Partner: International Needs Uganda (INUG)
Location: Jinja and Kayunga District, Uganda
(Note: INA does not have overseas offices and staff. We support, help grow, and learn from established in-country community-based partners).
The Jinja and Kayunga Districts in East-Central Uganda are populated predominantly by rural farming communities who adhere largely to traditional tribal political structures and practices. Gender disparity and lack of education are two of the region’s most pressing issues, which are exacerbated by accelerating rural-urban migration of local youth, comparatively high levels of poverty, and labour scarcity. However, the region’s history and fertile land make it ripe for further agricultural development which has been identified as an avenue out of poverty.
Over 70% of Uganda’s population relies on agriculture but faces low productivity, unstable incomes, and climate risks like droughts and floods. Women earn $1,877 per capita compared to $2,492 for men, and girls receive an average of 4.9 years of schooling versus 6.7 years for boys.
This project has been running since January 2013 under the financial support of ANCP, and has entered a new phase. More than 4000 small-scale and subsistence farmers have been introduced to the Farmers Associations (FAs) established and supported by the project, which empowers participants through training in leadership and project management, business management and financial literacy.
More than 80% of the farmers have attributed increases in agricultural production and productivity to the project so far. The overall intention of the project is to improve the capacity of the FAs so they may sustain their organisations after the project is finished, and to support individual farmers in establishing sustainable incomes which will improve the overall quality of life of their families.
What your support has helped achieve so far (in previous phases of this project)
The Farmers’ Associations (FAs) in Kayunga & Jinja Districts empower farmers by:
With funding from ChildLink supporters, the International Needs Child Assistance Program (INCAP) is supporting vulnerable children in the following ways: