AGRIBUSINESS UNIT
The Agribusiness Unit (ABU) is UCA’s department responsible for supporting cooperatives in the Agri-food sector. ABU’s support is mainly strategic and covers services ranging from production and productivity through to market linkage and marketing, and its clients are majorly ACEs and Unions although Primary Co-operatives are also directly served through special arrangements, especially under funded projects. The Unit is also responsible for UCA’s own independent sustainability agro-projects. The Unit’s activities are guided by UCA’s core mandate as an Apex Organisation for co-operatives in Uganda.
The Unit has two Sections;
ABU’s Purpose
The purpose of the Unit is to be the leading provider of technical support to agricultural co-operatives for affordable and sustainable delivery of inclusive business-support services to Ugandan farmers.
ABU’s Objective:
To build strong and viable co-operatives through which members can access inclusive and affordable business-support services sustainably, to foster their full participation in agricultural value-chains.
ABU’s Technical Support Delivery Channels
The Unit delivers its support through two sections;
- Institutional Development Section
- Extension and Marketing Section
Institutional Development involves;
- Supporting communities and existing cooperatives to sensitise and mobilise rural communities to form and strengthen co-operative societies.
- The section is also in charge of supporting newly formed co-operative organisations to establish and strengthen leadership and management structures and tools. This involves guiding them in election of capable leaders and recruitment of technical staff
- Supporting the cooperatives in developing strategies to mobilise internal and external resources
- Foster partnerships with sector stakeholders and value-chain actors for synergies and support
- Liaising with other units in UCA to build capacity of the cooperatives in various disciplines, including advocacy and financial resources access
- Guide cooperatives in developing performance indicators, targets and standards
On the other hand, the Extension and Marketing Section is responsible for;
- Guiding the cooperatives to develop viable business models, through which members can create, capture and deliver value to the market, for better farm-business returns
- Supporting partner cooperatives in accessing genuine farm-inputs at affordable costs, and strategise to improve members’ farm productivity for better returns
- Building the capacity of co-operatives in value-addition, marketing and related activities
- Foster linkage to research, market information and delivery to members.