Uganda

Mbale’s food environment has its own challenges. With one of the biggest central markets of the country, it lacks a good governance structure and suffers from infrastructural problems. Food supply in Mbale is known to surpass food demand, but also producing a lot of (biodegradable) waste. The Afrifood project in Mbale aims to tackle those challenges and transform the city’s urban food environment.

As is already the case in other countries in the region, the coffee-cocoa programme is also taking of in Uganda. With activities in Greater Masaka, and in collaboration with Export Trading Group (ETG), Rikolto is promoting sustainable and low carbon coffee production in the region.

A young community of innovators wants to give their peers a sustainable future through inclusive businesses in food systems.

Building Kampala's future as a sustainable and inclusive food system

Encouraging sustainable rice production in Eastern and Northern Uganda

Empowering smallholder farmers of rice, cassava and soybean to transform Northern Uganda into a food basket for Uganda and its neighbouring countries.

Smallholders produce around 80-90% of maize, rice and other staples in East Africa, many are net buyers of staples, with less than a third selling their produce. Through the establishment of Village Stores, organising collective sales and other initiatives, market access of the farmers improved significantly.

Changing an unsustainable and exclusive food system into an innovative, sustainable and inclusive one driven by youth to build a strong and resilient Mbale and Gulu.

Horticulture is one of the few opportunities for small scale farmers to find a route out of poverty, Rikolto currently is working in Uganda and Tanzania with over 3,000 horticulture farmers to support inclusive business development to unveil their potential to transform the sector towards sustainability.

Significant business opportunities remain for rice farmers. Future investments must enable smallholder farmers and processors to build their businesses in a sustainable way and to acquire new skills.