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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.
invalid
uganda
1.373333
32.290275
Uganda
Project duration
2022
Financed by
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
  • The Ameropa Foundation

The project

The political instability and fragile state of the countries neighboring Uganda have resulted in countless people becoming homeless and seeking refuge in settlements such as Kyangwali in Uganda. Currently, Uganda hosts approximately 1.5 million refugees from different nationalities like DRC, Burundi, South Sudan, and Rwanda. Life as a refugee is difficult due to the limited access to social and economic opportunities or productive assets such as land despite aid support from humanitarian and development organizations. Unemployment rates are also high because refugees lack the technical or business skills to take advantage of existing opportunities. 

The PIFP project applies a market-driven learning group approach to support 2,300 refugees and asylum seekers in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement with the necessary skills, inputs, and access to grow, process, and market oyster mushrooms.

The oyster mushroom was identified as a viable horticultural enterprise due to its unique attributes including:

  1. Its quick maturity – From spawn to harvest takes 2 weeks, therefore shortening the time from the garden to food or earning a decent income.
  2. The little space needed – mostly in-door planting space which addresses the lack of access to agricultural land among the refugees engaged in agribusiness.
  3. The nutritional benefits complement the current humanitarian aid disbursed.
  4. Mushroom production activities and support to women promote refugee female economic empowerment.

The project has engaged 3 businesses who act as the providers of business development services, skills training, and development, input, and market services.

    

The key project activities include:

  • Linking project participants to business development service providers to access business and entrepreneurship support services.
  • Building mushroom facilities including a mushroom lab and resource center.
  • Providing skills training in mushroom production and value addition/processing.
  • Strengthening the cooperatives to increase marketing competitiveness. Building their capacities through business and financial management skills training.

Project partners

1. Public sector:

  • Office of the Prime Minister (OPM)
  • Local Government Authority in Kikuube District

2. Private sector:

  • NTASA Manufacturers and Investments Ltd
  • PRO-PA Foods Ltd
  • AXIOM Social Enterprise Ltd

Expected Results

  • Improved income ($ 89,000/month for 30 groups) and nutritional levels for the refugees and host community households.  
  • Registration of 30 farmer groups into legal entities and professionalization of the beneficiary businesses.
  • Establishment of 30 mushroom production sites within Kyangwali Refugee Settlement with 47 mushroom production houses.
  • Certification and accreditation of 50 Trainer of Trainers (ToTs) by the Directorate of Industrial Training (D.I.T).
  • Improved access to extension services and increased knowledge of modern practices for 2,300 direct project participants (50% women) in permaculture.
  • Increased production, marketing skills, access to markets, and consequently incomes for 1,450 farmers (50% women) in permaculture.

News

Uganda
Sustainable agriculture
01.03.2023
Reducing refugee dependence on humanitarian aid 
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.
Learn more