Latest News Appropriate Technology Uganda spearheads formation of Uganda collective marketing association Written by Rachael Nsubuga    Monday 19th of October 2009 AT Uganda is currently mobilizing stakeholders in value chain development to form a national collective marketing association. These include NGOs, business entities, cooperative societies, farmer organizations and government organizations that are involved in facilitating collective marketing for small holder farmers in Uganda. This association envisages a Uganda where small holder farmers are able to access profitable and socially acceptable markets. This will be achieved through a learning alliance where members share experiences and best practices in agricultural produce marketing. Organizations that need professional support and networking will benefit as well. This platform will also capture vital aspects of lobby and advocacy for policy changes and support that will be in favor of the small holder farmer. A list of priority areas through working groups were identified during the first inception meeting with stakeholders that AT Uganda organized from 1st – 2nd October 2009 at Nob-View Hotel, Ntinda. These include the following; - Policy and legal options, and the status of farmer groups - How District Farmer Associations can benefit from the learning alliance - Roles of farmer groups, and appropriate relationships for trust building - Key challenges facing NGOs in promoting collective marketing (forms of interaction and how the alliance can offer capacity building for NGOs to be more effective) A special task force that comprises of representatives from NGOs, Government agencies, BDS consultants, private agri-business companies and the lead agencies (AT, ASARECA) was formed during the inception meeting. Other partners also shared their experiences towards collective marketing efforts. AT Uganda shared the work plan for the 18 months collective marketing project that has already started, since July 2009. The major highlights of this project include; a stakeholder’s census (this will determine the number of partners to be in the alliance), learning events with partners, participatory research and periodical reports which will be disseminated in workshops. A website will be designed to showcase the best practices in collective marketing. Tentatively, the members present at the inception meeting agreed on http://www.collectivemarketingbp.org as the domain for the website. FIT Uganda will take an active part in the association. As it manages and coordinates the Access to Markets project for 9 Ugandan Cordaid partners, it has experiences and lessons learnt to share on collective marketing. ...