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Reducing refugee dependence on humanitarian aid 

Uganda
Sustainable agriculture
01.03.2023
Using a market systems approach, Swisscontact in Uganda facilitates technical and business skills training in mushroom production and marketing to reduce refugee dependence on humanitarian aid.

The Permaculture for Income and Food Security Project aims to improve the economic status and nutrition of beneficiaries in the refugee settlement. The project creates partnerships to raise awareness and income for refugees by creating opportunities across the mushroom value chain. 

In Kyangwali Refugee Camp, there are refugees from DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and some from South Sudan. The trainings offered through the project cover technical as well as life skills. 

Emmanuel Mushakalo, Project participant, mushroom production

"In Congo, I was a farmer but the war started and we fled. When we reached the refugee camp in Uganda, we made the decision to continue farming. Swisscontact gave us some inputs for growing mushrooms. They sent us a specialist to teach us how to produce the mushrooms on our small plots. Compared to planting beans or maize, we realised that planting mushrooms is better to achieve a bigger harvest and grow our profits. We sell it and get money which we save and attend to our needs at home. Even in our daily lives, we’ve seen the health benefits." 
- Emmanuel Mushakalo

This project is financed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and The Ameropa Foundation.

2022
Uganda
Sustainable agriculture
Permaculture for Income and Food Security Project
The Permaculture for Income and Food Security Project (PIFP) project is a social enterprise that aims to engage farmers in high-value agribusiness enterprises through a market-driven learning group approach. The project supports refugees, asylum seekers, and the host communities living in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. They often have limited access to productive land to engage in farming activities with the potential to increase household income and boost food security.
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