Effective irrigated area (Acres) Same as the total area given in the IrriTrack
farm data.
7. Full specifications of pump and relevant Pump is type requested in tender
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
Ugandan, International standards or Specifications are clear and match with the
quality criteria. requirements. This should be shown as flow,
head and kW required pump curve. With
operating point indicated. The flowrate and
head as calculated by IrriTrack is the
minimum requirement.
Quality standards are sufficient.
8. Pumping rate (m3/s) Same as or greater than the total flow rate
given in the Irritrack farm data
9. Pump operating head (m) This should be greater than the height
difference + water depth + value for type of
irrigation system + 20% (for friction etc) in
the IrriTrack farm data
10. Full specifications of suction and Clear specifications and match with the
delivery systems including pipe requirements
materials/sizes and any valves and Length of delivery pipe equal or greater than
filters and relevant Ugandan, that given in the IrriTrack farm data.
International standards or quality Quality standards are sufficient
criteria.
11. Full specifications and number of the Type of irrigation system is as per tender
irrigation system including any tanks, Clear specifications and match with the
filters, hoses, sprinklers, drippers and requirements as per IrriTrack farm data.
relevant Ugandan, International Tank size as per tender
standards or quality criteria. Tank stand or platform is adequate
Quality standards are sufficient
12. Full specifications of the soil water and Clear specifications and match with the
nutrient measurement tools to support requirements
irrigation and fertiliser management Quality standards are sufficient
and relevant Ugandan, International
standards or quality criteria.
11. The design data and assumptions These may be the same as IrriTrack supplied
including: data or varied dependent whether a supplier
has made a farm visit. Where there is a large
difference form IrriTrack then reasons need to
be understood and the basic
a) Irrigation requirement calculation These may be the same as IrriTrack supplied
covering: crop, time of year, area, plant data or varied dependent whether a supplier
water requirement, number of has made a farm visit.
irrigating days and hours of irrigation
per day to give a minimum flowrate
b) Hydraulic design showing the details of
how the head and flowrate was
calculated to meet the irrigation
requirement and how the pump meets
this requirement
12. Guidance to the farmer of how the solar Guidance provided
panels, pump and irrigation equipment
will be kept secure from vandalism and
theft
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
Eligible items
The table below shows broad descriptions of the eligible materials in the Micro-scale Irrigation Program.
Pumping
1 Solar power:
Irrigation
Management
Maintenance
17 Spare parts and Maintenance and repair of the Any spares and tools
maintenance equipment items above associated with the
and tools equipment listed above
Ineligible items
All items outside the eligible list, and notably some items that could be associated with this type of
installation, are explicitly excluded, see Table below.
3 Tank stand
5 Land preparation
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
MODULE 1
THE FARMER FIELD SCHOOL TRAINING APPROACH
This topic introduces the FFS, its history and evolution. It builds on the fact that the farmer field school is a
participatory approach for learning, building on the principles of non-formal adult education. This is a
school without walls that takes place in a field where a crop is grown and where farmers meet regularly to
develop their capacities to analyze and solve their individual and shared problems FFS are essentially
schools without walls.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, the participants should be able to
• Understand the history and background of FFS
• Understand what FFS is
• Define the key principles and features of FFS
• Understand the main and specific objectives of the FFS
• Define the methodologies of the FFS
• Outline the key features of a FFS
Technical Content
Farmer field schools (FFSs) were first developed in 1989 in Indonesia, focusing on integrated pest
management (IPM) in rice. They bring together groups of farmers to strengthen their knowledge of and
skills in agro-ecosystems, in order that they may make informed decisions on field management. They
provide a space for hands-on practical learning in the field for the duration of a cropping season. Following
the early experiences in Indonesia, the FFS approach spread to other countries and a broader range of
topics were covered. FFSs came to Africa in the
mid-1990s and are used in an increasing number of countries. FFSs help farmers to validate and test local
knowledge, as well as scientific knowledge generated outside the community. A process of sharing and
critical analysis helps farmers to adapt new information and technologies to their local situation. The FFS
approach places emphasis on group work and aims to strengthen collaboration within and between groups;
it focuses on interaction with extension services and research. Since FFSs began over 20 years ago, more
than a million farmers worldwide have joined FFSs covering an increasing range of topics. Many countries
have since adopted the FFS approach for a broad range of topics and in a variety of contexts.
Impacts of FFS include policy change, better and more cost-effective production, improved livelihoods, and
stronger farmer organizations and networks. FFSs in Africa cover a broad range of topics, ranging from
including soil and water management, Integrated Production and Pest Management, cassava and cassava-
based farming systems and disease control among others. Overcoming production constraints at farmer
and community level is a major entry point for these FFSs.
FFS in Uganda
The farmer field school approach in Uganda was introduced in 1999 and to date just over 4 000 FFS have
been implemented in a variety of contexts, such as: integrated production and pest management (IPPM)
for different crops (e.g. cotton, sweet potato, tomato and cabbage); land and water management; disease
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
control (e.g. banana bacterial wilt [BBW] and late blight in potatoes); food security (farmer innovation,
livestock management, self-reliance of refugees); and rehabilitation of agriculture in post-conflict
communities.
An FFS is a capacity building method based on adult education principles using groups of farmers. It is best
described as a ‘school without walls’, where farmers learn through observation and experimentation in
their own fields. This allows them to improve their management skills and become knowledge experts on
their own farms.
The approach empowers farmers using experiential and participatory learning techniques rather than
advising farmers what to do. Farmers are encouraged to handle their own on-farm decisions in which they
apply previous experiences and test new technologies. An FFS usually comprises a group of 20–30 farmers
who meet regularly over a defined period of time, a crop production season for example, to validate (new)
production options with the help of a facilitator. Management decisions are made at the end of every
meeting on what action to take. After the training period, farmers continue to meet and share information
with less facilitator contact.
An FFS is a process, not a goal. It aims to increase the capacity of farmers to test new technologies in their
own fields and assess results and their relevance to particular circumstances. Farmers interact with
researchers and extension workers on a demand driven basis, only asking for help where they are unable to
solve a problem themselves. As an extension methodology, an FFS is a dynamic process that is practiced,
controlled and owned by the farmers to help them transform their observations to create a better
understanding of their crop system.
FFS is not about technology but about people development. It brings farmers together for them
to assess their problems and seek ways of addressing them.
The following are the core principles and components of the FFS approach:
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
The field is the learning place. Learning takes place in the field, usually on a host farm where a PCE is
established and all learning sessions are held. Participants observe and learn from the field work instead of
from textbooks and lectures from extension workers. Improved farm practices must be suitable for the
local context, which is usually influenced by local ecological and socio economic conditions as well as
farmers’ preferences.
Facilitation, not teaching. The role of the facilitator is crucial for successful learning and empowerment
because FFS does not focus on teaching but on guiding FFS members through the
learning process. To foster the learner centered process, the facilitator remains in the background, listening
attentively and reflectively, asking questions and encouraging participants to explore more in the field and
present their ideas. The facilitator must stimulate FFS members to think, observe, analyze and discover
answers by themselves.
Hands-on and discovery-based learning. The process of learning adheres to principles of adult education
and “learning by doing”. Adults tend not to learn and change behavior by passive listening, but as a
consequence of experience. Through learning by doing in a discovery based manner, group members
cherish ownership over their knowledge and gain confidence in what they have learned.
The farmer as expert. The FFS approach recognizes community members as the experts within their
particular contexts, and considers indigenous and local knowledge an important source of information to
be used within the FFS learning process. Through the process, FFS members learn how to improve their
own abilities to observe and analyse problems, and to develop practical and
relevant solutions. The approach inspires members to learn continuously by exploring and educating
themselves on issues and topics that affect their livelihoods.
Equity and no hierarchy. An FFS is designed for all to participate on an equal basis. FFS supports no
hierarchy between farmers and facilitators, group leaders and ordinary members, diploma holders and
those who do not read and write. All are equal partners in the FFS learning experience.
Integrated and learner-defined curriculum. The FFS curriculum is defined by the learners and is unique for
each group, though much of learning enterprises are pre designed under the mandate of FFS implementing
agencies. The basic principle for any FFS is that all topics must be related to what is important to the group
members and aim to fill their particular gaps in knowledge.
Comparative experiments. Knowledge is gained through practical experiments where different options are
compared with each other. The trials are regularly observed and analyzed. Issues are
discussed as they occur in reality.
FFS Methodology
FFSs are knowledge intensive – they merge science-generated information with farmer know- how. The FFS
is a space to test and validate new ideas, and to debate, analyse and understand underlying knowledge to
enhance decision-making skills. The above principles guide the learning. The content of the training
depends on the problems arising and thus evolve over time and space in line with the local ecology.
Farmers’ knowledge and experiences are valued and essential inputs for learning in the FFS.
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
Agro-ecosystem analysis. The agro ecosystem analysis (AESA) is one of the cornerstones of the FFS
approach. AESA is practiced by all FFS members through all stages of the FFS cycle. It involves observation,
analysis and presentation for synthesis and discussion. This activity enhances participants’ analyzing skills
as well as their presentation, thereby improving knowledge based decision making in addition to their
communication capabilities.
Special topics. The focus of special topics is decided on by the group and plays a central role in FFS. Special
topics can cover a wide range of topics and can be multissectoral. It is part of the FFS curriculum and
learning experiments. The selection of special topics should be demand driven, usually addressing wider
livelihood issues. These special topics can also be facilitated by external resource persons rather than by
the FFS group facilitator.
Team building and social animation. Aspects of team building, group dynamics and social animation are
important components of learning sessions. Through song, dance and drama people share knowledge and
culture, build cohesion, and learn communication and leadership skills. This also creates a platform for
dealing with difficult subjects such as abuse, gender and HIV/AIDS.
Participatory monitoring and evaluation. While preparing the FFS curriculum, participants develop a plan
for monitoring and evaluating progress to later assess whether they are achieving the agreed objectives.
In order to make optimal use of their irrigation investments, all micro-scale irrigation program beneficiaries
will be provided with additional agricultural extension support. These farmers will receive extension
support on on-farm water management, irrigated farming, farming as a business, value addition and
marketing through the implementation of an intensive FFS programme. The training will be done by
Facilitators.
The identified farmers who expressed interest and met the requirements for support under the Program
will be supported to acquire irrigation equipment and enroll in the FFS. The beneficiary farmers will be
mapped and mobilized with support of the Senior Agricultural Officer (DLG) and the Agricultural Extension
Officers (Sub county) into small learning groups with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 30 members for
each Farmer Field School Group to ensure maximum participation in group learning activities. The groups
should comprise of both male, female and youth participants. Women should be encouraged to be part and
participate in the FFS.
The group members may be drawn from nearby villages or parishes but should not be more than 15 km
from the FFS site for convenience of access to the training sites. For each group, two skillful farmers, one
female and one male, will be selected to become lead farmers responsible for facilitating the extension
services to the members in their groups. The lead farmers will be trained by Master Trainers alongside the
extension workers to become MIP FFS facilitators provide regular extension service to their group
members.
Resource Materials
• FAO. (2013). Cassava farmer field schools: Resource material for facilitators in sub-Saharan Africa.
Rome.
• FAO.(2014). Farmer Field Schools: Key Practices for DRR Implementers
• FAO/IIRR. (2006). Discovery-based learning on land and water management: A practical guide for
farmer field schools. Rome.
• FAO, JICA & KFS. (2011). Farmer field school implementation guide: Farm forestry and livelihood
development (available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i2561e/i2561e00.pdf).
• Groeneweg, K., Buyu, G., Romney, D. and Minjauw, B. (2006). Livestock Farmer Field Schools –
Guidelines for Facilitation and Technical Manual. International Livestock Research Centre: Nairobi,
Kenya.
• Appreciate the tips and principles for adult learning and use them to engage community members
during meetings so as to ensure maximum participation.
• Understand Selection of farmer field school facilitators in the MIP FFS context
What is Facilitation?
Facilitation refers to the process of supporting the ability of individuals or a group of people to
conceive and appreciate an idea, identify issues and priorities for action. It involves working to
promote group problem-solving, idea generation, education, and various actions related to knowledge
creation.
Who is a Facilitator?
The success of a farmer field school largely depends on the ability of thefacilitator. The FFS facilitator puts
the FFS principles into practice in a farmer field school. He or she:
• Guides the process of discovery-based learning.
• Ensures an effective flow of information within the group so that participants can share
information and arrive at decisions.
• Moderates the participatory learning process.
• Assists in sharing of information in a participatory way.
The FFS facilitation approach is participatory in nature. It develops the farmers’ capacity through
facilitation and collaboration, which work best through group work, practical work and role play (folk
media).
• Facilitation. A trained facilitator helps the learners (farmers or herders)discover the relevance of a topic
to their own situation and to learn how to experiment and adapt to change. It uses dialogue, group
discussion and exhibits.
• Collaboration. This involves working together and works well where everyone has a stake or interest in
finding a solution to a selected problem. It requires that everyone is equal, including the facilitator, and
demands a high level of trust.
Group work. Group work stimulates independent thinking (and thereby reduced dependency) and
activates learners to take part in a two-way discussion and sharing of ideas. The participants learn how to
work together in finding solutions. Learners who are shy or unable for cultural reasons to speak out and
contribute in a larger setting, often prove to be useful contributors in small groups.
• Working in the field with farmers. Practical work in the field (such as testing and comparing methods to
restore organic matter to the soil, or building and testing water harvesting structures) is an excellent way of
learning. Fieldwork can be combined with group discussion on a particular
subject matter, for example, to compare ways of managing resources, or how to optimize household and
community benefits.
• Role-play. Role-plays allow the learners – the actors – to share their experiences with other farmer field
school members and with non-members. It can include local songs, dances, poems, proverbs, stories, tales,
legends and drama. Role-plays help farmer field school members to analyze and understand their mistakes,
and perhaps suggest better ways of doing things.
Learning occurs inside the learner, and is activated by the learner. The FFS facilitator must recognize that
farmers have knowledge gained from many years of farming experience. This should be blended with the
new technologies.
Learning is a discovery of meaning and relevance. People more readily internalize and implement ideas
that are relevant to their needs and problems. For example, it is easier to explain drip irrigation to farmers
who already do bucket irrigation, than to a pastoralist.
Learning (behavioral change) is a consequence of experience. Farmers’ experience guides them to do
certain things – for example, to accept or reject a new practice. People do not change their behavior just
because someone tells them what to do.
Learning is a cooperative process. Two heads are better than one. People enjoy working by themselves,
but they also enjoy working together. Group dynamics and team building exercises encourage them to
collaborate and to learn as a group.
Learning is sometimes painful. Change often means giving up old, comfortable ways of thinking. It can be
uncomfortable to share ideas openly, to put ones ideas under the scrutiny of a group, and to confront other
people. Experience makes this easier.
One of the richest resources for learning is the learner him- or herself: When so much emphasis is on
instructional media, books and speakers as resources for learning, we should not overlook the richest
source of all – the learner him- or herself. Each person is a rich source of material for problem solving and
learning in terms of a wide range of experiences, ideas, feelings and attitudes.
The Program shall utilize the robust extension system in place to deliver on the farmer field schools in the
respective LGs. The farmer field school facilitators shall be selected from the extension officers responsible
for the sub-counties in which the farmer field schools will be located.
FFS facilitators will be responsible for each FFS group (FFSG) established. For each FFSG, two skillful
farmers, one female and one male, will be selected to become lead farmers responsible for facilitating the
extension services to the members in their group. The lead farmers will be trained to provide regular
extension service to their group members alongside the extension workers.
Facilitators should understand FFS principles and have good oral, listening and facilitation skills. They must
have charisma and understand participatory learning processes, although some of these skills are also
strengthened in training.
Resource Materials
• FAO/IIRR. (2006). Discovery-based learning on land and watermanagement: A practical guide for
farmer field schools. Rome.
• Groeneweg, K., Buyu, G., Romney, D. and Minjauw, B. (2006). Livestock Farmer Field Schools –
Guidelines for Facilitation and Technical Manual. International Livestock Research Centre: Nairobi,
Kenya.
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
BETWEEN:
and
WHEREAS: the Local Government is participating in the Micro-scale Irrigation Program by the Ministry of
Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) under the Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Reforms
Program (IFTRP) that provides micro-scale irrigation development grants and complementary services to
support farmers willing to move from mostly subsistence to more commercial agriculture; and the
Approved Farmer signed a Commitment with the Local Government, made the co-payment, and provided
documentary proof of land tenure.
a) Witness the contract that the Local Government and the irrigation equipment supplier will sign. The
contract will stipulate the obligation of the irrigation equipment supplier to the Approved Farmer
including warranty and service period.
b) Be present during delivery, installation, training and testing of the irrigation equipment on her/his
farm; and to promptly inform the District Agriculture Engineer of any issues (if any);
c) Sign off an Acceptance Form after installation confirming that irrigation equipment is properly
functioning.
d) As owner of the irrigation equipment, sustain all charges related to running costs other than the
package specified in the Supplier Contract and taxation, and water charges, and to sustainably operate,
maintain and manage the irrigation technologies, and provide security for the installations.
f) To manage and keep records regarding production and performance of the irrigation equipment.
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
a) The Approved Farmer ceases to meet any of the criteria that made him/her to be eligible;
b) The Local Government does not receive the micro-scale irrigation grant from GoU;
c) The contract between the irrigation equipment supplier and Local Government becomes invalid.
In case of termination, the Local Government will reimburse the co-payment by the Approved Farmer made
to the Local Government General Fund Account in full and within three (3) months.
4. Force Majeure
The term Force Majeure as employed herein, shall mean any event of an unpredictable, inevitable and
irresistible character that hinders, the performance of obligations under the MOU, and justifies the
postponement, interruption or termination of such MOU. If at any time during the course of this MOU it
shall become impossible for any party to perform any of its obligations for reason of Force Majeure, that
party shall notify the other party of the existence of such Force Majeure within 14 days of its appearance,
whereupon both parties will be relieved from such obligations and reciprocal obligations. The party to
which notice is given shall have the possibility to dispute the existence and/or applicability of Force
Majeure in the conditions set forth in this MOU
1
The supplier has to provide a delivery note and the approved farmer to sign a goods received/acceptance form.
Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
5. Communication
Any formal communication between the two parties relating to this MOU shall be in writing to the
addresses below giving a copy to MAAIF for noting:
Local Government:
P.O. Box: P.O. Box:
Telephone: Telephone:
Email: Email:
6. Authorisation
On behalf of the said party I represent, I wish to sign this MOU and oblige to its implementation.
Done at ________________________ Local Government with three (3) originals in English language;
Witnessed by:
Sub-County (Chairperson) Wife of Approved Farmer (if married)
Signature: Signature:
Name: Name:
Date: Date:
Attachments:
The DLG officer to ENSURE that the following KEY ACTIONS have been achieved prior to farmer acceptance.
➢ The farmer has witnessed/been present during the installation of the Microscale Irrigation
project.
➢ The irrigation system components are as per the tender
➢ The irrigation system is fully operational, and the operation of the system has been
demonstrated to the farmer
➢ The soil monitoring tools, if any, are fully operational, and their use has been demonstrated to
the farmer
➢ The farmer (together with his or her spouse) has received training on the operation and
maintenance of the installed equipment.
➢ Appropriate documentation has been provided to the farmer during the installation. (Design,
User manual for all the system components, specifications, Operation and Maintenance
Manual).
➢ That before the farmer signs this form, interpretation has been done for the farmer in a
language they understand
➢ The farmer has not been coerced into signing the document.
accepts
➢ The farmer the does not accept installation of all equipment in accordance
to the designs, drawings and equipment specifications.
accepts
➢ The District Local Government the does not accept installation of all
equipment in accordance to the designs, drawings and equipment specifications.
(If does not accept; please indicate the reasons for not accepting below)
NOTES
_____________________________________________________________________________________