1
ACDI/VOCA 
Uganda
FY 2002-2006 Title II DAP
Final Evaluation Report 
April 2006
Robert Pierce Jr., consultant
Alison Gardner, consultant
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Table of Contents
Acronyms 4 - 5
Acknowledgments 5
Executive Summary 6 - 8
I. Introduction 9 - 12
II. Program Background 12 - 13
III. Findings
1. Program Management and Administration 13 - 14
2. Monetization Activities 15 - 17
3. Grants Management 17 - 19
4. Programmatic Integration: Enhancing Food Security through Improved Household 
Nutrition 19 - 21
5. The HIV/AIDS Food Assistance Initiative 21 - 28
IV. Impact Assessment
 1. SO1—Agriculture 28 - 37
 2. SO2—Health and Nutrition 37 - 41
V. Unexpected Results Achieved 41
VI. Program Sustainability and Exit/Graduation Strategies 41 - 44
VII. Program Monitoring and Evaluation 45 - 46
VIII. Implications for Addressing Uganda Food Insecurity: Future Initiatives 46 - 48
 and Programmatic Development
1. Agriculture
2. Supporting HIV/AIDS infected/affected families through Agriculture Programs
3. Enhancing Food Security thorough Improving Household Health Behaviors
IX. Community Food Insecurity, Shocks, and Surge Capacity 48 - 49
X. Conclusions and Recommendations 49 - 52
Documents and Resources Consulted 53 - 56
Annex 1: List of Interviews, meetings attended and project sites visited 57 - 58
Annex 2: Scope of Work 59 - 64
Annex 3: ACDI/VOCA Organizational Chart 65
Annex 4: Sub-Award Process Flow Chart 66
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Annex 5: Tables of Grantee Activities and Budget 67 - 68
Annex 6: IPTT Table 69 - 71
List of Tables 
Table 1: Original DAP Monetization Budget 11
Table 2: DAP Agriculture Budget: Request vs. Approval 11
Table 3: Types of agricultural training provided by Grantees to Farmer Groups 18
Table 4: Crop Production, Annual Yield and Value 2001-2005 31
Table 5: Households with Improved Agricultural Practices and Groups Adopting 
Commercial Practices 32
Table 6: Kilometers of Roads Rehabilitated 34
Table 7: Increased Access with Rehabilitated Roads 34
Table 8: Percentage of Female Farmers Trained 36 - 37
Table 9: HIV/AIDS Initiative Food and Nutrition Indicators 38
Table 10: Quarterly Average of Food Assistance Beneficiaries Receiving Complementary 
Services 39
Table 11: Hygiene and Sanitation Indicators 40
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Acronyms
A/V ACDIVOCA
AER Annual Estimate of Requirements
AID Agency for International Development
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
APEP Agricultural Production & Enhancement Program
ARV Antiretroviral Drug 
ART Antiretroviral Therapy
ATAIN Agribusiness Training & Input Network
Bu Bushels (56 lbs maize; 60 lbs wheat)
CB Centenary Bank
CEDO Community Enterprises Development Organization
CHW Community Health Worker
CIF Cost, Insurance, & Freight
COMESA Common Market for eastern and Southern Africa
CRS Catholic Relief Services
CS Cooperating Sponsor
C-SAFE Consortium for the Southern Africa Food Security Emergency
CSB Corn Soy Blend
DAP Development Activity Proposal
DDS Dietary Diversity Score
FaaB Farming as a Business
FADEP-EU Farming for Food and Development Eastern Uganda
FANTA Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance, a project of AED funded by USAID
FDP Final Distribution Point
FEWs Field Extension Workers 
FFP Food for Peace
FOB Free on Board
FY Fiscal Year
G Grams
GDU Grants Development Unit
GMU Grants Management Unit
GOU Government of Uganda
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
H&N Health & Nutrition
HQ Head Quarters
HRW Hard Red Winter
ICRW International Center for Research on Women
IDEA Investment in Developing Export Agriculture
IITA International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
IP(s) Implementing Partner(s)
IPTT Indicator performance Tracking Table
IR Intermediate Result
KG Kilogram
Km Kilometer
KR Kenya Railways
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LOA Life of Activity
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MADZI Market Roads Rehabilitation Grantee
MBW Market Roads Supervising Engineer
MEMS Monitoring and Evaluation Management Services
MOH Ministry of Health
MT Metric Ton
MYAP Multi Year Assistance Program
NARO National Agriculture Research Organization
NGO Non Governmental Organization
PEPFAR Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PHH Post Harvest Handling
PL Public Law
PLWHA People Living With HIV/AIDS
REAP Rural Economy and Agriculture Project
RENEWAL Regional Network on HIV/AIDS, Rural Livelihoods and Food Security
RIF Revolving Input Fund
SO Strategic Objective
TA Technical Assistance
TASO The AIDS Support & Counseling Service
TFA Targeted Food Assistance
TSC The Ssemwanga Center
UN United Nations
UNADA Ugandan National Agro-Input Dealers Association
UOSPA Uganda Oilseed Producers and Processors’ Association
USDA United States Department of Agriculture
Ush Ugandan Schillings (approx 1820 / US$) April, 2006
VAT Value Added Tax
WFP World Food Program
WHO World Health Organization
WISHH World Initiative for Soy Human Health
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The evaluators would like to thank the ACDI/VOCA country team, and their grantees for their 
help and cooperation in preparing this report. We would especially like to thank the farmers as 
well as those living with HIV/AIDS who were kind enough to talk frankly about their lives and 
work. 
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 Executive Summary and Major Recommendations
The first objective of the FY 2002-2006 Title II DAP is to mitigate food insecurity in rural areas 
in Uganda by enhancing agricultural production, marketing, rural financial services and 
increasing nutritional awareness. Target beneficiaries are approximately 20,000 families in 
“food insecure” target areas who are organized by local NGO grantees to receive training in 
health & nutrition, “farming as a business”, improved agricultural practices, and post harvest 
handling and storage. 
The second objective of the DAP is to increase food security of 60,000 PLWHAs and their 
families through direct feeding. A ration of corn-soy blend (CSB) and soy oil is provided 
60,000 People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) living along the “food insecure” AIDS 
corridor. A/V partners with CRS, Africare, World Vision, TASO, agricultural grantees, and 
PEPFAR funded community workers to help identify food aid beneficiaries, provide mobile 
health care and ARVs to AIDS infected, as well as additional training in agriculture, nutrition, 
hygiene, and sanitation. The program deserves high marks for quickly designing and 
implementing a program to provide supplementary rations and ancillary services to PLWHAs
A/V has responsibility to monetize wheat grain and soy oil for all Title II and Food for 
Progress grantees. Both wheat and soy oil are sold at fair market competitive prices in a 
market plagued with chronic logistic bottlenecks, electrical shortages, high transaction costs, 
and stiff competition. The fact that neither monetization grantees nor ration beneficiaries have 
suffered a break in cash flow or food is a remarkable achievement. 
The program has been moderately successful in meeting yield and production targets for
grains, beans, and oilseeds. Drought and insecurity has been a persistent problem. Cassava 
yields and production, however, increased dramatically due to continued multiplication and 
distribution of high yielding mosaic resistant varieties. 
Early on in the DAP the program hired a nutritionists to provide additional training to 
grantee community extension workers on general nutrition, kitchen gardens, improved 
hygiene and sanitation. This change in direction appears to have had a high impact 
particularly when men apply the information learned see improvements in the health of 
family members.
Although considerable effort and resources have been provided for program monitoring and 
evaluation, the quality of the system is variable. Given this it was difficult to fully utilize the 
available date to assess program impact. 
Several rural financial credits facilities have been capitalized and guaranteed by this and the 
previous program. Results have been mixed. Micro credit rural credit facilities have a short 
half life in Uganda. One way or other, however, the program has to provide improved inputs 
and practices into the hands and heads of subsistence farmers. Savings alone is not the only 
catalyst the program should depend to accomplish this job. The evaluation recommends that 
the program increase the grantee line item for tuber multiplication, demo plots, and starter 
inputs (especially improved seed) for trained beneficiaries. 
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The following are the major recommendations developed more fully in the various sections 
of the text and later again in Section X, Conclusions and Recommendations. 
Agriculture and Food Security
ÿ Focus more on vegetative reproduced food crops such as sweet potatoes and mosaic 
resistant cassava. Appropriate varieties can be rapidly and communally reproduced.
ÿ Work on promoting a more balanced crop mix that leans towards “food crops” versus “cash 
crops”. 
ÿ Gender bias the program by working with more women’s groups and recruiting more 
female contact farmers. Women tend to be more efficient food security development 
partners. 
ÿ Increase the line item in the grantee budgets for provision of improved seed and fertilizer.
ÿ Continue working in current “food insecure” districts – use due diligence before relocating 
from a “food insecure district” to a “chronically food insecure district”.
ÿ Promote individual and group savings programs rather than capitalize and guarantee 
institutional rural credit facilities. 
ÿ Guarantee the road rehab grantee enough work so s/he can retain and dedicate qualified 
field engineers to the Title II Program
ÿ Consider revising soy oil sales mechanism.
ÿ To the extent possible base more technical/training staff in the field.
Nutrition and Food Security 
ÿ Conduct formative research and utilize the results to further focus and develop the 
program’s nutrition education. 
ÿ Promote increased production of vegetables high in vitamin A, promote orange-flesh sweet 
potato as a drought resistance high yield crop and fruit trees. 
ÿ Given the high levels of malnutrition in Uganda, advocate for a study to be conducted on 
the determinants of malnutrition in Uganda with a focus on rural food insecure areas
The HIV/AIDS Food Assistance Program
ÿ It is recommended that the PEPFAR funded nutrition and hygiene education be expanded 
as it appears to be having impact.
ÿ Continue to co-locate FDPs with Health Centers to encourage “one-stop shopping” for 
PLWHAs food beneficiaries.
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ÿ Capture the HIV/AID Food Assistance Program results, lesson learned and standard 
operating procedures in a report that can be widely shared. 
Program Monitoring and Evaluation
ÿ It is recommended that the current monitoring and evaluation system be reviewed in light 
of the identified problems and the more complex M&E system required with the MYAP.
ÿ As part of the M&E system review, evaluate the current contractor and open the next 
contract for bid. 
Sustainability—Graduation/Exit Strategies
ÿ Building into the follow-on MYAP1, the capacity to follow a representative sample of 
farmers and HIV/AIDS Program beneficiaries assisted during the DAP.
ÿ Immediately, to prepare families for the end of the Food Assistance Program, provide 
nutrition education at FDPs on locally available nutrition and calorie dense foods. 
ÿ For Food Assistance beneficiaries, develop selection and graduation criteria which promote 
moving infected individuals and affected families along the continuum to self-reliance.
ÿ For the HIV/AIDS infected and affected not served advocate for other sources of food 
assistance and the development of a government safety net program is needed. 
 
1 The planned MYAP budget is not capable of covering all necessary program costs, thus seeking another source of 
funding for this activity may be needed. 
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I. Introduction 
The Final Evaluation of ACDI/VOCA’s second PL-480 $56,000,000 Title II DAP (FY 2002 – 2006) 
was conducted from March 16th, 2006 – April 18th, 2006. Two evaluators traveled to 8 districts, 
and interviewed grantee staff, farmer groups, and individual beneficiaries south of Kampala in 
Masaka and Rakai Districts, east of the capital in Kumi, Tororo, Pallissa, Sironko, and Mbale 
Districts, and north of the capital in Gulu District. The evaluators witnessed two direct food aid 
distributions for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Kampala (a WFP Implementing 
Partner (IP)– Reachout) and Kakiri (A/V - TASO) and talked at length with individual CSB 
(fortified corn soy blend) & soy oil recipients at their homes. 
Those interviewed included: A/V staff and management, grantee management staff, grantee 
supported farmer groups, recipients of fortified rations targeted to PLWHAs, individuals and 
families receiving hygiene and nutrition training and assistance, flour millers, vegetable oil 
buyers, Title II umbrella monetization partners, Food for Progress monetization partners, 
USAID officials, agriculture, nutrition, health and/or HIVAIDS focused AID contractors and 
NGOs, WFP staff, UNICEF staff, the monitoring and evaluation contractor, engineering 
contractors, CDC staff and IITA staff. (For a complete list of interviews conducted, meetings 
attended and project sites visited, see Annex I.)
The purpose of the evaluation is to access the achievements to date against objectives and 
targets and to identify areas in which implementation of ACDI/VOCA’s FY 2002- FY 2006 DAP 
can be realistically improved in a proposed follow-on. The evaluation was conducted according 
to the scope of work provided. (See Annex II, for a copy of the Scope of Work). 
The goal of the program is to:
Mitigate food insecurity in rural areas in Uganda by enhancing agricultural production, marketing, 
rural financial services and increasing nutritional awareness. 
The primary strategic objectives (SOs) of ACDI/VOCA’s Uganda Title II program are:
SO1. Agriculture: Improve food security by raising the production and marketing of selected 
crops and increase rural household incomes for 120,000 beneficiaries with a focus on vulnerable 
groups.
Sub-objectives or Intermediate Results include:
ÿ IR 1: Increased access to rural financial services for inputs, production and marketing
ÿ IR 2: Increased agricultural productivity of target crops (maize, beans, cassava, oilseeds, 
and upland rice)
ÿ IR 3: Increased adoption of improved agricultural practices and inputs
ÿ IR 4: Increased local and regional market access
ÿ IR 5: Improved nutritional practices at the household level
SO2. Health and Nutrition: Improve food security of 60,000 PLWHA and their families 
through direct feeding programs.
Sub-objectives or Intermediate Results include:
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ÿ IR 1: Improved nutritional awareness and practices by PLWHAs
ÿ IR 2: Increased use of non-food aid services by PLWHAs
For FY 2004, ACDI/VOCA was provided additional Title II funds and subsequently for FY 2005 
and 2006 granted Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funds from 
USAID/Kampala for nutrition and hygiene training to help strengthen and complement the 
direct food distribution program for PLWHAs. This program component (approximately 
$200,000/year) is directly implemented by A/V through six nutrition and hygiene specialists 
(three teams of two) based in Masaka (central), Kasese (west), and Mbale (east).
The Title II program is designed to improve food security through: 
ÿ The monetization sales mechanism particularly the monthly auctions of vegetable oil to 
wholesalers & retailers and negotiated wheat grain sales to small to medium sized flour 
millers. 
ÿ Grants to mostly local NGO’s to improve agricultural practices and marketing, increase 
agricultural yields and net incomes, improve access to markets, and encourage better 
household nutrition. 
ÿ Direct distribution of CSB and vegetable oil to PLWHAs complemented by training to 
improve household hygiene, sanitation, and nutrition.
In addition A/V contributes to improving food security in Uganda by serving as the de facto US 
Mission Uganda umbrella monetization administrator to:
ÿ Manage sale and delivery of PL 480 Title II wheat grain shipments from the Port of 
Mombasa to Jinja and Kampala for CRS, World Vision, Africare, and Save the Children. 
ÿ Manage sale and delivery of FY 2005 Food for Progress wheat grain shipments from Port 
of Mombasa to Jinja and Kampala for FINCA International (21,800 MT) and Land of 
Lakes (11,100 MT).
To generate funds to implement and manage both the Title II SO1 agricultural and food security 
grants program and the SO2 Nutrition & Health direct distribution program to PLWHAs (LOA 
AER 26,286 MT CSB and 2,247 MT soy oil) A/V monetizes vegetable oil (LOA AER 14,411 MT) 
and wheat grain (LOA AER 42,180 MT). 
In addition a $2,201,366 202(e) Grant was awarded to help cover administrative costs of the 
program. 
LOA AER monetization tonnages for other Title II Food Security DAPs under the umbrella 
monetization are as follows:
Africare 12330 MT wheat grain
CRS 15600 MT wheat grain
Save the Children 12040 MT wheat grain
World Vision 10570 MT wheat grain
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Tables 1 and 2 illustrate the original DAP Monetization Budget for financing both SO1 and SO2 
activities. Table 2 includes the LOA Request and LOA Approved money earmarked for SO1 
activities. 
Table 1: Original DAP Monetization Budget
Heading Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total
Total Agriculture Activities 5,177,821 4,868,671 5,021,878 4,983,263 5,058879 25,110,512
Total HIV/AIDS 
Activities2
1,504,708 1,507,462 1,555,038 1,594,469 1,643,833 7,805,510
TOTAL from monetized 
proceeds
6,682,529 6,376,133 6,576,916 6,577,732 6,702,712 32,916,022
Source: ACDI/VOCA-Uganda data 
Table 2: DAP Agriculture Budget: Request vs. Approval
Line Item LOA Request ($) LOA Approval ($)
Activity
Agric. Grants – food 
security
9,111,360 7,281,320
Road rehabilitation 5,000,000 2,500,000
Rural financial services 2,500,000 500,000
Monitoring
Ssemwanga Centre 978,000 796,370
MBW 558,855 292,002
Total 18,1458,215 11,369,692
 Source: ACDI/VOCA-Uganda data 
USAID Uganda’s 2002-2007 Integrated Strategic Plan includes three strategic objectives:
ÿ Expanded Sustainable Economic Opportunities for Rural Sector Growth (SO7)
ÿ Improved Human Capacity (SO8) 
ÿ More Effective and Participatory Governance (SO9) 
The A/V Title II DAP is generally viewed as primarily promoting: 
ÿ SO7 - IR 7.1 Increased Food Security for Vulnerable Populations and IR 7.2 Increased 
Productivity of Agricultural Commodity and Natural Resource Systems
ÿ SO8 objectives by delivering practical education in health, nutrition, hygiene and 
sanitation, distributing rations to PLWHAs and raising the efficiency of treatment and 
counseling programs.
ÿ SO9 objectives by increasing the resilience and food security of conflict-affected 
communities; strengthening the management and budgeting skills of rural district 
 
2 This includes monetized proceeds only and does not include the value of CSB and vegetable oil directly distributed 
to PLWHA beneficiaries.
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governments through road rehabilitation; and increasing capacity of community 
organizations to participate in governance processes.
II. Program Background
The FY 2002-2006 PL-480 Title II DAP is a follow on to a previous (FY 1997- 2001) PL 480 Title II 
monetization program. Prior to 1997 dating back to 1989, ACDI managed a series of Title II 
agricultural programs (with a strong oilseed & cooperative focus) all primarily financed by soy 
oil monetization. 
The FY 1997-2001 DAP focused primarily on increasing agriculture production and yields of 4 
target crops - maize, beans, cassava, and oilseeds. The program forged a close relationship with 
the AID funded Investment in Developing Export Agriculture (IDEA) Project to take advantage 
of IDEA’s agriculture extension and agriculture input promotion activities. Considerable effort 
was made to encourage subsistence farmers to plant pure stands of maize and beans - properly 
spaced and in rows - using improved or hybrid seeds complemented by bottle cap doses of urea 
and diammonium phosphate for each seedling. 
Inputs were provided to Title II grantee contact farmers to plant maize and bean demonstration 
plots and stockists were provided with inputs and credit to help insure wide availability of 
improved seed, fertilizer, and chemicals. Results were favorable. Grain yields and production 
increased 3 fold or more especially for subsistence farmers if the improved agronomic grain 
package was adapted from a “standing start” or subsistence base. 
In 2001 favorable weather, improved agronomic practices, record grain yields both in Uganda 
and Kenya combined in a perfect storm to send grain prices crashing to all time lows ($.75-
$1.00/bu) – well below world market prices for white maize3. Ironically only 2 years before in 
1999 maize prices in Uganda were 2-3 times higher ($5-$6/bu) than local spot prices for # 2 
yellow maize in the US. 
Under the previous DAP grantees began working closely with International Institute for 
Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to distribute mosaic resistant cassava by planting mother gardens of 
resistant varieties and distributing cuttings to their members and neighboring farmers. This 
work has continued in the current program and had a very strong and positive impact on 
increasing food security. 
As understanding of the causes of food insecurity increased, to appreciate the role of food 
utilization, the program shifted in response and began providing more nutrition TA to grantee 
groups in household hygiene, sanitation and nutrition. The current DAP reflects a much more 
balanced approach towards increasing food security for the vulnerable in rural areas. Attempts 
to increase agricultural yield, production, and income are complemented by promoting 
improved health, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation.
In 2000-2001 Food for Peace strongly encouraged grantees submitting proposals for the next 
DAP cycle to include a direct food aid distribution component. The SO2 Health and Nutrition 
 
3 There was an attempt at the time to export considerable tonnage (35,000 MT) of Ugandan maize to grain deficit 
Zambia.
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CSB and soy oil direct distribution component of the program is a result of USAID 
Washington’s and FFP’s policy shift 6 years ago. 
The 2001 grain market failure had a strong and adverse impact on the agricultural credit sector. 
Under the previous DAP, Title II resources were used to capitalize and provide collateral for 
three agricultural credit facilities. Two were managed by commercial banks and one by 
Agribusiness Training and Input Network (ATAIN) – a training, input, and rural credit 
component of both the IDEA and the successor Agricultural Production & Enhancement 
Program (APEP) programs, funded by USAID Kampala. 
Table 2 notes that resources for the rural financial component were reduced from a LOA request 
of $2,500,000 to $500,000. The road rehabilitation component was reduced from a $5,000,000 
initial design request to $2,500,000. The Indicator Performance Tracking Table designed and 
calculated for the DAP submitted to FFP in 2001 was never modified to reflect final approved 
spending levels for the major activity components. 
As will be shown later, reducing levels of funding to capitalize rural credit facilities was a good 
decision. Resources were better used to increase food security by allocating them to support 
direct distribution of food to PLWHAs and to promote better nutrition and farming practices. 
The program will probably fall 20% short of the LOA goal of 490 km rehabilitated roads due to 
1) reduced funding and 2) the inherent difficulty of working with local government and 
grantees rather than commercial contractors. Equipment provided by the districts often breaks 
down or are diverted to other tasks. 
III. Findings
 III. 1. Program Management and Administration
As pointed out in previous evaluations of A/V’s work in Uganda - there continues to be a 
strong consensus among everyone interviewed that when it comes to logistics and sale of 
commodity A/V’s performance has been exceptional. 
Title II and Food for Progress monetization partners all reported that there’s never been a break 
in the revenue pipeline despite formidable logistic challenges transporting wheat grain from the 
Port of Mombasa to millers in Jinja and Kampala. The pipeline for directly distributed CSB and 
soy oil to 60,000 PLWHAs remained intact throughout the program despite an iron supplement 
“mixing” problem - resulting in delays of shipments of Title II CSB worldwide. 
In 2005, two Food for Progress proposals were approved by USDA whereby A/V was called 
upon, somewhat unexpectedly, to monetize an additional 32,900 MT of wheat grain into a 
highly competitive market beset with serious transport bottlenecks at the Port of Mombasa. 
The good news is that A/V managed to sell the grain proving 1) that luck tends to favor the 
well prepared and 2) increasing the AERs for wheat grain as a substitute for faltering soy oil 
sales in the next MYAP has some operational justification grounded not just in hope but 
experience. 
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RECOMMENDATION
ÿ It’s recommended that the US Mission and Grantees when submitting food aid proposals 
to USDA coordinate their work with A/V – the de facto logistics and sales manger for all 
US food aid shipped to Uganda. 32,900 MT is a lot of wheat. 
The A/V Title II program is administered structurally by five departments: the Grants 
Management Unit, the Sales Department, the Compliance Department, the Logistics 
Department and the Financial and Accounting Department. (See Annex III, A/V 
Organizational Chart). 
The changes in administrative structure from the previous DAP are noteworthy.4 The 
establishment of the Compliance Department arose out of the requirement that A/V (as the co￾sponsor and consortium head for the Life Initiative PLWHAs direct distribution program) 
monitor the program through support visits to the respective IP regional warehouses and Final 
Distribution Points (FDP). A/V has responsibility to ensure that consortium partners are in 
compliance with USAID regulation 11 and Title II standard operating procedures.
The Grants Management Unit (GMU) has grown from a staff of two in the previous DAP to 
eight. As noted in the annexed Organizational Chart the GMU employs a Manager plus an 
Assistant Manager as before. In addition the current program has hired: 
ÿ A Nutrition and Health Specialist
ÿ A Farming as a Business Training Technician – previously this activity was sub￾contracted through the A/V Regional Office. 
ÿ A Financial Monitoring Rural Credit & Training Technician – previously this task of 
training up grantees and monitoring their spending was performed by Financial 
Specialists in the Financial/Accounting Department. Note also that the Financial 
Monitoring Rural Credit & Training Specialist spends over 50% of his time monitoring 
roads rehabilitation (a very high input rapid financial burn rate activity).
ÿ An Assistant Financial Monitoring & Training Specialist – hired recently.
ÿ A Post Harvest Handling and Storage Technician to provide TA to Agricultural 
Grantees. Previously this type of TA was provided through the IDEA Project.
ÿ Agricultural Extension Training Specialist – Recently hired, previously TA was 
provided by the IDEA program with the intention that APEP would continue assisting 
small holder Ag grantee farmers. It is important to note that Agricultural Extension 
Specialist was only hired recently. 
All these positions are Kampala based with frequent trips to the field. In addition, under the 
PEPFAR funded hygiene and sanitation program there are 6 extension workers – teams of 2 
each working out of their homes in Masaka, Mbale, and Kasese. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ To the extent possible base more technical/training staff in the field. A Kampala based 
staff may be easier to manage and retain but there are real advantages in having staff 
based in the field in daily contact with grantees. If this is not possible staff time spent 
working in the field should be increased. 
 
4 For a detailed description of standard operating procedures for each Department A/V has compiled detailed hard 
backed operational manuals.
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 III. 2. Monetization Activities
Two things are especially noteworthy about A/V’s management of the 1) direct food 
distribution (CSB/soy oil) side of the program and 2) Agriculture/Nutrition wheat grain and 
vegetable oil monetization side. There has been neither a break in the direct distribution of CSB 
& soy oil to the 60,000 PLWHAs nor a break in the flow of sales proceeds to the four other Title 
II monetization partners. In addition A/V has managed to sell sufficient tonnage of wheat grain 
on behalf of the two Food for Progress grantees to start up and proceed with work as planned. 
The challenge of selling an additional 32,900 MT of Food for Progress wheat grain in 2005 in a 
market where A/V has traditionally monetized approximately 20,000 MT of wheat grain was 
successful probably due to the strong relationship A/V has established with four millers and 
A/V’s reputation in Uganda as a reliable grain trader. 
The program however has been plagued by logistic bottlenecks at the Port of Mombasa as 
freight forwarders jockey for a diminishing number of wagons from the Kenyan and Ugandan 
Railways. Forwarders have had to rely on truckers to deliver up to 50% of grain shipments 
driving up landed costs of wheat grain in Kampala by an additional $30/MT. As of April 18, 
2006 A/V had 10,000 MT of Title II and 10,000 MT of Food for Progress wheat grain either in 
temporary storage at Mombasa or en route to buyers in Kampala in Jinja. 
In early April, 2006 Kenyan Railways announced that they would restrict KR rail wagons from 
traveling to Kampala tightening further the supply of wagons for Ugandan goods. In addition 
transport officials in Kenya announced in April that goods destined for Uganda had to shipped 
(unless waivers were secured) in self-contained trucks or containers rather than open bodied 
trucks covered with tarps. 
Wheat millers have been especially plagued by cuts in electricity as well as delays in receiving 
wheat grain from the Port of Mombassa. Flour millers are currently running at around half 
capacity (900 MT/day) versus 1600 MT installed capacity due to cuts in electricity and load 
shedding. Inflation pressure on flour prices has been partially checked due to over capacity. The 
Ugandan market requires approximately 600 MT of wheat per day. Remaining capacity is used 
to supply the export market - DRC, Rwanda and the Sudan. There’s hope that generating 
capacity coming on stream next year will reduce load shedding. 
The wheat grain market in Uganda is highly competitive. Ukrainian wheat (currently CIF 
Mombasa $158/MT) is, when available, the price leader and tends to be the floor price from 
which millers start negotiating for higher quality 12% HRW ($189/MT FOB Gulf US ) offered by 
A/V. 
 There is a chance that monetization cash flow for A/V and the umbrella partners will be 
affected during the next MYAP if shortages of rail wagons and cuts in electricity continue. 
Millers may cancel or insist on renegotiating contracts if grain shipments are disrupted. In that 
event, projected revenue streams based on wheat grain sales may have to be adjusted. A/V and 
partners will simply have to be prepared to deal with this. 
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A/V maintains a very through database of previous wheat grain and vegetable oil sales and 
reports out very clearly on Quarterly Sales, Proceeds Generated, AER balances, Estimated Sales 
and Cash Flow, Expected Sales Proceeds, Grain Costs, Ocean Freight Costs, Inland Freight 
Costs, Cost Recovery, Bill of Lading Totals, Totals Received at Port, Damages in Transit, 
Recoveries, Losses, and Net Totals Received. The reporting is a model for other PL 480 Title II 
Programs. Other Title II grantees would be smart to study the spreadsheets and the database 
management system used to feed A/V’s quarterly and annual reports and adapt reporting 
templates as appropriate.
The edible oil market in Uganda has seen a number of changes since the last DAP. A number of 
supermarkets especially in Kampala now offer a variety of well packaged edible oils. The GOU 
is encouraging local palm oil production through a World Bank financed initiative backed by 
Bidco - a strong Asian edible oil refiner/food processor. While local palm plantations mature 
Bidco enjoys a 5 year tax holiday on net income, palmoline import duties, and VAT for the 
refined oil. This has put considerable competitive pressure on competing refiners and Title II 
oil importers (A/V). 
Cost recovery for soy oil tenders over the past seven months dropped to under 80% to a low of 
65 % in November, 2005 due to increases in the procurement cost of Title II vegetable oil in a 
call forward issued last year. Uncertainty about the 18% VAT tax status has been a recurring 
issue. The 25% duty on Title II soy oil is currently waived under A/V’s country agreement. This 
will have to be renegotiated in the next MYAP Title II country agreement. It would be helpful if 
the US Mission took the lead on this issue particularly since the edible oil sector has become 
politicized5. 
There has been a trend for the past two years for small to medium sized buyers to participate 
less in soy oil tenders (perhaps margins are better trading other products). Fewer traders are 
tendering for oil than previously while larger buyers (and one in particular) have become more 
successful in outbidding small to medium sized traders. One large Asian soy oil buyer has 
managed to corner the market at times through strategic defaults and outbidding smaller 
buyers in subsequent tenders. This has caused wide fluctuations in the wholesale price of US 
soy oil. 
Small to medium buyers are getting squeezed one month and bid out of the market the next. 
When healthier margins return the large buyer (with oil in stock) more than recoups losses 
incurred by default penalties and cuts in prices. A/V is well aware of the problem and is 
considering changing the sales mechanism to provide more stability to the market. Small to 
medium sized buyers must have confidence that they can routinely wholesale soy oil at a 2%-
3% net margin before they are willing to tie up their capital. 
With a years AER of soy oil presently in stock in Kampala (3500 MT) A/V should consider 
scaling down AERs for the next MYAP to around 1500 MT/year. A veteran supermarket owner 
in Kampala expressed confidence, however, that the market can readily absorb 3500 MT of US 
oil but only if the sales mechanism was changed to help eliminate price fluctuations and bolster 
confidence that buyers achieve small but steady profit margins. Soy oil has been a reliable 
 
5 Wheat grain is currently exempt from the uniform COMESA 35% import duty on imported wheat. This (as well as 
the Ugandan specific 75% duty on imported rice) will have to be renegotiated again in December, 2006. 
17
commodity for generating steady cash flow and modified monthly tenders still offer the 
opportunity for small and medium sized traders to participate in the market.
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ Consider revising soy oil sales mechanism if 1) A few large buyers continue to 
manipulate the market through strategic defaults and timely outbidding 2) Participation 
by small to medium sized traders continues to decline due to loss of confidence and 
squeezed profit margins. 
ÿ Consider employing a two tier sales mechanism. A large lot tender/negotiation 
procedure for big buyers, and monthly fixed price offerings to small to medium sized pre 
qualified buyers in Kampala and a few regional cities. Limit large buyers to 60% of 
monthly offerings. 
 III. 3. Grants’ Management
The A/V Uganda’s Grants and Development Unit (GDU) administers sub-awards provided to 
local partners, NGOs, cooperatives, financial institutions, international organizations, and other 
cooperating sponsors. A Grants Management Structure (GMS) was put in place to standardize 
processes managed by the GDU. (See Annex IV: Sub-Award Process Flow Chart)
Following a process of 1) advertising for potential sub-recipients, 2) initial interview, 3) concept 
paper submittal and review, 4) proposal development review and feedback, 5) secondary 
proposal review and approval by A/V, followed by a 6) final tertiary review by a Technical 
Review Committee represented by USAID, APEP, Ernst & Young, and the Ministry of Finance, 
the GDU 7) conducts a pre-award survey and risk analysis before 8) signing a contract. 
After a post-award brief, grantees are usually advanced funds to operate on a quarterly basis 
and receive further training in financial reporting, compliance, impact reporting, and 
monitoring and evaluation. The proposal solicitation, review, approval, training, and signing 
process takes approximately 9 months. It’s only after this process that grantees, community 
extension workers, contact farmers, and farmer groups start receiving training in health and 
nutrition, farming as a business, improved agricultural practices, financial and credit 
management, and post-harvest handling, storage, and bulk marketing. Table 3, which follows 
provides examples of the types of training provided to and by grantees, members, and farmer 
groups. (See Annex V, which lists the program grantees, their activities and budgets.)
18
Table 3: Example Agricultural Training Provided to and by Grantees for Farmer Groups 
Under the 2002-06 ACDI/VOCA Title II DAP
Training Course Content
Farming as a Business (FaaB) ß Concept of “business profit”
ß Determining prices
ß Projected income statements
ß Group/association management – how to work in 
work in groups…and why.
ß How to find and best utilize input, production, 
and post-production credit
Agronomy ß Setting up demonstration plots
ß Recommended spacing and other planting 
techniques
ß Fertilizer use
ß Top dressing
ß Importance of proper weeding
Post-harvest handling and marketing ß Causes of post-harvest losses
ß Timely harvesting
ß Importance of moisture content in grain (a 
particular problem in bimodal rainfall areas)
ß Proper drying techniques
ß Improved shelling
ß Improved on-farm and group storage techniques
Nutrition ß Food values
ß Growth charts
ß Healthy feeding for infants and young children
ß Appropriate health and nutrition for the pregnant 
and lactating woman and sick family members.
ß Importance of micronutrients and local food 
sources
ß Household vegetable gardens
ß Sanitation and clean water
Source: ACDI/VOCA Title II DAP 2002-2006 Midterm Evaluation Report. 
It would be helpful if this process was speeded up for the next MYAP. Experienced grantees 
submitting proposals for the next round of funding may be able to complete the process in less 
than 6 months. Otherwise accelerating the process for new grantees will probably result in 
further problems down the road if grantees are not thoroughly trained in A/Vs standard 
operating procedures. 
Grantees have to grapple with organizing and training farmer groups, setting up demonstration 
plots, buying and distributing agricultural inputs, organizing bulk buying and marketing 
schemes, setting up financial reporting systems, monitoring activities and impacts, and 
reporting out quarterly to A/V. This requires a considerable amount of training and 
management even for the most motivated and qualified grantee. A/V is well aware of the 
challenge and time needed for training grantees. Shifting area of operations from “food 
insecure districts” to “chronically food insecure districts” (as defined in the MEMS study) and 
training new grantees to cover new ground is a major burden and responsibility. Nine months 
time and the management resources spent shifting geographic focus through new grantee may 
result in reduced food security impacts during the next MYAP. 
19
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ Continue working in current “food insecure” districts – use due diligence before 
relocating from a “food insecure district” to a “chronically food insecure district” as 
defined by the October 19, 2005 2nd draft MEMS study. There are important operational, 
management, impact, baseline assessment, and M&E issues to consider as well.
ÿ Work if possible with grantees with a proven track record – there’s a nine month 
incubation period for selecting new grantees, followed by a training period. 
 III. 4. Programmatic Integration: Enhancing Food Security through Improved Household 
Nutrition and Hygiene 
Background 
 
A nutritionist was hired to develop and supervise the nutrition component for the food security 
program. A nutrition training manual was developed and the ACDI/VOCA nutritionist 
conducted trainings with grantee staff, Field Extension Workers (FEWs) and some contact 
farmers, who in turn, train contact farmers and program beneficiaries, i.e. farmers. The 
trainings have targeted the beneficiary farmers who were 50-60% men. They were advised to 
share the information with their wives. 
Increasing practical nutrition and hygiene knowledge can lead to improved practices, which 
contribute to improved nutritional status of reproductive age women, their infants and young 
children. These efforts can increase the availability of nutritious foods through production or 
purchase, the equitability in intra-household food distribution and improved utilization of 
available foods. To that end, the training focuses on: basic nutrition, nutrition problems in 
children and how to overcome them, growth monitoring, nutrition for pregnant and 
breastfeeding women, appropriate hygiene practices, nutrition for PLWHA, growing a 
vegetable garden and increasing poultry production. 
 The topics for the training were selected based on discussions with the grantee staff, field visits 
and the nutrition and hygiene problems in rural Uganda identified by the nutritionist and 
through secondary sources. In addition to the nutrition training manual, a flip chart and other 
support materials were developed and field tested with one group of farmers. To increase 
access to the more nutritious foods recommended and potentially to provide a small income, 
vegetable gardens which include vitamin A rich vegetables, planting fruit trees6 and poultry 
rearing are promoted. 
Findings:
ß Men identified the nutrition information as the most beneficial module provided in the 
training. Men related that they now understood why their wives were tired and less 
attractive having a baby. They realized they could take better care of the wife they had 
instead of taking a second wife. 
 
6 Fruit trees producing fruits high in vitamin A or C are promoted, such as, orange, papaya, mango guavas and 
avocado. Planting two of each variety is encouraged one to produce for home consumption and the other to produce 
fruit for sale. 
20
ß Men and women both could identify diet changes, such as, increased consumption of 
vegetables, eating more times a day and serving enriched porridge to young children for 
breakfast. 
ß During field visits to beneficiary farms in the Central, East and Northern (Gulu) regions 
vegetables gardens were observed. Excluding visits to the East, vegetable gardens were 
often small or the vegetables grown were scattered among crops. Greens were the most 
commonly grown vegetable. The timing of the visit may have influenced this, as several 
farmers mentioned planting more vegetables soon. Although the gardens often were 
located close to kitchens and water sources, for the most part, they were not grown year 
round by watering during the dry seasons. 
ß Young fruit trees were seldom noticed at the farms visited. Although one contact farmer 
was raising fruit trees from seeds. The cost of purchasing fruit trees may have limited 
dissemination. 
ß Poultry rearing was observed among some of the beneficiary farmers. Among those who 
raise chickens, few of the eggs are consumed and meat is eaten rarely as eggs and chickens 
are primarily sold for income. Beneficiaries mentioned family members consuming up to 
1 egg per week. Building a coop for chickens was identified as a constraint to improved 
poultry rearing. 
ß In some grantee areas, such as UOSPA the nutrition and hygiene education has not been 
integrated into the training provided to farmers. This was also true for one of the Hunger 
Alert groups visited. 
ß On several farm visits, sick young children were observed that had not been taken to the 
health center. 
ß Many of the families visited were large, two farmers had 10 children; one with a single 
wife and the other with two. Also several of the families were caring for orphans, either 
the children of a sibling(s) or grandchildren. 
ß The process of becoming a contact farmer or a subsistence farmer with a cash crop, 
particularly for the women visited, seemed an empowering experience. For single women 
head of households, as well as, for the married women farmers. In most instances, 
married women farmers controlled the money earned from agricultural production. 
However, in groups of women and men, even when the number of women exceeded that 
of men, often men made the decisions regarding the group resources. 
ß Women reported spending any cash crop income on necessary household expenses, such 
as, complementary foods, medical visits or school fees. Men reported spending the 
increased income on school fees, mobile phones, new houses and more wives. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
 Some of the following recommendations will be difficult to integrate without obtaining 
additional resources. Thus identifying other potential donors and seeking funding for 
formative research, evaluation and complementary programming is needed. 
Nutrition
ÿ Conduct formative research and utilize the results to further focus and develop the 
program’s nutrition education in the following areas: 
21
ß Identify the most important nutrition and hygiene problems (and behaviors) linked to 
malnutrition7, and to utilize this information to select and design the nutrition behavior 
change program. 
ß Determine the amounts of food groups eaten over the course of a day in the different 
seasons and utilize this information to develop teaching tools which show the current 
portions of food groups (young children, pregnant and lactating women) as compared to 
what would be recommended for a nutritionally adequate diet. 
ß Develop a planning guide for the amounts and types of crops, garden vegetables, fruit 
trees and small animals to create a nutritionally balanced diet based on the number and 
nutritional needs of family members, which considers the growing seasons.8 
ÿ Promote increased production of the following to ensure more nutritious diets: 
ß In addition to greens, other vegetables higher in vitamin A, such as carrots, orange-flesh 
sweet potato (in humid zones), and promote more pumpkin.9 
ß Promote orange-flesh sweet potato as a drought resistance high yield crop along with 
cassava, and work with agricultural researchers on improving the nutritional value, 
decreasing the processing needed and developing more nutritious recipes for cassava.
ß Promote fruit trees particularly to farm families who do not have established trees. To do 
this effectively, the price of the trees may need to be subsidized.
ÿ Given the high levels of malnutrition in Uganda, particularly in rural (stunting 40%; 
underweight 24%) compared to urban areas (stunting 27%; underweight 12%), advocate for 
a study to be conducted on the determinants of malnutrition in Uganda with a focus on 
rural food insecure areas.10 The study should also consider gender issues and the effects of 
the HIV/AIDS pandemic on malnutrition and food insecurity in rural areas. 
Recommendations: ‘Farming as a Family Business’ Education 
ÿ More fully integrating Nutrition and Health into the Farming as a Family Business 
Curriculum, as the ‘Farming as a Business’ curriculum is revised consider the following 
changes: 
ß Including a presentation depicting the cost of a nutritionally balanced diet versus the 
cost of malnourished children who are more difficult to educate and less productive as 
children and adults, is recommended11. Sacrificing the short term for the longer term 
gain; as one beneficiary said, “selling the milk from my cow is losing the health of my 
family”. 
 III. 5. Programmatic Growth and Integration—The HIV/AIDS LIFE Initiative
Introduction
 
7 Incorporating what has been learned from the nutrition and food security studies that exist for Uganda, gather more 
specific information regarding women, infant and child feeding, food taboos and eating habits, meal patterns, inter￾household food distribution, seasonal variation in food availability, access to animal foods, use of iodized salt, etc. 
8 Utilize this information to promote raising sufficient food crops, etc. and to reinforce adequate consumption versus 
the sale of produce and eggs. 
9 Ensure nutrition education encourages the consumption of fat with vegetable sources of vitamin A. 
10Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2000-2001, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Entebbe, Uganda, ORC Macro, 
Calverton, Maryland, USA, December 2001. 
11 Given the high levels of stunting and anemia reported among rural children in Uganda, it can be assumed that the 
children targeted through this program are at risk for the various types of malnutrition. 
22
Although there is considerable advocacy to provide food assistance for food insecure PLWHAs 
and others affected by the pandemic, little empirical evidence exists to demonstrate the impact 
of food aid on HIV/AIDS related beneficiary groups. 12 Currently studies are underway that 
will help assess food impact on PLWHAs and, in turn, guide future programming. In addition, 
FANTA and WFP are developing a handbook on food assistance in the HIV/AIDS context. 
Field experience, the increased caloric need of PLWHAs and studies of the effects of the 
HIV/AIDS pandemic on food security, agriculture production and asset depletion have 
prompted the provision of food assistance. More recently the availability of ART, as it is 
difficult for patients to adjust (and comply) to the drug regime without sufficient food, has 
increased support for food assistance for PLWHAs. USAID has presented principles for food 
assistance programs in the context of HIV/AIDS, which call for ‘do no harm’. 13,
14 Five years 
ago when ACDI/VOCA began its HIV/AIDS Food Assistance Program even less was known. 
 
Background 
The ACDI/VOCA program to assist PLWHAs and others affected by the AIDS pandemic with 
food assistance operates in partnership with NGOs, as a complement to the treatment, care and 
support services for PLWHAs. This is the second major component of the DAP and is operated 
through ACDI/VOCA partnership grants with three other US and one Ugandan NGOs. This 
component was added to the project proposal late in the proposal development process at the 
suggestion of USAID Washington. Furthermore, as it was the first direct food distribution 
program initiated by ACDI/VOCA in Uganda and one of the first in Africa targeted to those 
infected and affected by HIV/AIDS understandably adequately planning and funding the 
various aspects of the program, such as, a M&E plan, beneficiary selection/graduation criteria, 
or the exit strategy was extremely difficult. 
To A/Vs credit the program quickly and very effectively set up a Compliance Department and 
a Logistics Department to ensure that commodity arrived in a timely manner to the 15 regional 
warehouses. Operating procedures and reporting guidelines were established (and well 
documented in manuals) to comply with USAID Regulation 11 and Title II Standard Operating 
Procedures. As the food aid pipeline and compliance procedures were established, partners 
began implementing their own logistics chain to the Final Distribution Points (FDPs). 
 
Africare, CRS, TASO and World Vision (Implementing Partners or IPs) went through 
ACDI/VOCA’s grantee process and MOUs were developed between each IP and ACDI. IPs 
selected food beneficiaries from their programs serving PLWHAs and those affected. The 
Partner organizations implement the actual food distribution with oversight and monitoring 
provided by ACDI/VOCA. 
The IPs and ACDI/VOCA developed 4 program criteria in addition to food insecurity to select 
beneficiaries as follows: (1) HIV/AIDS positive, HIV/AIDS orphan or family in which an 
 
12 Strasser, S et al, Measuring the Effect of TFA on Beneficiaries with Chronic Illnesses: Lessons Learned from the 
Literature and the Field, C-SAFE, April, 2005. 
13 Canhuati, J., Basic Principles for Food Assisted Programs in the Context of HIV/AIDS, presentation in Entebbe, Uganda, 
November 2-5, 2004. USAID, Retrieved from www.fantaproject.org/publications/hiv_foodaid2004.shtml 
14More specifically the principles call for food assistance programs that do not exacerbate community divisions or 
create: dependency, disincentives for local production and markets, disruption of traditional safety nets and support 
systems or stigma and community resentment. 
23
HIV/AIDS adult receiving food died; (2) receiving treatment, care and/or support services 
from one of the IPs; (3) living within one of the IPs program catchment area; (4) member of 
TASO or receiving treatment from an IP organization for at least 3 months. One of the 
problems identified with the program has been the reported subjectivity of program beneficiary 
selection. A food security assessment form has been developed, however, given the food 
program caseload, only a small percentage of eligible beneficiaries are provided with food 
assistance, thus selecting the most vulnerable or food insecure is extremely difficult.15 
ACDI/VOCA compliance staff regularly visit food distribution points to observe and talk 
directly with beneficiaries. Isolated incidents of food sales have been noted, however, they have 
been appropriately handled. Further, IPs have sensitized clients regarding the importance of 
consuming the food. Nutrition education sessions have also been conducted. 
The ration consists of 300gm of CSB and 25 gm of vegetable oil per day per person in selected 
households, up to a total of 5 persons. Over the years approximately 60,000 beneficiaries or 
12,000 families have been served. Most beneficiaries have participated since program inception, 
as a formal graduation process or exit criteria was not initially developed. When a beneficiary 
dies his extended family often remain on the program. However, participants have been added 
to fill slots vacated by defaulters, transfers or deaths. 
Food distributions
Food is distributed monthly to beneficiaries through the four implementing partners. 
Beneficiaries have photo identification cards which identify a substitute person designated to 
pick-up foods. Although over 75 percent of the beneficiaries wait more than 1 hour for food 
and over 40 percent wait over 2 hours to pick-up food16, the distributions are well organized 
under a tent with several stations, including beneficiary verification, food pick-up stations and a 
final check of quantities of foods provided. 
Most of the food distribution sites are located near a health center.17 This encourages “one stop 
shopping”, that is, the IP offers complementary services during the food distribution, such as 
individual or group counseling. PLWHA in need of health services are referred immediately as 
well. Food is transported from the FDPs to beneficiaries’ homes usually by bicycles. 
Transportation costs although increasing slightly are not perceived to be a barrier to 
participation. 
Program Monitoring 
Initiated in FY 2004, a sample of beneficiaries are weighed and complete a short form which 
collects information on ration utilization, waiting time for food, transport costs and recent 
illness during food distributions. The forms are compiled and the data is analyzed by the 
program’s M&E contractor, The Ssemwanga Centre quarterly. In addition, each beneficiary 
 
15 In TASO Tororo, for example, 1,000 clients receive WFP food assistance and 1,000 receive ACDI/VOCA food 
assistance of their 16,000 clients. 
16 Data taken from the Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative Annual Monitoring Report, prepared for ACDI/VOCA by The 
Ssemwanga Centre, October 2005 from the last quarter reported, July through September 2005. 
17 Data on the exact number was not available, but staff confirmed that a majority of food sites are co-located with 
Health Centers. 
24
completes a form regarding complementary HIV/AIDS treatment or support services received. 
This information is compiled and reported in the IPTT. 
The data collected had been compiled into quarterly and yearly reports for 2004 and 2005. 
Although data collection appears to have improved, the sample of beneficiaries was not selected 
randomly. Beneficiaries were selected by the IPs based on their regular attendance at food 
distributions. Not all of the selected beneficiaries, complete forms quarterly, however, the 
numbers improved for FY 2005 compared to 2004. In addition, some of the problems identified 
with the accuracy of the weighing scales or the recordings of weights have not been resolved 
due to the large number of FDPs. 
The data indicates that an estimated 40 percent of beneficiaries lose weight each quarter and 
slightly more, i.e. up to 50 percent gain weight, while 10 percent maintain their weight.18 
Ninety percent or more of the beneficiaries report seeking medical treatment in the previous 
three months.19 Nearly 70 percent report eating CSB at 3 or 4 meals per day and for over 70 
percent, none of the food provided remains at the end of the month.20 
PEPFAR Funded Nutrition and Hygiene Education21
During food distribution and household monitoring visits, when it was noticed that the foods 
were not being well utilized, ACDI/VOCA developed nutrition education materials to promote 
the appropriate use of the commodities and conducted education at the food distribution 
points. The nutritionist hired for the nutrition component of the Food Security Program led the 
development of the HIV/AIDS nutrition and hygiene education. Implementing partners’ 
counseling staff was also trained to provide information and recipes using CSB. Although 
providing the nutrition training to counselors was helpful, they rarely had time to incorporate 
this information in counseling sessions. 
Moreover, it was discovered that the construction of simple home devices to promote improved 
hygiene practices was not regularly occurring. To address both issues, a community based 
strategy was adopted which relied on food distributions to identify the communities and model 
homes for training. Three villages from each FDP were selected for the training at a home in 
each village. Others attended the training and assisted with starting a vegetable garden, 
making the energy-saving stove or hygiene devices, such as, dish drying racks, bath shelter, or 
improvements to the pit latrine. From the trainings, spontaneously village teams of women 
living with HIV/AIDS formed and began visiting other targeted homes to assist with building 
the health promoting devices. In some communities, they have started to make and sell some of 
the necessary hygiene devices. Further, they are charging families not directly affected by 
HIV/AIDS a small fee for their services. 
Three, two member health and hygiene teams operate in each area; one in Masaka (central), one 
in Mbale (east) and the other in Kasese (west). Hygiene and nutrition education has been 
provided at all FDPs. However, due to funding constraints, of the 106 FDPs, 86 (with rural sites 
 
18 Data taken from the Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative Annual Monitoring Report, prepared for ACDI/VOCA by The 
Ssemwanga Centre, October 2005 from the last quarter reported, July through September 2005. 
19 Ibid, 11.
20 Ibid, 11.
21 During FY 2004, Title II provided some additional funds for nutrition and hygiene education. During FY 2005 and 
2006, applications to PEPFAR were submitted and funds received. 
25
prioritized), have benefited from the community based health and hygiene training. For each of 
the 86 participating FDPs, only 3 villages have been covered. 
The flipcharts, manual and other materials developed for the nutrition component of the food 
security program were utilized in the PEPFAR funded hygiene and nutrition program. In 
addition, specific materials, including recipes were developed to promote appropriate 
utilization of the CSB and oil. The primary nutrition education tool, an 18 month calendar was 
developed which included a hygiene, health or nutrition message for each month. The calendar 
message of the month coincided with the monthly education provided at food distribution sites. 
The calendar was developed by two consultants who conducted beneficiary home visits to 
identify the specific messages related to the problematic behaviors. Further, the pictures 
utilized to convey the messages were field tested to ensure they would be appropriately 
interpreted. The calendars were printed in 4 local languages; during the course of the program 
2 cycles of calendars were produced. 
One of the nutrition messages featured on the calendar recommends exclusively breastfeeding 
for 3 months, which is currently Uganda MoH’s recommendation for HIV+ breastfeeding 
women who know their status. The recommendation has been recently reviewed by the MOH 
Uganda’s AIDS Control Task Force for HIV/AIDS and Nutrition and changed to comply with 
the World Health Organization’s recommendation for feeding infants born to HIV+ women.22 
As the nutrition guidance for HIV/AIDS continues to evolve it will be necessary to follow 
developments closely and adapt education and materials. 
Linking HIV/AIDS food beneficiaries with Agriculture Training
ACDI/VOCA exploited the opportunity to create program synergy and lessen dependence on 
food assistance through providing the agricultural program to HIV/AIDS food beneficiaries. 
In the central region, their grantee CEDO facilitated and trained groups of farmers with as high 
as 80 percent food beneficiary families. Given the low percentage of Ugandans who know their 
status, it is likely that other group members were also PLWHAs or families directly affected by 
the pandemic. CEDO reported lower participation in trainings and overall lower productivity 
of infected/affected farmers. However, CEDO staff and beneficiaries felt they could graduate 
from the food assistance program after receiving the agricultural training. 
In the eastern region, FADEP-EU mainstreamed HIV/AIDS families into their farmer groups. 
With groups including up to 20 percent HIV/AIDS affected families. FADEP-EU, in addition to 
other criteria selects farmers based on their motivation, which may have eliminated some 
HIV/AIDS affected families given their limited manpower. FADEP-EU appeared to have more 
success with the lower percentage of HIV/AIDS infected/affected in their groups. 
Findings: 
 
22 That is, “HIV-positive mothers should avoid breastfeeding if replacement feeding from birth is acceptable, feasible, 
affordable, sustainable, and safe (AFASS). If these conditions are not met, then it is recommended that HIV-positive 
mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding for the first months of life. To minimize HIV transmission risk, 
breastfeeding should be discontinued as soon as feasible, taking into account local conditions, the individual 
woman’s situation and the issues of replacement feeding including infections other than HIV and malnutrition.”
HIV and Infant Feeding: A Guide for Healthcare Managers and Supervisors, WHO, Geneva, 2003.
26
ÿ The food distribution observed was extremely well managed. The complementary 
services provide the opportunity for PLWHA to access food, counseling and medical 
treatment at one visit. However, with the time clients wait for food, counseling and/or 
medical appointments they often spend the whole day at the food distribution. 
ÿ Food beneficiaries commented that the food made them stronger and healthier. After 
participating in the program, they were sick less and capable of working more. Several felt 
that the food had even saved their lives. Some started ART after initiating food assistance, 
which also contributed to their improved health. 
ÿ Despite the food and ART some beneficiaries suffer side effects that made it difficult to 
work. Another beneficiary who had recently “graduated” from food assistance 
complained of being weak and hungry all the time. 
ÿ Some food beneficiary households visited consisted of grandmother head of households, 
often infected with HIV and school age orphans. Given their age and health, the 
grandmother’s capacity to work is limited. 
ÿ Both in the Central and Eastern program areas, the results of the PEPFAR funded nutrition 
and hygiene teams were evident. ‘Tippy Taps’, dish drying racks, bath shelters and 
separate building for kitchens with energy saving stoves were noted. However, the 
quality and construction of the devices varied. In addition, family members were clean 
and their compounds swept. They also identified washing their hands after using the 
latrine as a new behavior.
ÿ Given the limited funding provided by PEPFAR the nutrition and hygiene program did 
not have sufficient coverage. The community mobilization model utilized in the PEPFAR 
funded program has potential for broader application beyond hygiene in assisting families 
affected by HIV/AIDS. 
ÿ The PEPFAR health educators noted that CEDO farmer groups tended to be more 
receptive to training, asked more questions, and participated in building ‘tippy’ taps, 
raised storage racks, improved stoves, covered latrines, and kitchen gardens with more 
enthusiasm than other groups receiving food aid that did not benefit from focused 
complementary agriculture and nutrition training. 
ÿ The hygiene and nutrition calendars provided to program beneficiaries were not seen at 
any homes visited. The calendars focus more on hygiene messages than nutrition. 
ÿ Farmers’ groups with a higher percentage (80%) of families affected by HIV/AIDS, 
although members improved their capacity to farm, however, their achievements were not 
as high as the groups with a lower percentage of farmers (20%) from HIV/AIDS affected 
households. Different grantees implemented the two models which may also have 
influenced the difference in results. 
ÿ Grantees and the HIV/AIDS affected farm families felt it was possible to “graduate” from 
food assistance after receiving the agriculture, nutrition and hygiene training and 
belonging to a farm group. One to one and a half year(s) was suggested by some 
recipients for concurrent program (food assistance and agriculture) participation. 
However, agricultural programming and beneficiary constraints limits the number of 
beneficiaries who can participate in both programs. The ability of HIV affected families to 
self sustain after dual program participation should be tracked. 
ÿ Three of the four Implementing Partners are currently graduating HIVAIDS food 
assistance beneficiaries. TASO is graduating an estimated 16 percent, CRS 4 percent and 
Africare 4 percent. In addition, the World Food Program in Uganda, which began an 
HIV/AIDS food assistance program nearly 4 years ago, graduated 25 percent of its 
program beneficiaries last June and is planning to graduate 30 percent this April. Limited 
information is available on how graduated food program beneficiaries are coping. 
27
ÿ Even with training and micro credit, a safety net food assistance program may still be 
needed for families without land or non-agricultural income generating capacity, as well 
as, for families with high dependency ratios or those without an adult capable of working. 
RECOMMENDATIONS: HIV/AIDS Food Assistance Program
ÿ Given the current ration size and to foster self reliance, the ration per beneficiary should be 
decreased, however, determining the feasibility of providing rations based on household 
size for households larger than 5 is recommended. 
ß A ration of CSB and oil is generally used to recuperate mild and moderate acutely 
malnourished individuals. Although the amount per individual is usually increased to 
account for family sharing, it is rare that CSB is provided in such a large quantity for up 
to 5 family members. 
ß The current ration provides 60 percent of daily calories per person per day. According 
to a recent Uganda food study, a 20 to 30 percent calorie deficit exists among the food 
insecure in the areas of Central and Eastern Uganda, the areas where the MYAP food 
assistance is planned.23 Studies of food insecure households affected by HIV/AIDS, 
demonstrate they suffer more food insecurity.24 
ß To determine the extent of food security and estimate diet deficiencies among 
households affected by HIV/AIDS in program areas, an assessment of a sample of 
PLWHAs households is advised, prior to finalizing the ration.25 This information 
would help decide ration size and proportion of commodities, as well as, inform food 
and nutrition education. 
ß As many of the households receiving food assistance are larger than 5, providing food 
assistance based on the number of family members will help ensure the targeted 
beneficiary receives the amount of food needed. If this is not feasible a smaller decrease 
in the ration per beneficiary is recommended. 
ÿ See Section VI. Program Sustainability and Exit Strategies for additional recommendations 
on beneficiary selection and graduation. 
ÿ To understand more about the beneficiary population and program performance, utilizing 
the information tracked on the number of beneficiaries who graduate, default (abandon), 
transfer or die to set program targets is recommended. The SPHERE Project Handbook 
provides guidance on feeding program indicators.26 Although the indicators have not been 
developed specifically for HIV/AIDS adapting indicators based on ACDI/VOCA’s 
experience and tracking them would be valuable to others and help gage program quality. 
ÿ Many factors, in addition to improved household food security, influence weight gain or 
improved nutritional status for PLWHAs. Although showing program impact through 
tracking beneficiary weights may be difficult, weighing and measuring a sample of PLWHAs 
(adults) to determine Body Mass Index (BMI) is advised27. Utilizing BMIs the percentage of 
 
23 Understanding Food Insecurity in Uganda: A Special Study, Submitted to USAID/Monitoring and Evaluation 
Management Services, Economic Policy Research Centre, Second draft, October 2005. 
24 Reducing the Burden of HIV/AIDS: Experience of a Food Intervention in Western Kenya, United Nations, WFP, Kenya 
Country Office, Nairobi, March 2005. 
25As recommended in HIV/AIDS: A Guide for Nutritional Care and Support, 2nd edition, FANTA, AED, 2004.
26 The Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, 2004 Revised Edition, Oxfam 
Publishing, Oxford, UK. 
27 Body Mass Index or BMI is a person’s weight divided by their height squared. It is an index of protein and fat 
stores. 
28
adults sampled can be categorized as malnourished (moderate and severe), normal weight or 
overweight, therefore, it would be possible to track the percentage of beneficiaries with 
normal weights, such as receiving ARVs. Knowing the overall percentage of beneficiaries 
who are malnourished when joining the program and overtime is of interest, particularly as 
treatment for moderately and severely malnourished PLWHAs becomes available in 
Uganda.28 
ÿ To promote appropriate utilization of the food, it is recommended that the PEPFAR funded 
nutrition and hygiene education be expanded as it appears to be having impact.
ß The nutrition and hygiene education at the FDPs initially should be integrated in the 
MYAP as the program shifts to new sites. In addition to how to utilize the commodities 
provided, it is also important to focus on how the foods available to the family can be 
used to make more nutrient and caloric dense meals. 
ß Reinforcing the education at the community level is also needed, thus acquiring 
increased complementary funding so that more teams can be hired and program 
coverage increased is recommended. 
ß The provision of simple building materials may be needed to reinforce the hygiene 
promoting devices to be built. 
ß The model of utilizing community members in teams to educate and assist others with 
simple environmental interventions should be evaluated and if deemed effective 
exploited to other program components to the extent possible. 
ß Follow-up with beneficiaries who received the hygiene and nutrition calendar to 
determine how it was used in homes and if it achieved the intended results is advised. 
ÿ Given that the program covered new ground, capture HIV/AID Food Assistance Program 
results, lesson learned and standard operating procedures in a report that can be widely 
shared. 
 
IV. Impact Assessment
SO1 Agriculture: Improve food security by raising the production and marketing of selected 
crops and increase rural household incomes for 120,000 beneficiaries with a focus on vulnerable 
groups
The October, 2005 Monitoring and Evaluation Management Services (MEMS) report, 
“Understanding Food Insecurity in Uganda: A Special Study” pointed out that food security “seems 
to have failed to improve on a sustainable basis despite all the combined efforts of 
Government and its’ “Development Partners” and that “the absolute number of food 
insecure persons increased from 12 million in 1992 to 14 million in 2002”. More importantly 
it pointed out that “there is no systematic relationship as far as food insecurity, incidence of 
income poverty, and stunting are concerned”. The study pointed to sub-regions (Ankole) 
where stunting was increasing as incomes rose, and food insecurity declined. In Busogo there 
was a decrease in stunting as the prevalence of food insecurity increased. 
 
28 USAID Uganda PEPFAR Program is in the process of designing a program to treat malnourished PLWHAs 
through the development of a locally produced ready-to-fed therapeutic food, personal communication with Dr. 
Robert Mwadime. 
29
In other words “addressing income poverty per se might not mitigate the food insecurity 
problem” and “malnourished children are also found in food secure households” and in 
Busogo again “commercialization of agriculture did not necessarily lead to better caloric 
intake”. Thus, food security is a moving target and simply focusing on raising incomes and 
agricultural production (particularly for cash crops) in households where men control the 
finances and dictate the spending doesn’t hit the nail on the head. 
Changing attitudes and practices especially in regards to family planning, HIV/AIDS 
prevention, health, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation – and getting money and savings into the 
hands of women helps move the hammer square over the nail. These issues will be more 
thoroughly addressed in the SO1 IR5 section as well as the SO2 section.
IR 1: Increased access to rural financial services for inputs, production and marketing
The current Title II program has capitalized a hybrid of rural financial loan programs some 
carried over from the previous DAP. A long-standing credit facility (capitalized with 
540,000,000 Ush (approximately $300,000) under the previous DAP plus 225,500,000 Ush 
(approximately $124,000) under the current DAP for salaries and training for four agricultural 
loan officers was established by Standard Chartered Bank to provide loans to a steady group of 
commercial farmers. At the beginning of FY 2006, Standard and Chartered Bank was 
administering $156,149 to 12 beneficiaries. 
A near total market failure for maize in 2001 brought farmers to their knees and record stocks 
deteriorated in stores and warehouses throughout the country. A large number of farmers 
defaulted on loans. Drought has also been a persistent problem, particularly for maize farmers 
the last two years. 
The Centenary Bank Special Loan Window was established in 2000 under the previous DAP to 
provide rural agricultural credit to target farmers. The Special Loan window was capitalized 
through a 900,000,000 Ush (approximately $500,000) capital injection plus 743,000,000 Ushs 
(approximately $408,000) provided to cover administrative costs. The facility got off to a good 
start at the branch office in Mbale and expanded with strong technical support from the IDEA 
program to Kyotera, Tororo, and Hoima where repayments rates were good. The Kasese, 
Entebbe Road, and Mityana branches had higher default rates with the Kasese branch 
experiencing defaults close to 50%. Overall repayment rate was 67% by July 31, 2003. 
There were a number of problems not least was the fact that A/V capital served as a guarantee 
for 100% of the loans regardless of the amount of collateral provided by the farmer. There was 
also misunderstanding (due to lack of an MOU) between the three partners A/V, IDEA, and CB 
about the credit worthiness of recommended creditor/farmers - and who was really 
responsible for vetting their capacity to successfully farm commercially. When word of the 
100% guarantee escaped in Kasese, creditors saw an excuse to walk away from their obligations. 
The Title II Program is providing access to input credits (through loan guarantees) to select 
input stockists and distributors (via $191,763 in carry over funding from the previous DAP). 
This small program is managed by ATAINs successor organization – the Ugandan National 
Agro-Input Dealers Association (UNADA). According to the 1st Qt FY 2006 A/V Operations 
Report, by the end of the FY 2005 4th quarter a total of $51,454 was advanced to 103 input 
stockists in 9 districts. Repayment rate is 98% and the program has helped generate $124,337 in 
30
input sales. It was unclear how many A/V supported farmers or farmer groups accessed inputs 
through the input guarantee fund. 
A/V had a strong impact, early on, incubating rural financial services. Repayment rates, 
however, for agricultural loans guaranteed by A/V through the Standard Chartered Bank (70%) 
and Centenary Bank (67%) credit windows were far below the norm of 95%. Centenary Bank 
has moved forward on its own and increased their agribusiness loan portfolio. Poor, food 
insecure farmers continue to have very limited access to rural credit facilities. Mutual savings 
and internal lending schemes within farmer groups are more likely to generate liquidity for 
income generation, access to inputs, and increased food security. 
The program realized midway through the DAP that promoting and mobilizing group savings 
was a more effective way of eventually providing liquidity for member farmers than 
institutional rural credit facilities. Savings groups are self regulated and strong communal 
obligations and ties assure a high rate of repayment.
RECOMMENDATION
ÿ Promote individual and group savings programs rather than capitalize and guarantee 
institutional rural credit facilities. 
IR 2: Increased agricultural productivity of target crops
Production, yield, and value of the targeted crops maize & upland rice (grains), bean, cassava 
and oilseed (sunflower & soybean) all saw increases over the 2001 baseline. Production 
increased by 40%, 51%, 2174%, and 479% for grains, beans, cassava, and oilseeds respectively 
in 2005 versus baseline. However, yearly target level performance however has generally 
fallen short except for cassava. 
Insecurity in Lira, Soroti, Apac, and the north had a negative impact particularly on the oilseed 
sector. Widespread drought in 2005 had a negative impact on production and yields throughout 
the project area. The good news is that farm gate prices for all targeted crops rose steadily from 
2001 before leveling off. Farmers fortunate enough to sell maize to WFP in 2006 saw some 
production sold at 400 Ush/kg ($5.60/bu or $220/MT) – 2 ½ times current spot prices for corn 
in the US. There is concern in some quarters about the sustainability issues of the WFP local 
procurement program and what will happen to farm gate maize and bean prices when WFP 
withdraws from the market. Maize prices are currently in a bubble stage. 
Although production and yields for most targeted crops were adversely affected by the 2005 
drought, farmers receiving training in improved agronomic practices, post harvest handling 
and storage, farming as a business, and health and nutrition generally see the connection 
between best practices, timely planting and harvesting and increased yields and production. 
It’s very important to remember that most rural people dependent on the land for survival in 
Uganda if given a choice would probably be doing something else rather than “digging”. 
Young men in particular would probably rather peddle a bicycle “bodaboda” taxi in town than 
“dig”, weed, and harvest and look forward to more of the same in a couple of months. The 
attitudinal shift from “digging” as the only choice to “farming as a business” often means the 
male spends more productive time opening land, planting, weeding, and planning for his 
31
family’s future and less time playing cards, drinking banana beer, and thinking about getting 
away by buying a bicycle. 
Table 4: Crop Production, Annual Yield and Value 2001-2005
Agriculture
indicator
baseline
2001
midterm
2004
% of 
Target
Annual
2005
% of Target
Production in Metric Tons
Grains 68,952 62,875 63 96,249 79
Beans 9,894 10,415 26 14,927 30
Cassava 11,597 114,017 114 252,102 210
Oil seeds 2,238 8,407 40 10,712 49
Annual yield of beneficiaries targeted crops in Metric Tons per Hectare
Grains 1.4 1.7 93 2.3 115
Beans 0.6 0.6 64 0.77 77
Cassava 8.2 27.7 138 27.4 110
Oil seeds 0.9 0.6 50 1.0 77
Value of Agricultural Production in million of USD (FY05 exchange rate of 1850)
Grains 2.7 9.4 171 10.7 160
Beans 1.6 3.1 56 3.6 52
Cassava 1.3 n/a n/a 30.7 465
Oil seeds 0.9 1.8 23 1.9 22
Sources: ACDI/VOCA Baseline and Yearly Impact Reports, 2001-2005
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ Focus more on vegetative reproduced food crops such as orange flesh sweet potatoes and 
mosaic resistant cassava. Appropriate varieties can be rapidly and communally reproduced. 
The on-going multiplication and distribution of mosaic resistant cassava continues to have a 
high impact on increasing food security, however, this potentially should be balanced with 
orange flesh sweet potatoes as they have higher nutritional value. 
ÿ Continue work on promoting grains especially upland rice (protected by a 75% import duty), 
beans, maize and sunflowers but recruit more women’s groups and female contact farmers 
(especially in the north and the oilseed belt around Lira and Soroti). 
ÿ Work on promoting a more balanced crop mix that leans towards “food crops” versus “cash 
crops” and promote higher maintenance “micro” seed multiplication plots with the better 
farmers or interested farmer groups. 
ÿ Farmer groups who are “cash” crop focused such as oilseeds, maize, and upland rice need 
more training in household economics, health, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation. Note: 
Sunflowers are low maintenance and somewhat drought resistant, and can provide 
consistent yields, prices, and steady income - often without fertilization. 
ÿ Think seriously about promoting a glyphosate “Roundup” nonselective herbicide in areas 
(especially in the north) where farmers are often compelled to hire tractors to open up land 
32
infested with weeds and thick grass. This is a very effective, safe, inexpensive, labor saving, 
non-restrictive use herbicide. 
IR 3: Increased adoption of improved agricultural practices and inputs
The number of new farmer groups adopting commercial agricultural practices is 76 - 380% over the 
2005 target of 20. Households adopting improved practices rose from 33,600 at baseline to 50,334 in 
2005 (90% of 2005 target of 56,000). 
Table 5: Households with Improved Agricultural Practices and Groups Adopting 
Commercial Practices29
Agriculture 
indicator
baseline
2001
midterm
2004
% of 
Target
Annual
2005
% of 
Target
# of Households with Improved 
Practices 33,600 56,510 115 50,334 90
% farmer groups adopting 
commercial practices 0 23
 
 153 76 380
Source: ACDI/VOCA Annual Agriculture Impact Survey, 2005 and IPTT. 
Grantees through their community extension workers and contact farmers provide farmer 
groups training in health and nutrition, improved agronomic practices, farming as a business, 
and post harvest storage and handling. Pure stands of maize and beans are encouraged 
through timely planting in lines, proper spacing, use of improved seed, DAP (18-46-0) at 
planting, and a side dressing of urea (46-0-0) for maize especially. Timely harvesting and 
proper drying on mats, tarps, or cribs are prompted in lieu of drying in the dirt. The “farming 
as a business” module provides basic training in preparing annual work plans and crop 
budgets and estimated net returns for maize, beans, oilseeds, and upland rice. Farmers 
(especially women) are trained to grow vegetables (mostly greens, carrots, eggplants, and okra) 
on elevated beds. 
The Title II Food Security Committee approved a LOA 245,377,000 Ush (approximately 
$136,000) Revolving Input Fund (RIF) in September, 2004. RIF is managed by the agricultural 
grantees to help farmers and farmer group’s access in kind credit for improved seeds and 
fertilizer. A/V felt it was necessary at the time to provide another mechanism (in addition to the 
small starter grants of improved seed and fertilizer to new farmer groups in training) to provide 
inputs to farmers to help increase their yields, production, and incomes. 
After 2 growing seasons repayment by farmers to the revolving fund managed by the grantees 
has been extremely low (less than 10%). According to the RIF assessment report prepared by 
JKB Finance and Management Consultants in October, 2005 grantees do nor devote much time 
to RIF operations, field extension workers are not trained to deliver credit whether in kind or 
cash, and the grantees and to some extent the A/V GDU did not look at RIF as a credit program 
and did not give it the effort it deserved in terms of work plans for appraisal, monitoring, and 
recovery. Senior management at A/V is leaning heavily towards throwing in the towel in 
regards to capitalizing rural credit schemes both at the financial institution and grantee level. 
 
29 Improved practices at a minimum include: using improved seed, row planting, timely weeding and harvesting.
33
If the RIF mechanism is abandoned the program will have to find another mechanism for 
providing inputs if it hopes to improve yields and production of targeted crops and increase 
incomes for farmers. Savings alone will not do it. This is particularly true for new and 
extremely poor farmers. Under the current program grantees build into their proposals a line 
item for improved seed and fertilizer for demonstration gardens, starter kits of inputs for new 
farmer groups, and distribution of mosaic resistant cassava (a $450,000 line item within 
$6,666,000 in agricultural grants. 
The total agricultural input line RIF ($136,000) + the agricultural input line item ($450,000) = 
LOA total of $586,000 (Approximately 8% of total GDU budget ($7,200,000?). 
Better off farmers on a commercial track targeted by the APEP have a much stronger incentive 
and ability to buy improved seed and inputs than farmers targeted by the Title II program. The 
program needs to constantly keep in mind that improved inputs, practices, and attitudinal 
adjustments about farming are basically the only tools available for increasing yields and 
production for both food and cash crops promoted by the program. Again, savings alone is 
not the only catalyst the program should depend on for getting inputs and changes in 
attitude into the hands and heads of poor subsistence farmers. 
Funding for improved inputs needs to be increased in the next MYAP - especially if the RIF is 
abandoned. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ Increase the line item in the grantee budgets for provision of improved seed and fertilizer 
for demonstration plots, new, and second season farmer groups. No access to inputs = no 
increase in yields, production, income and no change in attitude.
ÿ Provide improved seed and fertilizer through the grantees for high maintenance, small, very 
well placed seed multiplication plots for contact farmers and those highly interested in the 
seed multiplication business. 
ÿ Continue encouraging grantees and farmers to buy inputs from local and regional stockists. 
ÿ RIF credit should only be provided to farmers participating in on-going and successful bulk 
marketing schemes. Deduct credits at point of sale but be prepared for those who pledge to 
bulk market to receive RIF credits and renege at harvest. 
IR 4: Increased local and regional market access
The program has rehabilitated 302 km of market road through December, 2005. Forty eight Km 
are being graveled raising the total, when finished soon, to 350 km. The DAP target is 490 km. 
MBW, the supervising engineer, and MADZI, a local NGO with experience in rural water 
supply, and the only remaining roads grantee, predict that an additional 50-75 km will be 
completed by the end of the program. 
34
Table 6: Kilometers of Roads Rehabilitated
Kms of Market Roads
Rehabilitated
2001-2005
Target
2001 -2005
Actual
LOA
Estimate
LOA
Target
Baseline = 0 370 284 400 490
Source: ACDI/VOCA Reports and information provided by MBW and MADZI
Rural market roads have a high impact in terms of opening market access to isolated areas. 
Environmental compliance has been strengthened since the last DAP. The program is 
addressing in a much more systematic manner problems posed by borrow pits, drainage, 
restricted water movement, and sedimentation. 
Table 7: Increased Access with Rehabilitated Roads
Increased access 
indicator
baseline
2001
midterm
2004
% of 
Target
Annual
2005
% of Target
% increase in vehicle traffic by vehicle type
Passenger vehicles n/a 35 426
Trucks n/a 21 656
Tractors n/a 182 159
Bicycles/motorcycles n/a 87 34
# of new 
mills/shops/businesses 
along each road
n/a 245 613 40 187
Kms of farm to market 
access roads 
rehabilitated
n/a 131.3 109 120 83.4
Source: ACDI/VOCA Annual Impact Survey, 2005
To encourage local government cost sharing, capacity building, and cut costs the program uses 
a hybrid grants mechanism to rehabilitate roads rather than the contracting route. The districts 
provide the equipment and operators, a local NGO manages the grant, and a supervisory 
engineering firm helps calculate budgets, aggregate and marrum quantities, fuel requirements, 
culvert design, etc and inspects works to see if work is up to specification – including 
environmental compliance. 
The high burn rate in construction costs, fuel in particular, requires a high level of management 
time from A/V finance. High management input from A/V is the trade off for using a grant 
mechanism (12,000,000 Ush/km) rather than a contract mechanism (30,000,000 Ush/km) –
where the contractor bears the cost and risk of equipment, fuel diversion, delays due to 
breakdowns, etc. 
The program provides a grant to IITA to cover over 80% of the costs of Foodnet, a national 
market information service in Uganda that collects and disseminates market data for 19 
different commodities from 19 different market centers. The information is processed and 
disseminated through various radio stations, national newspapers and by e-mail, text 
35
messaging, and fax to major trading companies, government departments, agricultural 
development agencies and famine early warning agencies and cell phone owners. 
Farmers targeted by the Title II program are most likely to receive information by FM radio in 
the local language. There is general consensus that Foodnet provides reliable, up to date market 
information, especially useful for large commercial farmers, transit traders, ministry officials, 
and regional wholesalers. The Title II program has borne essentially the full cost of this program 
for 5 years. There are a number of “free rider” and impact issues that raise the question whether 
a program that targets very poor “food insecure” smallholders should underwrite the entire 
costs of a national market information service. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ Integrate the road rehabilitation planning/implementation cycle to match the local 
government Jan-April budget preparation planning cycle.
ÿ Guarantee the road rehabilitation grantee enough work so he can retain and dedicate 
qualified field engineers to the Title II Program.
ÿ While rehabilitating roads - dump a load of fill dirt every Km to fill pot holes in the future.
ÿ Cost share financial support for Foodnet with the GOU and other donors. 
IR 5: Improved nutritional practices at the household level
Although nutrition and hygiene behavior changes were observed particularly in the Central 
and Eastern program areas, behavior change among beneficiaries is difficult to assess due to 
inadequate questions and sampling problems identified with the Food Security Annual Impact 
Reports. The reported increases in vegetable gardens30, as well as, as in the consumption of 
fruits and vegetables appear promising. However, coverage among beneficiaries is not clear 
and actual change in dietary practices can not be determined without surveying a 
representative sample of beneficiaries at baseline and then subsequently during program 
implementation. Further, sustainability of improved behaviors can not be assessed until 
sometime in the future. 
Given the problems identified in the sampling methodology, any potential change in indicators 
may not be valid. Thus comparing nutrition indicators, such as, diet diversity, breakfast foods 
consumed or number of eating occasions followed over the course of the program is not 
advised. That said, the diet diversity score has steadily increased over the course of the 3 
surveys from 4.3 in 2002 to 5.5 in 2005.31 In addition, the mean number of meals a day increased 
from 3 in 2002 to 4.1 in 2005.32 
 
30The percent of participant farmers who established fruit and vegetable gardens was reported in one of the 
Agriculture and Food Security Annual Reports (2004) as 65 to 70 percent, depending on the district. However, as 
noted the sampling problems may influence the accuracy of the data, also data from the baseline survey is not 
available for comparison. 
31 Agriculture and Food Security Baseline and Annual Impact Survey Reports, prepared for ACDI/VOCA by The 
Ssemwanga Centre, 2002-2005. 
32 Ibid, 31. 
36
Further, even with appropriate sampling methodology, it may have been difficult to assess 
impact as the sampling frame covered all program areas, which were quite diverse and the 
grantees integration of ACDI/VOCA’s approach varied, which likely affected results. 
Rewording some of the questions and adding others may be necessary to capture more 
meaningful data specifically linked to nutrition and hygiene education and desired nutrition 
behavior changes. Another problem identified was with the selection of children in the yearly 
impact nutrition surveys, which invalidated the survey results. In addition, confidence 
intervals, which are necessary to determine if a change in indicators is significant, have not been 
included in the baseline or yearly impact reports. 
Another issue which could potentially influence program impact is the bioavailability of 
vitamin A from greens. Increased consumption of deep leafy greens has been documented in 
community nutrition programs without improved vitamin A status in participants. Thus 
focusing vegetable production on orange flesh sweet potatoes and carrots along with 
reinforcing the importance of consuming a fat source with all vegetable sources of vitamin A 
would be prudent. Increasing dietary sources of vitamin A contributes to the prevention of 
deficiency however, with the high levels of vitamin A deficiency among women (53%) and 
children (between 6 months and 6 years old- 29%) in rural areas, encouraging families to seek 
preventive health services for vitamin A supplements is advised as coverage is low (10% for 
postpartum women and 37% for children).33
Another topic to reinforce is the importance of consuming vegetables at each meal in 
appropriate quantities based on age, as well as, retaining a sufficient quantity of vegetables for 
consumption versus sale. Sale versus consumption is even more of an issue with poultry 
rearing and egg production. 
Training male farmers, i.e. husbands and fathers, in nutrition appeared to influence family diet 
changes more than providing this information to women. This should be studied further to 
determine if (and how) this information was shared with their wives and if it influenced intra￾household food distribution, food production and expenditures. Training female farmers 
(wives and single headed household heads) seems to empower women through improving 
their capacity to earn an income and increase the amount of food for their families. Measuring 
the change in women’s empowerment should be explored. According to Table 8, the 
percentage of female farmer beneficiaries has been increasing; targets have nearly been 
achieved. 
Table 8: Percentage of Female Farmers Trained
baseline
2001
midterm
2004
% of Target Annual
2005
% of Target
% Female 
beneficiaries 40 50 100 48 96
 
33Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2000-2001, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Entebbe, Uganda, ORC Macro, 
Calverton, Maryland, USA, December 2001. 
37
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ For the MYAP, increase the targets for female farmers as farmer training appears to 
empower women and equalize gender relations, as well as, improves household food 
security. 
ÿ Targeting male farmers to receive nutrition education, through increasing their 
understanding of women’s nutrition needs, in addition to improving diets, has potentially 
improved gender relations. This should be studied, so the lesson learned can be shared and 
progress in gender enhanced. How best to include the wives of male farmers in nutrition 
and hygiene education should be explored as it may further behavior change. 
ÿ Link with other organizations in Uganda involved in agriculture, nutrition and gender 
research or programs to share lessons learned, such as, International Center for Research on 
Women (ICRW) Uganda which is involved in nutrition and gender research. 
ÿ Explore measuring the capacitating and empowerment of women farm beneficiaries. 
SO2: Health and Nutrition: Improve food security for 60,000 PLWHA and their families 
through direct feeding programs.
Introduction
Five years ago, given the overall dearth of experience in providing food assistance to PLWHAs, 
much less assessing its impact, ACDI/VOCA should be commended for their efforts to monitor 
and evaluate their HIV/AIDS food assistance program. Not only did they implement a good 
program, as it progressed, they incorporated lessons learned, as a result their M&E system 
evolved. 
IR 1: Improved nutritional awareness and practices by PLWHAs
Food Assistance 
 
The yearly surveys provide information on the impact of food assistance and nutrition 
education. Nutrition knowledge of the recommended foods for PLWHAs has increased from 37 
to 82 percent. Further, 58 percent identified at least 2 correct eating habits for PLWHAs
compared to 37 percent previously at baseline. The main sources of nutrition information 
reported included ACDI/VOCA nutrition and hygiene teams (56%), community health workers 
(29%) and health workers (15%). The number of meals consumed a day has increased from 
baseline (3) to nearly 4 (2004-4.1, 2005-3.7). Diet diversity appears to have increased, although 
with the last survey it decreased, potentially due to the drought which affected vegetable 
production. More participants (82% compared to 73%) report eating vegetables more than once 
weekly. 
 Table 9: HIV/AIDS Initiative Food and Nutrition Indicators
Indicator Baseline Survey Jan. 
2002
mid-term survey 
august 2004
annual survey 
august 2005
Diet Diversity Score 4.7 5.8 5.1
% reporting consumption of 
vegetables more than once weekly
n/a 73% 82%
38
vegetables more than once weekly
# of meals per day 2.9 4.1 3.734
CSB used 2 or more times per day35 n/a n/a 95%
Average amount of CSB used day n/a n/a 1.5 kg per HH
Knowledge of recommended foods 37% 52% 82%
Know at least 2 correct eating habits 
for PLWHA
32% 45% 58%
Source: ACDI/VOCA Annual Evaluation of the Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative, 2005. 
The data indicates that nutrition awareness among beneficiaries increased over the course of the 
project. The fact that the primary source of nutrition and hygiene information was PEPFAR 
health educators ties the increased knowledge and improved behaviors to the program. Not 
surprisingly, nutrition knowledge, which is easier to impact shows more improvement than 
dietary behaviors, such as increased diet diversity or vegetable consumption. The numbers of 
meals consumed each day has increased with the nutrition education and provision of CSB and 
oil. However, beneficiaries are not consuming the recommended 5 meals per day. It is difficult 
to determine if other diet changes occurred. For example, the percent of beneficiaries 
consuming vegetables daily and the number of servings consumed daily/weekly is of interest. 
A pilot study was conducted with food beneficiaries to assess the impact and acceptability of 
the food rations. However, the study had several limitations. The sample size was small and 
no control group was followed for comparison. In addition, the sampling technique, purposive 
instead of random, may have introduced bias. In addition, study participants who died or 
defaulted were not included in the results. For the PLWHAs, ART was not assessed and CD4 
counts were not available. Thus, although the findings were positive, in that the food rations 
had a positive impact on the nutritional status indicators (weight and MUAC) of both HIV 
infected and affected beneficiaries and overall quality of life and physical well being improved, 
the results can not be generalized.36 
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ Utilizing the experience gained, in the future link the specific targeted food and nutrition 
behaviors with questions on the baseline and impact surveys that can measure the expected 
intermediary knowledge and outcome behavior changes. 
ÿ For the MYAP, focus impact assessment more closely to the SO, i.e. on the role of food 
assistance in increasing food security rather than attempting to conduct a study on the 
impact of food assistance on weight, quality of life, etc. for PLWHAs. 
IR 2: Increased use of non-food aid services by PLWHAs
To track the increased use of non-food aid services, program beneficiaries completed 
questionnaires monthly at food distribution sites. The results were averaged quarterly and 
 
34 Lack of food was the most commonly (72%) reported constraint to increasing meal frequency. 
35 Comparing the mean number of times CSB was used per day (2.8) to the mean number of means per day (3.7) 
indicates that beneficiaries utilize CSB in three quarters of their meals per day.
36 Maina, G. et al, Pilot Assessment of the Nutritional Impact and Acceptability of Food Rations Provided to People 
Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda, Final Report, ACDI/VOCA, WISHH, December 2005. 
39
reported in the Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTT), see Table 10 below. As 
enrollment in the food assistance program was dependent on receiving services from one of the 
four implementing partners, food assistance participation should not increase uptake of 
treatment, care or support services among beneficiaries. Results have been collected and 
compiled since 2004; however, it appears that clinical management has increased, while nursing 
care and other support services have decreased.37 It is likely that other factors influence 
utilization of services, such as, availability. In one of the reports, which included information 
from focus groups, a decrease in the availability of HIV/AID support services in some areas 
was noted. 
That said, many of the FDPs were co-located with Health Centers, at these sites the IPs offered 
counseling and medical referrals during food distributions. One IP, TASO noted that the 
provision of food assistance helped to increase their membership, though only a small 
percentage of their membership received food assistance. The initiation of ART in 2004 also 
increased TASO membership. 
Table 10: Quarterly Average Numbers of Food Assistance Beneficiaries Receiving 
Complementary Services
Quarterly Average # of 
Food aid beneficiaries 
receiving:
FY 2004
Target
2004 actual Fy 2005
target
2005
actual
Clinical Management 6,651 5,818 6,651 7,734
Counseling 7,554 6,939 7,554 5,949
Nursing Care 13,166 12,281 13,166 10,801
Social Support 4,966 2,286 4,966 3,055
 Source: ACDI/VOCA IPTT, 2005. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ Rather than food assistance beneficiaries completing forms each month to track 
participation in treatment, care and support services, depend on the IPs to provide 
information on the availability of services provided to all their clients and track food aid 
beneficiaries’ participation in nutrition and hygiene training.
ÿ Continue to co-locate FDPs with Health Centers to encourage “one-stop shopping” for 
PLWHAs food beneficiaries. As possible schedule food distribution beneficiaries in 2 or 3 
groupings from morning through early afternoon to shorten waiting times for food and 
encourage increased access to social support and medical treatment. 
The PEPFAR Funded Hygiene and Nutrition Education Program 
The nutrition indicators, which also relate to PEPFAR have been discussed in the first section 
under SO2 on food assistance, for further information please refer back to page 37. As 
mentioned, the nutrition and hygiene education, particularly the community approach appears 
promising, although limited program coverage and short program duration (initiated in FY 
2004) has decreased measurable impact. Data on the sanitation indicators from the baseline and 
 
37Of note, the category of ‘nursing care’ includes ACDI/VOCA’s nutrition/hygiene education this explains the high 
targets and actual provision of services. 
40
early impact surveys demonstrated the need and were utilized to access funding for the 
hygiene/nutrition component. 
Over 76 percent report being taught hygiene and sanitation in 2005, yet the most critical 
hygienic behavior, proper hand washing has not improved much since baseline (2002-23%, 
2005-30%). It would be helpful to assess what are the constraints to changing this behavior. 
Although sample size would be small, analyzing the data to determine if participants with the 
‘tippy’ tap more readily practice proper hand washing may be helpful. It may be that 
knowledge alone is insufficient to change behaviors and coverage of ‘tippy’ taps is low, 
however, determining if families with ‘tippy taps’ are using them is important. Table 11 
summarizes the results from the yearly impact surveys. 
On a more positive note, 73 percent of beneficiaries report some improved hygiene practices. It 
would be of interest to know what these improved practices are and why they have been more 
readily adopted. 
Table 11: Hygiene and Sanitation Indicators 
Indicator baseline
January 2002
n = 630
Midterm
August 2004
n = 420
annual
august 2005
n = 432
Water from a protected source n/a 67% 76%
Water in home covered 74% 66% 79%
Water scarcity n/a n/a 50%
Proper hand washing 23% 15% 30%
Taught hygiene and sanitation n/a n/a 76%
Adoption of some hygiene 
practices
n/a n/a 73%
Pit latrine n/a n/a 94%
Kitchen rack n/a n/a 21%
Compost pit n/a n/a 20%
Energy saving stove n/a n/a 12%
‘Tippy’ Taps n/a n/a 8%
Source: ACDI/VOCA Data, Annual Evaluation of the Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative, September 2005. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ For the MYAP, considering adding more questions to the baseline and annual impact 
surveys which can assess more specific hygiene and nutrition behavior change. 
ÿ Analyze the data from the most recent survey and the one to be implemented in August, 
however, numbers may be too small, to determine if the ‘tippy’ tap addresses the 
constraints to proper hand washing. Depending on the sample size and results of analysis, 
it may be necessary to conduct focus groups with beneficiaries who have built ‘tippy’ taps to 
assess how widely and frequently they are used and to investigate any constraints. 
ÿ For future program areas, formative research to determine the constraints to changing hand 
washing behavior in the population without ‘tippy taps’ is also advised. 
41
V. Unexpected Results Achieved
The following highlights the unexpected program achievements drawn from the various 
sections of the report divided by topics. 
Monetization
ÿ The program successfully monetized an additional 32,900 MT of Food for Progress donated 
wheat in 2005 – a lot more than the Sales Department would have thought possible a year 
earlier.
Accessing Financial Services and Credit for Improved Inputs
ÿ The program underestimated the potential for mobilizing farmer or group savings as a 
potential source for rural credit as opposed to providing outside capital and guarantees to 
institutions. 
Nutrition Education to Increase Food Security
ÿ When asked about the various training modules, a number of men said that they found the 
health and nutrition training most useful. Men mentioned that the family seemed a lot 
healthier now that they had a kitchen garden and were eating more greens. 
Food Assistance for PLWHAs
ÿ Providing direct food assistance to PLWHAs decreased stigma. Beneficiaries are healthier, 
more active, less dependent on charity within the community, and not surprisingly less 
marginalized. 
ÿ Providing food and agricultural assistance to PLWHAs has encouraged neighbors to step 
forward and get tested for HIV. 
ÿ It was surprising the degree to which PLWHA’s receiving rations experienced 
improvements in their health even prior to receiving ARVs. When USAID staff visited FDPs, 
it was often noted that perhaps the program was targeting people who were too healthy.
PEPFAR funded Nutrition and Hygiene Training
ÿ After receiving training from the PEPFAR hygiene and sanitation team in their 
communities, women in the various community started forming their own groups to assist 
other infected/affected families build hygiene devices, improved stoves and start vegetable 
gardens. In some areas, women are making and selling some of the hygiene devices and 
charging to assist families not infected/affected by HIV/AIDS. 
VI. Program Sustainability and Exit/Graduation Strategies 
SO 1-.Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition Program
The way the DAP has been designed incorporates an exit and beneficiary graduation strategy, 
in that farmers are trained and supported intensively for 3 agricultural seasons. Following this 
time, they are provided technical assistance solely until the end of the project. It was envisioned 
that subsistence farmers would, in addition, develop a cash crop to improve their incomes and 
42
become commercial farmers. From the data collected it is difficult to discern to what extent 
subsistence farmers have adopted sufficient commercial practices to be considered commercial 
farmers. That said, 76 percent of the farmer groups in 2005 reported adopting commercial 
practices.
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ If the percentage of farmer participants adopting commercial practices is retained as an 
indicator in the MYAP, develop minimum criterion for commercial farmers and survey 
participants to assess this. 
ÿ For the MYAP, the baseline and midterm impact survey will capture information from 
farmers who have completed the first cycle of training. However, following a representative 
sample of the first group of farmers trained to determine what improvements attributed to 
the program in agriculture, nutrition and hygiene are sustained, which are lost and 
potentially what may have been enhanced after graduation, but during the course of the 
program is advised. 
ÿ Building into the follow-on MYAP, the capacity to follow a representative sample of farmers 
assisted during the DAP to determine what is sustained after the program is closed out is 
also recommended.38,
39 Questions such as, do the farmers’ groups still function; are they 
buying seed and selling crops together; are the ‘tippy taps’ still in place and being used; are 
former beneficiaries still growing vegetable gardens; are the diet changes sustained? This 
type of follow-up would also identify ongoing technical assistance needs which potentially 
could be addressed by the MoA or Field Extension workers if linkages were developed. 
SO 2. HIV/AIDS Food Assistance 
Food assistance programs are inherently unsustainable. Further, developing effective 
graduation criteria and a program exit strategy is particularly difficult when serving food 
insecure families affected by HIV/AIDS and PLWHAs, as high dependency ratios and adults 
usually are not capable of generating income.40 Another problem is the limited resources and 
increased time needed to provide agricultural or other training for families infected/affected by 
HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, providing food assistance for 5 years can create dependence. 
As mentioned, graduation and exit strategies were not well developed for the HIV/AIDS food 
assistance program, although a percentage of food beneficiaries received agricultural assistance. 
In addition, TASO, Africare and CRS have started to graduate a percentage of beneficiaries that 
have received training and are deemed more food secure. Recently ACDI/VOCA identified 
$400,000 of Title II funds to support graduation and exit strategies for food assistance 
beneficiaries. World Vision received funding ($35,000) that will be utilized to provide orphans 
 
38 The planned MYAP budget is not capable of covering all necessary program costs, thus seeking another source of 
funding for this activity may be needed. 
39 As recommended in, Rogers, B and Macias, K, Program Graduation and Exit Strategies: Title II Program Experiences 
and Related Research, FANTA, AED, 2004. 
40Gardner, A, Greenblott, K, and E. Joubert, What We Know About Exit Strategies: Practical Guidance for Developing Exit 
Strategies in the Field, C-SAFE, September, 2005. 
 
43
currently receiving food assistance vocational training. A small percentage of TASO’s food 
assistance beneficiaries in the DAP/MYAP overlapping program sites will be continued. 
Given the follow-on program, the current roll out of ART needs to be briefly mentioned. 
Approximately one-third (72,000) of the estimated PLWHAs eligible for ART are currently 
being served.41 Increases in the ART caseload are planned and funding anticipated, however, 
not at a rate that will increase the percentage of PLWHAs eligible for ART receiving them, as 
deaths will decrease with ART and new cases will remain constant.42 ARTs will help minimize 
some of the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, however, given the stage of the epidemic, 
limited ART coverage, the gender bias of those infected, the overall prevalence of the disease 
and the incidence, it is feared that the worse effects of the pandemic are yet to come. Thus the 
population of the various HIV/AIDS beneficiary groups will continue to increase, which will 
place additional pressure on the limited food assistance available. 
In this context, it is important to target food assistance as much as possible to increase food 
security and enhance self reliance. Although many more individuals need the program than it 
can support, quickly revolving beneficiaries through the program will improve program 
coverage data, but not beneficiaries’ future food security. Thus a balance between graduating
beneficiaries with sufficient skills and assets to maintain food security and serving as many 
eligible beneficiaries needs to be achieved. The recommendations below attempt to address this 
dynamic. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
 
ÿ Immediately, to prepare families for the end of the program in September 2006:
ß With beneficiary input develop meal plans and recipes with locally available (and 
affordable) foods, which are more nutrient dense, micronutrient and protein rich than 
usual recipes and meals. 
ß Develop materials to promote the meal plans and recipes at FDPs to food assistance 
beneficiaries and integrate into the education provided in communities by the PEPFAR 
teams. 
ß Continue to support IPs in implementing their exit strategies with food program 
beneficiaries and collect data on numbers graduated, criteria used and follow-up. 
ÿ Incorporate in the MYAP: 
ß For a percentage of beneficiaries, such as PLWHAs on ART, develop selection and 
graduation criteria which promote moving infected individuals and affected families 
along the continuum to self-reliance. 
ß Establishing fixed periods for some categories of program assistance, such as PLWHAs 
on ART and beneficiaries (or their family members) receiving agricultural and other 
training is also recommended. 
ß Some of the recommended lengths of participation, particularly for ART clients, such 
as, 3, 6 or 9 months may be too short however, retaining beneficiaries, particularly ones 
being trained for over 2 years creates dependency and limits program coverage. To 
ensure beneficiaries and their families food security is maintained, when graduating 
beneficiaries, implementing proper assessment and follow-up is advised. 
 
41 Personal communication with Dr. Christian Pitter, Principal Advisor, ART Programs, Uganda Virus Research 
Institute, Entebbe, Uganda. 
42 Ibid, 40.
44
ß For some beneficiaries, such as, families with older adults and orphans, training and
graduation may not be possible. For this category of beneficiaries, strict eligibility 
should be developed and monitored. 
ß If MYAP funds are not sufficient, complementary funding may be needed to follow 
program beneficiaries in order to gather sufficient data to assure food security is 
maintained. This work is critical as it will help develop more realistic program 
eligibility and graduation criteria, as well as, inform program design and development. 
ß For food beneficiaries not receiving agricultural or other training it is recommended 
that the food be utilized as an incentive to decrease dependency on food aid. For 
example, requiring beneficiary families to plant and maintain a vegetable garden within 
3 months of receiving food assistance. Utilize the IP working with clients in their 
communities to develop the incentives; establish a community committee to follow￾up.43 
ÿ After the programs closes, following representative samples of categories of food assistance 
beneficiaries is recommended.44 The following list serves as examples of beneficiary 
categories that could be followed: 
ß Beneficiaries who received support in building or improving hygiene structures and in 
making energy efficient stoves to determine continued use over time; 
ß Beneficiaries who received agricultural training and potentially other inputs to 
determine the sustainability of farmers’ groups and improved practices over time; and 
ß Beneficiaries who received only food and nutrition/hygiene education at the food 
distribution site at 6 month intervals for 2 years after the program is discontinued to 
determine any longer term impact. 
ÿ If this can not be supported from the MYAP budget, funding for this activity should be 
sought from other sources. 
ÿ For the HIV/AIDS infected and affected who discontinue when the DAP ends and for those 
who may not qualify for food assistance in the future, advocacy for other sources of food 
assistance and the development of a government safety net program is needed. 
ÿ Capture HIV/AID Food Assistance Program results, lesson learned and standard operating 
procedures in a report that can be widely shared. 
VII. Program Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)
ACDI/VOCA has established an extensive monitoring, evaluation and reporting system for it’s’ 
DAP. It involves the M&E contractor, ACDI/VOCA and grantee staff and includes impact 
surveys, special studies, data collection forms and institutional records. Information primarily 
from the monitoring system are utilized to update the IPTT table yearly, however, some 
information is drawn form the yearly impact surveys. (See Annex 6, for a copy of the IPTT as 
reported in the last Agricultural/Food Security Annual Impact Report). 
 
43 This approach was recently adopted in a HIV/AIDS program in Western Kenya, personal communication, Dr. 
Robert Mwadime, FANTA HIV/AIDS and Nutrition Regional Advisor. 
44 As recommended in, Rogers, B and Macias, K, Program Graduation and Exit Strategies: Title II Program Experiences 
and Related Research, FANTA, AED, 2004.
45
The annual impact surveys are conducted by their M&E contractor, The Ssemwanga Centre. In 
addition, grantee M&E staff, through their Contact farmers and Field Extension Workers collect 
information from each farmer. There is considerable duplication in the information collected 
through the grantees and the M&E contractor. For example, quarterly monitoring visits of the 
grantees are conducted by the M&E contractor. At the same time, ACDI/VOCA staff is also 
visiting regularly to monitor grantees progress and conducts incidental monitoring in the 
course of training activities. 
In addition, the annual surveys collects data from a sample of beneficiaries, whereas, the 
grantees theoretically are collecting information from all program participants. Nevertheless, if 
the survey utilizes proper sampling techniques and follows the recommended data collection, 
cleaning and analysis methods, collecting information from each farmer is not necessary. 
Although the grantee M&E staff person is trained by ACDI/VOCA in program monitoring and 
an extensive check system has been developed to assure quality data collection, the system 
depends on the thoroughness and accuracy of grantee staff, FEWs and farmers. Grantees 
appear to vary in their M&E capacity. 
In reviewing the annual impact survey reports, several problems were identified relating to the 
quality of the data and reporting.45 For example, the data compared between reports was 
inconsistent, confidence limits were not included, problems with the sample sizes of the 
anthropometric surveys were identified and the sampling methodology utilized for the 
agricultural surveys was not explained adequately to determine if it was representative. As 
part of the annual survey, the contractor also conducted focus groups to help interpret the data 
and to explain the findings, however, this information was not well incorporated into the 
reports. 
ACDI/VOCA is to be commended for its extensive M&E efforts. Incorporating M&E into the 
work of the grantees has helped inculcate a more results focused program. Considerable 
information regarding the extensive activities and potential impact of the DAP has been 
collected, although the monitoring information collected is useful, as mentioned, the quality 
depends on the follow up and accuracy of many people. Further, multiple problems exist with 
the agriculture component impact data collected. The data collected for the HIV/AIDS 
Initiative shows some impact, but improved survey questions and formative research to explain 
findings is needed to support program learning. As the program has developed, additional 
indicators have been added and add-on studies have been conducted, enlarging and 
complicating the system. Duplication in data collecting is a problem. For example, for a Title II 
program it isn’t necessary to conduct yearly impact surveys; a baseline, midterm and final are 
sufficient. On the other hand, potentially some of the program impact is not captured, such as, 
capacitating grantees, empowering women and specific targeted behavior changes. Lastly, the 
quality of some of the data, from the agriculture annual impact surveys, as well as, from other 
parts of the M&E reporting system is questionable. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
ÿ It is recommended that the current monitoring and evaluation system be reviewed in light 
of the identified problems and the more complex M&E system required with the MYAP. 
 
45 Of note, as well is the difference in the overall quality of the annual impact reports.
46
ÿ Developing a M&E system closely tied with the SOs and IRs, which collects less duplicative 
data, focuses on specific targeted behavior changes, measures empowerment and capacity 
building, ensures quality of the data collected and integrates quantitative with qualitative 
methods is recommended. 
ÿ Review of the current M&E system may be combined with designing the MYAP M&E plan, 
but this should be done early on in the project and additional time should be planned for. 
Hiring an international consultant who can help identify the M&E contractor and may be 
able to provide technical assistance during the length of the MYAP is recommended. 
ÿ As part of the M&E system review, evaluate the current contractor and open the next 
contract for bid. Consider contractors with more technical capacity in statistics, measuring 
capacity building and in conducting nutrition surveys. 
ÿ When a staff position opens, hire a person with a background in biostatistics, preferably a
Masters in Public Health with international and monitoring and evaluation experience to 
oversee the M&E program and the work of the M&E contractor. 
ÿ Shift the program and in particular the Grant Development Unit focus from program 
reporting to achieving measurable and sustainable impact. 
VIII. Implications for Addressing Uganda Food Insecurity – Future Initiatives & 
Programmatic Development
The following section includes the rationale and suggestions to further program development 
as well as future directions. It is divided into three topics, the first is agriculture, the second is 
supporting HIV/AIDS affected/infected through agriculture and the third is health and 
nutrition. 
 VIII. 1. Agriculture
Gender biasing the program towards more women’s participation should be considered as it 
increases protection against shocks. In addition, it increases the likelihood that increased 
agricultural yields, production, and income will translate into increases in household food 
security. 
Providing improved inputs directly to farmers (whether through grants, seed banks, input 
credits, or micro seed multiplication plots) is the key to changing attitudes, and increasing 
yields, production, and incomes. The MYAP should promote a more balanced “food” and 
“cash” crop mix depending on the region. Vegetative reproduced vitamin A rich sweet 
potatoes should be promoted along with mosaic resistant cassava. Although cassava is 
extremely productive, even in drought conditions, it needs to be balanced by promoting a mix 
of more nutritious crops. 
 VIII. 2. Supporting HIV/AIDS infected/affected families through Agriculture Programs
Given the extent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, ongoing work is envisioned with HIV/AIDS 
infected/affected farmers. To date, grantees have used the same agricultural approaches when 
working with PLWHA as with healthy farmers. Thus, integrating labor-saving techniques may 
be beneficial. Which techniques may be helpful will depend on the area, for example, 
47
conservation agriculture may not work in the Central region, but could in the East where weed 
cover is less thick. Some approaches work well for both HIV/AIDS infected/affected and 
others, such as improved seed and fertilizer. Planning to ensure the crops selected are 
nutritious would be even more important for HIV/AIDS affected families. 
Beware of only promoting low input, low maintenance, and low yielding food crops for 
PLWHAs as a labor saving device. Explore techniques to reduce tillage and weeding that can 
be adopted by the poor smallholder. Cover crops with deep penetrating root systems may help 
increase water infiltration, and reduce weeding and tillage. Clever tool design may help reduce 
the drudgery of “digging” and weeding. 
More intensive work over a longer time period may be necessary to successfully graduate farm 
families infected/affected with HIV/AIDS. Including additional family members along with 
the HIV/AIDS infected farmer in the program could ensure the effective transfer of knowledge 
and skills. 
Researching best practices from Uganda and other countries African countries with HIV/AIDS 
epidemics and sharing lessons learned with other NGOs and institutions involved in 
agricultural programs for HIV/AIDS infected farmers and their families could also be useful. 
Community approaches to build assets and support HIV/AIDS affected farmers should also be 
considered as implemented by NGOs involved in the Southern Africa Region C-SAFE 
initiative.46 
 VIII. 3. Enhancing Food Security through Improving Household Health Behaviors
Currently the food security program includes nutrition and hygiene training, incorporating 
nutrition and hygiene has had positive impact. With the MYAP a MCH pilot nutrition program 
is being planned for 2000 families with malnourished children under age 2. Further expanding 
hygiene training to other health topics in order to improve food utilization may also contribute 
to achieving household food security. Topics to include and targeted behaviors for change 
could be determined through conducting formative research with communities.47 
Along with the contact farmer, a Community Health Worker (CHW) could be trained to model 
appropriate hygiene, nutrition and health behaviors in targeted communities. The CHW could
provide training to families and identify others to participate in community teams/groups 
promoting appropriate health, hygiene and nutrition behaviors, similar to the community teams 
established through the PEPFAR funded initiative. Linking the program with the MoH and 
health center staff serving targeted communities could also support improved health behaviors. 
Given the high fertility levels (6.9) in Uganda and the linkage between families with high 
dependency ratios and food insecurity, integrating family planning education into the health 
education is recommended.48 If possible linking with partners to provide community access to 
 
46 For further information, see the C-SAFE web site at www.c-safe.org. 
47 For example, education on when to take sick children to the health center, following the immunization and vitamin 
A supplement schedule for infants and young children, and seeking antenatal and postpartum care for pregnant 
women should be included.
48 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2000-2001, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Entebbe, Uganda, ORC Macro, 
Calverton, Maryland, USA, December 2001. 
48
family planning methods would be extremely helpful, as well as, providing HIV/AIDS 
prevention education. 
Integrating health into the ‘Farming as a Family Business’ Education is also advised. The 
following additions are recommended when the curriculum is revised: 
ÿ A presentation depicting the cost of seeking appropriate health care, i.e. prevention and 
early intervention is less expensive than waiting until someone is quite sick. 
ÿ Information on the decreased risk of children dying currently versus past generations along 
with the increasing costs of educating, clothing and feeding a child from birth to age 20 
should be included to encourage planning more appropriately sized families. 
IX. Community Food Insecurity, Shocks, and Surge Capacity 
Gender biasing the agricultural interventions towards women’s groups and farmers and 
emphasizing food crops, kitchen gardens, small animal rearing, better nutrition, hygiene, and 
sanitation broadens and strengthens community food security. When there is scarcity or 
“shocks” at least what is available will hopefully be directed towards growing and buying food 
for the household. 
The program has found that group savings is a much more effective way for farmer groups and 
communities to raise working capital and acquire productive assets than tapping into 
institutional rural credit facilities. Experience demonstrates that rural micro credit facilities tend 
to have a short half life in Uganda. 
A/V Uganda has developed a strong commodity logistics & compliance capability over the past 
5 years. It is development focused but if called upon in an emergency - and with other partners 
– it could help channel additional food aid to affected communities. There are plans in the next 
MYAP to operate 6 regional warehouses as part of the logistics chain for distributing CSB and 
soy oil to PLWHAs and to utilize A/V staff in food distributions. 
A/V is developing a more systematic exit/graduation strategy for farmer groups and those 
PLWHAs receiving direct food aid. This essentially means that project beneficiaries will be 
receiving a series of more focused complementary services so that over a planned period of time 
they are better prepared to take care of themselves and cope with “shocks” after the rations, the 
training, and grants of inputs come to an end. 
Encouraging investment in livestock and promoting other income generating activities, such as, 
poultry and egg production, hygiene teams, vegetable and fruit marketing, mat and basket 
making and small community businesses, such as, stockists and nurseries. 
Whether it is more effective to build community capacity or build household capacity to 
withstand shocks continues to be debated, nevertheless, working with community leaders and 
existing structures to form food security committees and develop basic safety nets may prove to
be effective in strengthening community and household resilience. One of A/V’s NGO 
partner’s, Africare in Uganda, has extensive experience with this approach and has developed a 
Food Security Community Capacity Index, which potentially could be used. 
 
49
X. Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
A/V/Uganda continues to be an efficient and effective agent for turning US food aid into well 
programmed development assistance funds. A/V quickly designed and implemented a well 
managed CSB / soy oil direct distribution program for PLWHAs. Farmer groups trained by 
A/V funded grantees are adopting improved agricultural practices and are seeing increased 
yields and production. Health and nutrition training has been well integrated into the program. 
Working through the government and local NGOs, market roads are being rehabilitated at less 
than half the cost of hiring a contractor. ARVs coupled with fortified CSB and soy oil rations 
appear to be saving and prolonging lives for those infected with AIDS and noticeably increasing 
food security in affected households. 
Recommendations
Monetization
ÿ It is recommended that the US Mission and Grantees when submitting food aid proposals to 
USDA coordinate their work with A/V – the de facto logistics and sales manger for all US 
food aid shipped to Uganda. 32,900 MT is lot of wheat. 
ÿ Consider revising soy oil sales mechanism if 1) A few large buyers continue to manipulate 
the market through strategic defaults and timely outbidding 2) Participation by small to 
medium sized traders continues to decline due to loss of confidence and squeezed profit 
margins. 
ÿ Consider employing a two tier sales mechanism. A large lot tender/negotiation procedure 
for big buyers, and monthly fixed price offerings to small to medium sized pre qualified 
buyers in Kampala and a few regional cities. Limit large buyers to 60% of monthly offerings. 
Management
ÿ Continue working in current “food insecure” districts – use due diligence before relocating 
from a “food insecure district” to a “chronically food insecure district” as defined by the 
October 19, 2005 2nd draft MEMS study. There’s important operational, management, 
impact, baseline assessment, and M&E issues to consider as well. 
ÿ Work if possible with grantees with a proven track record – there’s a nine month incubation 
period for selecting and training up new grantees. 
ÿ To the extent possible base more technical/training staff in the field. A Kampala based staff 
may be easier to manage and retain but there are real advantages in having staff based in 
the field in daily contact with grantees.
50
Food Security—Agriculture
ÿ Promote individual and group savings programs rather than capitalize and guarantee 
institutional rural credit facilities. 
ÿ Focus more on vegetative reproduced food crops such as sweet potatoes and mosaic 
resistant cassava. Appropriate varieties can be rapidly and communally reproduced. The 
on-going multiplication and distribution of mosaic resistant cassava is a center stage 
activity. It continues to have a high impact on increasing food security.
ÿ Continue work on promoting grains especially upland rice (protected by a 75% import 
duty), beans, maize and sunflowers but recruit more women’s groups and female contact 
farmers (especially in the north and the oilseed belt around Lira and Soroti). 
ÿ Work on promoting a more balanced crop mix that leans towards “food crops” versus “cash 
crops” and promote higher maintenance “micro” seed multiplication plots with the better 
farmers or interested farmer groups. 
ÿ Farmer groups who are “cash” crop focused such as oilseeds, maize, and upland rice need 
more training in household economics, health, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation. Note: 
Sunflowers are low maintenance and somewhat drought resistant, and can provide 
consistent yields and steady income - often without fertilization. 
ÿ Think seriously about promoting a glyphosate “Roundup” nonselective herbicide in areas 
(especially in the north) where farmers are often compelled to hire tractors to open up land 
infested with weeds and thick grass. This is an effective, safe, inexpensive, labor saving 
chemical.
ÿ Increase the line item in the grantee budgets for provision of improved seed and fertilizer 
for demonstration plots, new, and second season farmer groups. No access to inputs = no 
increase in yields, production, income and no change in attitude. 
ÿ Provide improved seed and fertilizer through the grantees for high maintenance, small, very 
well placed seed multiplication plots for contact farmers and those highly interested in the 
seed multiplication business. 
ÿ Continue encouraging grantees and farmers to buy inputs from local and regional stockists. 
ÿ RIF credit should only be provided to farmers participating in on-going and successful bulk 
marketing schemes. Deduct credits at point of sale if possible. 
ÿ Integrate the road rehabilitation planning/implementation cycle to match the local 
government Jan-April budget preparation planning cycle.
ÿ Guarantee the road rehab grantee enough work so s/he can retain and dedicate qualified 
field engineers to the Title II Program
ÿ While rehabilitating roads - dump a load of fill dirt every Km to fill pot holes in the future.
51
ÿ If support is provided to FoodNet require that they receive complementary funding from 
other donors.
Nutrition and Food Security 
ÿ Conduct formative research and utilize the results to further focus and develop the 
program’s nutrition education. 
ÿ Promote orange-flesh sweet potato as a drought resistance high yield crop and fruit trees. 
ÿ Given the high levels of malnutrition in Uganda, advocate for a study to be conducted on 
the determinants of malnutrition in Uganda with a focus on rural food insecure areas.
ÿ Capture and share the lessons learned in educating male farmers in nutrition and hygiene. 
ÿ Link with other organizations in Uganda involved in agriculture, nutrition and gender to 
share lessons learned. 
The HIV/AIDS Food Assistance Program
ÿ Given the current ration size, the ration per beneficiary should be decreased. Conducting a 
food security assessment of households affected by HIV/AIDS is recommended prior to 
finalizing the smaller ration. 
ÿ It is recommended that the PEPFAR funded nutrition and hygiene education be expanded 
as it appears to be having impact.
ÿ Continue to co-locate FDPs with Health Centers to encourage “one-stop shopping” for food, 
support and healthcare for beneficiaries.
ÿ Capture HIV/AID Food Assistance Program results, lesson learned and standard operating 
procedures in a report that can be widely shared. 
Program Monitoring and Evaluation
ÿ It is recommended that the current monitoring and evaluation system be reviewed in light 
of the identified problems and the more complex M&E system required with the MYAP.
ÿ As part of the M&E system review, evaluate the current contractor and open the next 
contract for bid. 
ÿ Developing a M&E system closely tied with the SOs and IRs, which collects less duplicative 
data, focuses on specific targeted behavior changes, measures empowerment and capacity 
building, ensures quality of the data collected and integrates quantitative with qualitative 
methods is recommended. 
ÿ For the MYAP, utilizing the experience gained link the specific targeted nutrition and 
hygiene behaviors with questions on the baseline and impact surveys. 
52
ÿ Formative research to determine the constraints to changing critical hygiene and nutrition 
behaviors is recommended. 
ÿ When a staff position opens, hire a person with a background in biostatistics, preferably a 
Masters in Public Health with international and monitoring and evaluation experience to 
oversee the M&E program and the work of the M&E contractor. 
Sustainability—Graduation/Exit Strategies
ÿ For the MYAP, following a representative sample of the first group of farmers trained to 
determine what improvements attributed to the program are sustained, which are lost and
potentially what is enhance during the course of the program, is advised. 
ÿ Building into the follow-on MYAP, the capacity to follow a representative sample of farmers 
assisted during the DAP to determine what is sustained after the program is closed out is 
recommended.49 
ÿ Immediately, to prepare families for the end of the Food Assistance Program, develop 
recipes with nutrient dense, high calorie locally available foods and utilize resources to 
provide nutrition education at FDPs for all beneficiaries. 
ÿ For the MYAP, develop selection and graduation criteria which promote moving infected 
individuals and affected families along the continuum to self-reliance for the HIV/AIDS 
Food Assistance Program. 
ÿ Further, establish fixed periods for some categories of beneficiaries linked with training and 
improved food security. Time periods for program assistance should be implemented along 
with proper assessment and follow-up to ensure food security is maintained. 
ÿ After the DAP finishes, following representative samples of categories of food assistance 
beneficiaries is recommended. 
ÿ For the HIV/AIDS infected and affected not served advocate for other sources of food 
assistance and the development of a government safety net program. 
 
49 The planned MYAP budget is not capable of covering all necessary program costs, thus seeking another source of 
funding for this activity may be needed. 
53
Documents and Resources Consulted
ACDI/VOCA Newsletters and Briefs, 2003-2005.
ACDI/VOCA Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative End of Year Report, The Ssemwanga Centre, May 2003. 
ACDI/VOCA Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative Midterm Evaluation of the Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative in 
sample Households in 11 Districts, The Ssemwanga Centre, October 2004. 
ACDI/VOCA TITLE II HIV/AIDS Initiative Quarterly Monitoring Report, July-September 2005, The 
Ssemwanga Centre. 
ACDI/VOCA TITLE II HIV/AIDS Initiative Annual Monitoring Report, November 2004, October 
2005, The Ssemwanga Centre. 
ACDI/VOCA PL-480 Title II Monetization Program—A Baseline Study for the Production and 
Marketing of Grains, Beans, Cassava and Oil Seeds in 10 Selected Districts of Uganda, The 
Ssemwanga Centre, June 2002. 
ACDI/VOCA PL-480 Title II Monetization Program Food Security Program: Impact on Food 
Security and Rural Household Income During FY 2003, The Ssemwanga Centre, September 2003. 
Agricultural Finance Training, Analysis and Assessment of the Revolving Inputs Fund and Special Loan 
Window final Report, JKB Finance and Management Consultants, Kampala, Uganda, October 
2005. 
Annual Crop Production Manual, ACDI/VOCA, February, 2006. 
Annual Evaluation of the Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative, Prepared for ACDI/VOCA, The Ssemwanga 
Centre, September 2005. 
Baseline Survey Report for the HIV/AIDS Food Distribution Program, Prepared for ACDI/VOCA, 
The Semwanga Centre, February 2002. 
A Calendar for Family Nutrition and Hygiene 2005/2006, ACDI/VOCA Uganda PL 480 Title II 
Program. 
Canahuati, J., HIV and Food Security in Uganda: Role of Title II Implementing Partners, Presentation 
to Cooperating Sponsors, Power Point Presentation, April 2005. 
Canhuati, J., Basic Principles for Food Assisted Programs in the Context of HIV/AIDS, presentation in 
Entebbe, Uganda, November 2-5, 2004. USAID, Retrieved from 
www.fantaproject.org/publications/hiv_foodaid2004.shtml 
Compliance Department Operational Manual, P.L. 480 Title II HIV/AIDS Feeding Project Uganda, 
November 2003. 
Development Activity Program Proposal (FY 2002-2006) for USAID P.L. 480 Title II, 
ACDI/VOCA Uganda, 2001. 
54
FADEP-EU Food Security Project (2004-2006) Quarterly Results Report, Quarter 1, FY 2006.
FINCA Uganda Monthly Sales Report, March 16, 2006, ACDI/VOCA. 
Fiscal Year 2005 Results Report, ACDI/VOCA Uganda P.L. 480 Title II Monetization Program, 
November 1, 2005. 
Fiscal year 2006 Resource Request, P.L. 480 Title II Monetization Program Uganda ACDI/VOCA, 
January 14, 2005. 
Grants and Development Unit Operational Manual, P.L. 480 Title II Program, ACDI/VOCA. 
Hunger Alert Quarterly Report, December, 2005.
Impact Assessment of FY2005 USAID PL-480 Agricultural Component Activities in 8 Districts of 
Uganda, Ssemwanga Centre, Final Report Prepared for ACDI/VOCA, October 2005. 
Gardner, A, Greenblott, K, and E. Joubert, What We Know About Exit Strategies: Practical 
Guidance for Developing Exit Strategies in the Field, C-SAFE, September 2005. 
HIV/AIDS: A Guide for Nutritional Care and Support, 2nd edition, FANTA, AED, 2004.
HIV/AIDS Title II Program Standard Operating Procedures For Food Distribution, ACDI/VOCA, 
Uganda. 
The Impact of HIV/AIDS on the Agricultural Sector and Rural Livelihoods in Uganda, The National 
Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Uganda, August 2003. 
Improving National Capacity for Dietetic/Nutrition Counseling Services for PLWHA: A PEPFAR 
Proposal to USAID/Uganda, submitted by ACDI/VOCA-Uganda, July 2004. 
Jayne, T, Villarreal, M, Pingali, P, and G Hemrich, HIV/AIDS and the Agricultural Sector in 
Eastern and Southern Africa: Anticipating the Consequences.
Johnson-Welch, C, MacQuarrie, K and S. Bunch, A Leadership Strategy for Reducing Hunger and 
Malnutrition in Africa: The Agriculture and Nutrition Advantage, USAID/USDA funded, ICRW, 
2005. 
Kagumba, Josephine, Improving Nutrition Practices Among Rural Farmers in Uganda Trainers’ 
Manual, ACDI/VOCA Uganda—PL 480 Title II Program, September, 2003. 
Land O’Lakes Uganda Monthly Sales Report, March 16, 2006, ACDI/VOCA.
Logistics Department Operational Manual, P.L. 480 Title II Program, ACDI/VOCA Uganda, 
November 2003. 
Magnini, R, Sampling Guide, Academy for Educational Development, FANTA Project, 1997, 
Washington, DC. 
55
Maina, G. et al, Pilot Assessment of the Nutritional Impact and Acceptability of Food Rations Provided 
to People Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda, Final Report, ACDI/VOCA, WISHH, December 2005. 
Mid-term Evaluation Report of USAID Funded Pl-480 Agricultural Component Program on Sampled 
Targeted Households in 7 Districts of Uganda, Final Report Prepared for ACDI/VOCA, 
Ssemwanga Centre, September 2004. 
Monetization Department Operational Manual, P.L. 480 Title II Program Uganda, ACDI/VOCA, 
November 2003.
Mugabi, D. and Ntanda, P., Impact Assessment of Rural Feeder Road Rehabilitation Component of PL￾480 Title II Program, Prepared for ACDI/VOCA, MBW, October 2005. 
Nakabo-Ssewanyana, S., Food Security and Child Nutrition Status Among Urban Poor Households in 
Uganda: Implications for Poverty Alleviation, AERC Research Paper 130, May, 2003. 
The National Food and Nutrition Strategy, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries 
and Ministry of Health, The Republic of Uganda, March 2005. 
P.L. 480 Title II Program Uganda Operational Report for the Period October 2005 to December 2005, 
Prepared by ACDI/VOCA Program Staff for USAID Uganda. 
Proposal to ACDI/VOCA Title II Program’s Food Security Fund: Capacity building within 
HIV/AIDS Affected Communities in Masaka and Rakai Districts, Community Enterprises 
Development Organization, July 2003. 
Report to: ACDI/VOCA Impact Assessment of Rural Feeder Road Rehabilitation Component of PL-480 
Title II Program, MBW Consulting, 2005.
Reducing the Burden of HIV/AIDS: Experience of a Food Intervention in Western Kenya, United 
Nations, WFP, Kenya Country Office, Nairobi, March 2005. 
Riley, B and Harris, C, Uganda 2002-2006 Title II DAP Mid-Term Evaluation Report, September 
2004. 
Rogers, B and Macias, K, Program Graduation and Exit Strategies: Title II Program Experiences and 
Related Research, FANTA, AED, 2004. 
Strasser, S et al, Measuring the Effect of TFA on Beneficiaries with Chronic Illnesses: Lessons Learned 
from the Literature and the Field, C-SAFE, April, 2005. 
The Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, 2004 
Revised Edition, Oxfam Publishing, Oxford, UK. 
Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2000-2001, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Entebbe, Uganda, 
ORC Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA, December 2001. 
56
Understanding Food Insecurity in Uganda: A Special Study, Submitted to USAID/Monitoring and 
Evaluation Management Services, Economic Policy Research Centre, Second draft, October 
2005. 
Umbrella Monetization Agreement, Uganda P.L. 480 Title II FY 2005, ACDI/VOCA Uganda. 
Umbrella Monetization Uganda 82nd Monthly Report, March 17, 2006, PL480 Title II Cooperating 
Sponsors, ACDI/VOCA. 
Vegetable Growing Manual, ACDI/VOCA Uganda, February 2006. 
57
ANNEX 1: Interviews, Meetings and Project Site Visits 
Interviews
Bernard F. Runnebaum Program Manager/Chief of Party ACDI/VOCA
Sandra Blanchard Deputy Program Manager / ACDI/VOCA
Kimberly Nolen Monetization Program Officer / ACDI/VOCA
Katie Cerretani Project Coordinator ACDI/VOCA HQ
Walter Welz Food for Peace Officer, USAID Uganda
Paul Crawford SO7 Team Leader, USAID Uganda
Mervin SO7 USAID Uganda
Erika Tarver Administrative/Financial/Monetization Officer Africare
Todd Thompson Country Manager Land O’Lakes, Inc.
James Ssemwanga The Ssemwanga Center
Sylvia Magezi The Ssemwanga Center 
Wayne Slack MBW Consulting Engineers
David Mugabi MBW Consulting Engineers
Brenda Kaijuka UNICEF Nutritionist
Purnima Kashyap WFP Program Officer
John Ssemakalu WFP Program Officer, HIV/AIDS
Josephine Kulabako Program Nutritionist, ACDI/VOCA
Frederick Bwire Ouma Business Technician, ACDI/VOCA
Ephrance Tumubone Agronomist, ACDI/VOCA
Tomson Okot-Chono Post Harvest Handling/Marketing Technician, ACDI/VOCA
Sandra Kugonsa-Isingoma Assistant Grants and Development Manager, ACDI/VOCA
Robert Komakech Accounts and Auditing Technician, ACDI/VOCA
Gerald Emoyo Finance and Community Credit Officer, ACDI/VOCA
George Bamugye Monetization Manager, ACDI/VOCA
Ruth Nansikombi Assistant Sales Manager, ACDI/VOCA
Steve Kiingi Title II Compliance Manager 
Rosemary Mayiga CEDO
Charles Katabalwa CEDO
Ruth Sendanla Health Educator, ACDI/VOCA PEPFAR Project
Helen Tomusange Health Educator, ACDI/VOCA PEPFAR Project
Lemmy Solomon CRS, Community Logistics Officer
Aisha Galende Kitovu Mobile Clinic
Chris Mutome-Nabigwaku Executive Director FADEP-EU
Ray Agong Uganda Oil Seed Producers & Processor Association, Sales Manager
Emily Arago International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
David Luwandagga International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
Dennis Bisase International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
Antonio Di Fonzo General Manager, COTECNA Uganda Limited 
K.K. Radhaohan Kengrow Industries, LTD
Sameer Bheryani Embassy Supermarkets, Ltd.
Mr. Manish Embassy Supremarkets, Ltd.
Rose Nakayiza Vegetable oil trader, William Street Kampala Shop
Stanley Watenga Project Director MADZI, Road Rehabilitation Grantee
Clive Drew Agricultural Production and Enhancement Program, Chief of Party
Dr. Christian Pitter CDC, ART Programs, Uganda Virus Research Institute 
Dr. Robert Mwadime Regional HIV/AIDS Specialist, AED, FANTA Project
58
Elizabeth Lapenga Hunger Alert, Director 
Dr. Alex Coutinho TASO, Executive Director
Jean Paul Igu Reach Out Program Coordinator
Joseph Ntale Reach Out Food Program Coordinator
Antonio Di Fonzo Cotecna
Emmet Murphy Food Security Consultant ACDI/VOCA
Meetings Attended
Monthly FINCA and ACDI/VOCA meeting
Monthly Land of Lake and ACDI/VOCA meeting
Monthly P.L. 480 Title II Cooperating Sponsors Umbrella Monetization Uganda Meeting
ACDI/VOCA Staff Meeting
Program Sites and Farm Visits
TASO Mulago Food Distribution 
1 Home visit with a Taso Mulago food beneficiary family
CEDO office in Rikai
1 CEDO Farmer group meeting 
2 Farm visits of CEDO farmers
2 Farm/home visits of CEDO farmers and PEPFAR nutrition and hygiene program 
beneficiaries
7 Farm visits in FADEP-EU program area, Pallisa and Kirmi
3 Farm visits in UOPSA Program area Sironko 
TASO Tororo Program Office
Hunger Alert Project sites in Pabbo, Awer, Bobi and Bungatira sub-counties
REAP block farm project in Gulu district 
REAP warehouse 
Reach Out Mbuya Parish HIV/AIDS Initiative, Kampala-- IP for WFP Food Distribution
59
ANNEX 2: ACDI/VOCA’s Uganda P.L 480 Title II Program’s
FINAL EVALUATION CONSULTANCY
SCOPE OF WORK
I. PURPOSE:
The purpose of the final evaluation is to assess the achievements to date against objectives and 
targets and to identify areas in which implementation of ACDI/VOCA’s FY2002-2006 DAP can 
be realistically improved in a proposed follow-on. The final evaluation team will carry out
evaluation activities both in the ACDI/VOCA Uganda office and in the field and produce a
concise, readable report that assesses and documents the impact of ACDI/VOCA’s activities,
both expected and unexpected, with respect to project objectives. Additionally the report should 
highlight the sustainability, relevance, performance and accomplishments of certain program
components. The report will be used by USAID to evaluate ACDI/VOCA’s program and by
ACDI/VOCA in the final design and implementation of a follow-on proposal.
II. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
ACDI/VOCA manages a PL-480 Title II monetization program in Uganda. Operations began in 
October 2001 and are scheduled through September 2006. The program provides food
commodities to develop local markets and generates local currency sales proceeds. Proceeds are 
used to carry out development projects including: providing food rations to people affected by
HIV/AIDS, increasing agricultural production of targeted crops, rehabilitating feeder roads, and
conducting rural financial services activities.
The Program also manages monetization activities for four other Cooperating Sponsors,
including World Vision, Africare, Save the Children, and Catholic Relief Services. 
ACDI/VOCA began monetizing for other cooperating sponsors in 1997. 
The primary objectives of ACDI/VOCA’s Uganda Title II Program are:
1. Agriculture: To improve food security by raising the production and marketing of selected 
crops and increase rural household incomes for 120,000 beneficiaries with a focus on
vulnerable groups. 
Sub-objectives include:
q Increased adoption of improved agricultural practices;
q Increased market access; 
q Increased access to rural financial services for inputs; and,
q Improved utilization of food.
2. Health and Nutrition: Improve food security of 60,000 PLWHA and their families
through direct feeding programs.
 Sub-objectives include:
q Improved nutritional awareness and practices by PLWHAs; 
q Increased use of non-food aid services by PLWHAs.
60
The Program was designed to improve food security through two mechanisms. First, the
monetization sales mechanism is used to liberalize the vegetable oil market and improve the
overall food marketing system. Through the improved food market system, ACDI/VOCA has
imported and monetized approximately $19.5 million worth of agricultural commodities since
the start of the current program. Second, the generated sales proceeds are programmed to
improve food security through implementing programs that meet the above development
objectives. Program interventions aim to affect all levels of the food chain, from production to
processing to marketing. In order to effectively carry out the agricultural components of the
Program, a Grants Management Unit (GMU) structure is utilized to oversee and execute this
objective. The GMU provides grants and technical training and guidance to local and
international NGOs who either provide extension services to rural farmers or distribute food
rations to PLWHAs. 
The purpose of this evaluation is to measure the sustainability and effectiveness of ACDI/VOCA
in its goals and objectives - as stated in the Development Activity Proposal (DAP) submitted to 
USAID, dated September 21, 2001. The key Program activities are:
ÿ Facilitating the demonstration of improved agronomic practices and post harvest handling
(PHH) technologies; 
ÿ Equipping farmers with the skills that enable them to plan their farming activities, project 
incomes, and market produce with a focus on profitability; 
ÿ Changing rural eating habits to ensure that malnutrition, which is highly prevalent in Uganda,
is mitigated; 
ÿ Disseminating price information throughout Uganda and rehabilitating rural feeder roads to
improve smallholder farmer linkages to markets; 
ÿ Increasing access to improved inputs (seeds, fertilizers, etc.) by linking rural farmers, village￾level input stockists, regional distributors, producers and marketing agents to private sector
rural credit institutions, in both rural and urban areas; 
ÿ Distributing monthly corn-soy blend and vegetable oil rations to 62,000 people living with
and affected by HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) through four implementing partners; and, 
ÿ Working with PLWHAs to ensure long-term food security.
In 2003, ACDI/VOCA was awarded additional funds from USAID/Kampala to complement
DAP activities and has been the recipient of follow-on funding. Nutrition and hygiene training is 
provided to a limited number of Title II HIV/AIDS Initiative food aid recipients. This program
component is directly implemented by ACDI/VOCA.
III. TASK DESCRIPTION
The primary purpose of the final evaluation is to determine how well the Program is achieving its 
goals and objectives, to determine the sustainability of certain program components, suggest
improvements for the remainder of the current program if it is determined that it is practical to
implement such changes, and make recommendations for improving activities in a follow-on 
program. The evaluation will also consider notable achievements to date, challenges that have
been encountered, and the degree of success with which ACDI/VOCA has overcome those
challenges.
61
The evaluation will furthermore examine and comment on the extent to which the project is
responding to the food security objectives of USAID. It will also address how the program has 
responded to Food for Peace’s changing food security objectives, as stated in the May 2005 draft 
strategy. 
A. Participatory Nature of the Evaluation
The evaluators will organize and carry out the evaluation in a participatory fashion, forming a
team that in various places and times includes a range of managers, implementers, community
leaders, partner agency staff and stakeholders. The study will note the views of the target groups 
with regard to their respective projects, paying particular attention to any significant gender￾based differences in those views. It will also provide any other information that may further
support or clarify the impact of the Program. The process and findings are expected to enable 
ACDI/VOCA to clearly and easily evaluate the quality of programming over the last four and a 
quarter years.
B. Impact, Lessons Learned and Replicability
The final evaluation will provide an opportunity to identify and document impact, key lessons
learned and sustainability of certain components. In this regard, the evaluation and report shall
include, but not be limited to:
· Analyzing the sustainability of certain program components. Specifically, these include:
a) The improvement in the management capacity of local NGO grantees. 
b) Production increases and the likelihood that these will continue;
c) The degree to which farmers are moving from subsistence to a more market-oriented 
approach to farming; 
d) Adoption of nutrition practices, especially vegetable gardens;
e) Adoption of improved farming and post-harvest handling techniques;
f) Knowledge and adoption of good nutritional and hygiene practices by PLWHAs; 
g) The degree to which the roads rehabilitation activities have contributed to the
ACDI/VOCA goal and objectives; and,
h) The degree to which all the components of the ACDI/VOCA food securities are
integrated and complement each other.
· Assessing which activities are contributing the most to achieving the food security and
private sector promotion goals of the project? What is the level of impact?
· What aspects of the ACDI/VOCA Uganda PL-480 Monetization Program could be usefully
replicated in other countries? 
· Discuss the Program’s interactions with GOU representatives and relationships in terms of
the government’s food security initiatives and policies at the national and local level. 
· How is the Program viewed by donors, NGOs and private sector in terms of impacting food 
security? Identify ways to improve coordination with other food security partners.
· What development impact do ACDI/VOCA’s monetization activities and sale mechanisms
(competitive bids) have on the market?
· To what extent does the program take gender roles and responsibilities into account when
deciding who will be targeted for interventions. 
62
C. Program Management
The evaluation team will comment on ACDI/VOCA's performance in managing the Program
based on the criteria outlined in the DAP. They will measure whether ACDI/VOCA has staffed 
the Program with enough full-time employees per unit and has effectively utilized available host￾country resources to carry out project activities.
This component of the evaluation will also consider the roles of the Program’s technical partners 
in contributing to project objectives. Partners include, but are not limited to:
· The USAID/Uganda-funded APEP;
· IITA for cassava, millet, and sorghum; 
· The Uganda Oilseed Processors Association for oilseeds; 
· The Ssemwanga Center (M&E contractor); 
· Ernst & Young (auditors); and,
· MBW Engineers (feeder road TA).
The impact evaluation will also review management of:
· ACDI/VOCA’s grants portfolio 
· Vegetable oil auctions
· The Umbrella Monetization process 
· The HIV/AIDS distribution program as implemented by TASO, CRS, Africare, and World 
Vision 
ACDI/VOCA’s integration and partnership with USAID/Kampala’s Economic Growth Strategic
Objective (SO7) should also be analyzed to include contribution to the mission’s results,
objectives and indicators. 
D. Monetization
Through the Umbrella Monetization agreement with USAID and other cooperating sponsors in
Uganda, ACDI/VOCA manages the monetization component of all Title II programs in Uganda. 
ACDI/VOCA currently monetizes wheat for Save the Children, World Vision, Catholic Relief
Services, and Africare. ACDI/VOCA has also recently been contracted to monetize wheat on
behalf of two USDA-funded programs for Land O’Lakes International Development and FINCA
International.
The evaluators should report on the following:
· The utility of ACDI/VOCA serving as an umbrella monetizer;
· The timeliness with which payments from sales are made to cooperating sponsors;
· Delays in project implementation, if any, that have resulted from delays in transfers of 
sales proceeds;
· Regularity and timeliness of reports and updates from ACDI/VOCA on:
a) the status of commodities at the port, en route to Kampala and upon delivery 
b) the receipt and transfer of sales proceeds from the sales agent;
· ACDI/VOCA’s protection of monetization proceeds from currency fluctuations;
· Commodity loses and claims;
· Port Survey reports;
63
· Ugandan Warehousing operation;
· Impact on the continued operations of umbrella partners, namely through management of
cash flow to partners; 
· Potential impact of USDA monetization on the USAID umbrella monetization operation;
and,
· The success and impact of the inland freight tender. 
IV. OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES
The evaluation will examine qualitative and quantitative measures of actual versus scheduled
progress for all target indicators. The evaluation will analyze existing reports and will obtain
additional insights through informal interviews, focus group discussions and participatory rural
appraisals. 
From this information, the evaluators will prepare a report focusing on: (a) the impact of
ACDI/VOCA’s project in relation to baseline indicators, life-of-activity targets and key
assumptions; (b) reasons why targets were or were not achieved (c) significant trends and
differences between planned and actual performance; (d) the roles of beneficiary participation, 
feedback and inter-sectoral cooperation in activity implementation; (e) the significance of
ACDI/VOCA’s accomplishments, the extent to which the project has accomplished its set
objectives as documented in the DAP, and the extent to which the project addresses or can be 
practically altered to address the revised goals of Food for Peace.
USAID Briefing & Debriefing Session
A briefing session will be held with USAID before the evaluation team is sent to the field. The 
evaluation team will debrief ACDI/VOCA and USAID, on their preliminary key findings - with
handouts (two to three pages max) - PowerPoint optional.
V. TIMING
The evaluation team should arrive in Kampala on or about January 9, 2006 and plan to spend 
four weeks in country. Several days will be needed in Kampala for meetings and familiarization. 
The evaluators will travel with ACDI/VOCA representatives to several parts of the country to
visit Program activities. On returning to Kampala the evaluators will prepare the draft report
which will be presented to program management prior to USAID debriefing and before departing
the country.
VI. REPORT CONTENTS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This report is a critical document that will impact the future operations of the project and
USAID’s assessment of ACDI/VOCA’s capacity to effectively utilize funds. The report should 
be short, concise, to-the-point and utilize tables, charts and schematics as much as possible. 
The report must be presented in a way that facilitates identifying strengths, weaknesses, and 
recommendations for improvement. Based on this SOW and the reading material advanced to 
the evaluators, the evaluation team should arrive in Uganda with a draft outline of this report.
VII. LOGISTICS
It is expected that each evaluator will bring his/her own laptop computer and associated
software, and be able to load appropriate printer drivers for use on locally available printers. The 
preferred software program is Microsoft Windows 98. Prior to arrival in Uganda, the consultants 
64
are expected to have read and comprehended program documentation. Available documents for
reference include: 
· DAP
· PAAs
· Results Reports
· Monthly Reports
· Quarterly Reports
· Umbrella Monetization Agreement
· Midterm Evaluation
· Annual impact surveys
Level of Effort: Up to 30 days
Qualifications: 
· Familiarity with PL480 programming and monetization activities
· Experience with rural agriculture training/and or food distribution programs
· Experience with PLWHA programming 
· Strong critical analysis and report-writing skills
Other
Final Evaluation files
The evaluation team should provide to ACDI/VOCA a soft copy containing all documentation of
the evaluation including the structured raw data for reference purposes, and at least two hard
copies of the report for our records.
Disagreements
All disputes arising between ACDI/VOCA and consultants will be settled by use of a third party
mediator.
No Liability
ACDI/VOCA Uganda will provide all necessary information and transport to facilitate the work
of the consultants but will not be responsible for any liability in the course of the consultancy.
65
 Annex 3: ACDI/VOCA Organizational Chart 
Karen Apophia Kyampaire
COMMUNITY
NUTRITIONIST
Milton Maniago
COMMUNITY
HEALTH WORKER
Ruth Sendi
COMMUNITY
HEALTH WORKER
Christopher Kwizera
COMMUNITY
HEALTH WORKER
Helen Tomusange
COMMUNITY
NUTRITIONIST
Andrew Masaba
COMMUNITY
NUTRITIONIST
Josephine Bangi Kulabako
PROGRAM
NUTRITIONIST
Fred Kaggwa
ASSISTANT
ACCOUNTING/AUDIT
TECHNICIAN
Gerald Peter Emoyo
FINANCE &
COMMUNITY CREDIT
OFFICER
Robert Komakech
ACCOUNTING/AUDIT
TECHNICIAN
Ephrance Tumuboine
CROP PRODUCTION
SPECIALIST
Tomson Okot-Chono
PHH/MARKETING
TECHNICIAN
Fredrick Ouma Bwire
BUSINESS
TECHNICIAN
Sandra K. Isingoma
ASSISTANT GRANTS & DEVT
MANAGER
Sandra Blanchard
GRANTS & DEVT MANAGER/
DEPUTY PROGRAM MANAGER
Denis Okwar Rinyamoi
TITLE II (HIV/AIDS)
COMPLIANCE OFFICER
Steve Kiingi
TITLE II (HIV/AIDS)
COMPLIANCE MANAGER
Stephen Kwezi Bwango
DATABASE CLERK
& IT SPECIALIST
Agnes Namagembe
DATA ENTRYCLERK
Phoebe Kalega
DATA ENTRY CLERK
Helen Akui
DATA ENTRY CLERK
David Enyaru
ASSISTANT
WAREHOUSE
OFFICER
Abdul Ntege
LABOUR
SUPERVISOR
Julius Twesigye
TALLY CLERK
John Zziwa
TALLY CLERK
Jenny Kyohairwe
TALLY CLERK
Tom Dombo
SECURITY GUARDS
SUPERVISOR &
GROUNDS ATT'T
Ben Fupa
TALLY CLERK
Evelyn Kabatooro
TALLY CLERK
David Epedu
TALLY CLERK
Edward Kawooya
TALLY CLERK
Edith Mary Asiimwe
WAREHOUSE
OFFICER
Timothy Kalugye
ACTING LOGISTICS
MANAGER
Vacant
LOGISTICS MANAGER
Ruth Nansikombi
SALES/DATA
ASSISTANT
VEG OIL/WHEAT
George Bamugye
MONETIZATION
MANAGER
Patrick Apollo Ituba
ASSISTANT
ACCOUNTANT
Stephen Bwire Nabonwe
ASSISTANT
ACCOUNTANT
Barbara Wanyoto
ASSISTANT
ACCOUNTANT
Mariam Magezi
ACCOUNTANT
Boniface Lekdyang Ogwang
FINANCE & ACCOUNTS
MANAGER
Robina Kayima
RECEPTIONIST
Eremegio Okia
DRIVER
Christopher John Alemu
DRIVER/
OFFICE ASSISTANT
Muhamad Ssimbwa
DRIVER
Raphael Osaro
DRIVER
John Moses Kanage
DRIVER
Moses Kirya
DRIVER
Aphisah Nantongo
OFFICE ATTENDANT
Lydia Sanyu Nanduga
OFFICE ATTENDANT
Harriet Atuhaire
ADMINISTRATIVE/
PROCUREMENT
OFFICER
Kimberly Nolen
MONETIZATION &
PROGRAM OFFICER
Bernard F. Runnebaum
PROGRAM MANAGER/CHIEF OF PARTY/
COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE
Katie Cerretani
HQ BASED PROJECT CORDINATOR
66
Annex 4: Sub-Award Process Flow Chart
The 
Subaward 
Process
Develop Proposal Guidelines & Templates
 -Background Information -Contracts
 -Proposal Template -Rpt formats
 -Budget Templates, and
 Attract Potential Subrecipients
 -Advertise
 -Word of Mouth
Concept 
Paper and 
Budget
Proposal and Budget 
Development
Initial Interview
Review and Feedback from ACDI/VOCA 
staff and/or second level of review
Proposal approved
by final level of review
Contract
 Post-Award Briefing
-First Disbursement
-meet key staff & 
partners
Preaward Survey and 
Risk Analysis
Subrecipient Implementation
Compliance
-Audit
-Mgt. Audit & Training
-Counterpart 
Contribution
Impact 
Reporting
-Quarterly Rpts
-Success 
Stories
M&E
-Training
-Monitoring
-Data 
Collection
Financial Reports
-Cash Flow 
Projection
-Financial Report
-Reconciliation
Project Closeout
67
Annex 5: Tables of Grantee Activities and Budget
Table A: Agricultural Grantees, Activities and Budget
Agricultural Grantee Activity Description LOA Budget (Ush)
(1820 Ush/US$) 4/2006
Hunger Alert Promoting prod maize, beans, 
oilseeds, cassava, gnuts, vegs –
IDPs Gulu
1,589,724,055
FoodNet (IITA) Collecting & dissemination of farm 
gate and market prices through 
the media
601,531,180
BUCADEF Promoting production of target 
crops
1,616,903,347
CASHFARM Promoting production of target 
crops
1,190,516,453
UNOSPA Promoting production and 
processing of oilseeds
1,594,383,693
MGA Promoting production of target 
crops
112,503,140
BUFA Promoting production of target 
crops
639,428,537
BAGOMA (terminated 
5/2004)
Promoting production of target 
crops
360,084,610
IITA Multiplication, distribution, 
processing of mosaic resistant 
cassava
1,243,325,902
KYAWDA Promoting production of target 
crops
435,550,755
CEDO Promoting production of target 
crops particularly PLWHA groups
810,847,601
NALG (terminated 
12/2005)
Promoting production of target 
crops
342,948,712
NSARWU Promoting production of target 
crops
457,039,446
FADEP-EU Promoting production of target 
crops
1,065,604,567
Revolving Input Fund Support towards development of 
revolving seed fund for Ag 
projects
245,377,000
TOTAL 12,305,768,698
68
Table B: Financial Grantees, Activities and Budget
Rural Financial Services Activity Description LOA Budget (Ush)
1820 Ush/US$ (4/2006)
Standard Chartered Bank Administration of rural 
services fund for promoting 
target crops – country wide
225,426,320
Centenary Rural 
Development Bank
Administration of rural 
services fund for promoting 
target crops – country wide
880,350,000
Table C: Road Rehabilitation Grantees, Activities and Budgets
Feeder Roads 
Rehabilitation
Activity Description LOA Budget Ush
1820 Ush/US$ (4/2006)
DETREC Agricultural Enhancement through 
feeder roads rehabilitation and 
maintenance
393,048,468
UOSPA Agricultural Enhancement through 
feeder roads rehabilitation and 
maintenance
527,305,283
UROT Agricultural Enhancement through 
feeder roads rehabilitation and 
maintenance
476,234,188
REAP Agricultural Enhancement through 
feeder roads rehabilitation and 
maintenance
991,640,665
BUCADEF Agricultural Enhancement through 
feeder roads rehabilitation and 
maintenance
740,015,435
MADZI Agricultural Enhancement through 
feeder roads rehabilitation and 
maintenance
740,247,366
MADZI Agricultural Enhancement through 
feeder roads rehabilitation and 
maintenance
396,591,935
TOTAL 4,265,083,340
69
Annex 6: IPTT Table
Title II Indicator Performance Tracking Table50
Indicator Base￾line
FY02
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY03
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY04
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY 05
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY06
Target
Actual % of 
Target
LOP
Target
Actual % of 
Target
1. Agricultural Objective
1.1 Production
 Grains (MT)
 Beans (MT)
 Cassava (MT)
 Vegoil (MT)
68,952
9,894
11,597
2,238
72,000
25,000
10,000
18,000
181,338
36,686
37,537
13,349
252
147
375
74
78,000
33,000
50,000
18,000
95,320
8,169
72,872
14,597
122
25
146
81
100,000
40,000
100,000
21,000
62,875
10,415
114,017
8,407
63
26
114
40
122,000
50,000
120,000
22,000
96,249
14,927
252,102
10,712
79
30
210
49
128,000
54,000
120,000
25,000
550,,000
202,000
400,000
104,000
435,782
70,197
476,528
47,065
87
57
119
45
1.2 Annual yield of 
beneficiaries 
targeted crops:
 Grains (MT/HA)
 Beans
 Cassava
 Oilseeds (sunflower)
1.4
0.6
8.2
0.9
1.4
0.6
8.2
1.0
4
1.0
8.2
1.0
286
167
100
100
1.6
0.7
12
1.2
2.2
0.8
27.5
0.7
138
114
229
58
1.8
0.9
20
1.2
1.7
0.6
27.7
0.6
93
64
138
50
2.0
1.0
25
1.3
2.3
0.77
27.4
1
115
77
110
77
2.0
1.0
25
1.3
2.0
1.0
25
1.3
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
1.3 Value of ag. 
production51 in 
million USD52
 Grains
 Beans
 Cassava
 Oilseeds
2.7
1.6
1.3
0.9
3.6
3.4
0.5
6.6
13.6
5.6
4.2
8.2
353
165
840
124
4.3
4.5
2.7
8.0
10
1.7
15.3
2.2
233
38
568
27
5.5
5.5
5.5
8.0
9.4
3.1
n/a
1.8
171
56
n/a53
23
6.7
6.9
6.6
8.6
10.7
3.6
30.7
1.9
160
52
465
22
7.1
7.5
6.6
8.6
27.2
27.8
21.9
39.8
23.6
7.3
19.5
10.4
121
37
89
31
1.4 No. of households 
with improved 
practices54
33,600 35,000 DNA DNA 42,000 28,185 67 49,000 56,510 115 56,000 50,334 90 63,000 245,000 135,029 55
1.5 Dietary diversity 4.3 5.0 DNA DNA 5.5 6.5 118 5.5 5.5 100 6.0 5.5 92 6.5 6.5 5.5 85
1.6 % Female 
beneficiaries 40 40 37 93 50 44 88 50 50 100 50 48 96 50 50 47.5 95
1.7 % children under 
five that are 
malnourished based 
on: stunting
wasting55
underweight 
39
1
25
N/a
1
25
N/a
DNA
DNA
N/a
DNA
DNA
-
1
23
N/a
1
14
N/a
100
164
30
1
22
34
4.2
19.7
86
24
110
-
1
22
N/a
6
15
N/a
17
147
33
1
22
 
50 All targets and baselines are estimates or are based on the current program’s experience. They will be adjusted at the completion of the two baselines 
51 This figure has been historically reported as a Program total, not per household and ACDI/VOCA will continue with this modality
52 FY 05 exchange rate used is 1850 USH/$1
53 Insecurity
54 At a minimum this will include using improved seed, row planting, timely weeding and harvesting
70
Title II Indicator Performance Tracking Table50
Indicator Base￾line
FY02
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY03
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY04
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY 05
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY06
Target
Actual % of 
Target
LOP
Target
Actual % of 
Target
1.8 % increase in 
vehicle traffic 
by vehicle type
Passenger vehicle
Trucks
Tractors
Bicycles/motorcycles
N/A 20 0 0 20 DNA 20
20
20
20
20
35
21
182
87
20
20
20
20
20
289
1678
156
36
20 20
 
1.9 Number of new 
mills/shops/busi
nesses along 
each road56
N/A TBD 0 0 DNA DNA 40 245 613 40 187 467 40 120 432 360
1.10 Kms of farm to 
market roads 
rehabilitated
N/A 30 0 0 100 69.5 69.5 120 131.3 109 120 83.4 69.5 120 490 284.2 58
1.11 Performing 
loans as a 
percentage of total 
loans
98 98 90.5 92 99 83.5 84 99 100 101 99 98 99 99 99 93 94
 1.12 % farmer 
groups adopting 
commercial 
practices57
0 0 DNA DNA 10 15 150 15 23 153 20 76 380 25 25
2. Health Objective
 2.1 Dietary diversity 
for PLWHAs 4.7 4.7 DNA 5.0 5.3 106 5.5 5.8 106 6.0 5.1 85 6.0 6.0 85
2.2 % of children 
under five that are 
malnourished based 
on: stunting
wasting 
 underweight
36
2.8
18
-
18 DNA
N/A
-
16 16.8 95
34
-
16
32
15.9
106
101
-
-
15
N/a
18
N/a
83
33
-
15
2.3 Qtrly Av # Food 
aid clients58
receivingB
a. Clinical Mgt 59
b. Counselling
c. Nursing Care
d. Social Support 
6,651
7,554
13,166
4,966
5,818
6,939
12,281
2,286
87
92
93
46
6651
7554
13166
4966
7374
5949
10801
3055
111
79
82
61
6651
7554
13166
4966
6651
7554
13166
4966
 
55 Wasting is a short-term measure of nutritional status, usually affected by illness or disease. This agriculture intervention does not control disease among project 
beneficiaries and so ACDI/VOCA maintained targets at baseline value
56 TBD=To Be Determined after each road segment is selected based on its individual baseline survey
57 At a minimum this will include an annual business plan and record keeping
58 This is restricted to primary food clients only, since it is these that are registered to receive services from the implementing partners. Max population is therefore 
12,000
71
Title II Indicator Performance Tracking Table50
Indicator Base￾line
FY02
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY03
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY04
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY 05
Target
Actual % of 
Target
FY06
Target
Actual % of 
Target
LOP
Target
Actual % of 
Target
2.4 Number of 
HIV/AIDS affected 
children receiving 
food aid (-15 yrs)
N/A 25,000 42,833 171 25,000 48,095 192 25,000 47,650 191 25,000 46 286 185 25,000
25,000
2.5 Number of 
PLWHAs integrated 
into income 
generating activities
N/A 500 633 126 2000 860 43 2200 1991 91 2300 3 80660 165 2400 10,900 32
2.6 Number of 
female beneficiaries
0 8,000 14,797 185 15,000 39,627 264 15,000 38,011 253 15,000 36 678 244 15,000 15,000
 
B
 No figures reported prior to FY04 as the Implementing Partners were not able to report using previous indicators for complementary services uptake by beneficiaries
59 Only TASO gives direct provision of medical services. CRS and WV give financial assistance for medical treatment. Max population is therefore 11,000
60 Of these 1398 are food aid beneficiaries