Uganda
International Coffee Partners in Uganda
Uganda has one of the largest numbers of coffee-growing households in the world. Coffee is one of the most exported commodities, contributing almost a third of foreign export earnings. However, most coffee producers are smallholder farming families. As coffee is the main cash crop in Uganda, it is one of the key income sources for many smallholder farmer families. Still, coffee farmers in Uganda face various challenges, which need to be overcome.
Current Project
Empowering Smallholder Farming Communities by Strengthening Livelihoods and Climate Resilience
Location: Kyotera district (Central Uganda)
Timeline: January 2024 – December 2026
Target # of participants: 1,400 smallholder farming families (100 % new participants) and 600 youth
Main project objective: Improve the livelihoods of coffee farming families by making them more competitive and climate-resilient, based on sustainable practices.
Project Highlights
Farming Families:
- Encourage agroforestry and promote the diversification of cash crops and livestock produced on farms.
- Promote linkages to increase farmer access to climate-resilient food seed varieties.
- Build capacity of farming families in financial literacy including the promotion of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) to increase access to affordable finance for farming families.
- Promote gender equality and build the capacity of farming households on the development of joint household plans.
Youth:
- Establish and strengthen youth farmer field schools (YFFS) with young people from farming families.
- Establish agricultural innovation groups with youth who already run households themselves and support them to develop their farms into small rural enterprises; facilitate sharing of their experiences within YFFS.
- Support generational change inside farming families and farmer organizations.
- Facilitate access to inputs, technology, know-how, and finance for youth.
- Connect youth with participants of the TeamUp project for exchange and joint learning.
Achievements Since the First Project Started
Total households reached since 2001
Impacted farmland in current phase
Adoption rate for Good Agricultural Practices in 2022
Climate-smart agricultural practices adoption rate in 2022
Rate of women in project activities and trainings in 2022
Number of supported farmer organizations in current phase