CPAR Uganda Ltd

Within the paradigm of the change agent model and of the social enterprise model, the work of CPAR Uganda Ltd, under our preventative healthcare programme, will focus on contributing to increased quantities, qualities and varieties of food crops that smallholder farmers produce at household level; in order to promote human nutrition and climate sensitive agriculture. Our specific objectives are:

• Improved dietary diversity and nutrition for benefiting households of smallholder farmers.
• Environment regeneration and preservation.
• Developed and sustainable agricultural value chains of high value crops.
• Improved income generation for benefiting households of smallholder farmers.

To achieve our specific objectives, we will work to revive and improve the environment of our base camps through agro-forestry; with a focus on fruit trees and woodlots of indigenous varieties. As we do so, we will work with groups; promote the culture of saving; promote self-reliant participatory development; target youth; mentor young adults in and or who have attained tertiary level formal education; and we will promote gender equity. Our plan:

• Share acquired knowledge with benefiting smallholder farmers for free.

• Seedlings will be sold to smallholder famers at a nominal fee, in order to nurture enterprise.

• The little fees paid by benefitting smallholder famers will be utilised to further manage and develop enterprises for continued sustainability and demonstration of viability.

• Follow-up extension services will be provided for free.

Our first step will be to transform our base camps into demonstration and learning centres; which centres are crucial for training smallholder farmers in self-reliant participatory development – for income generation and for nutrition.

CPAR Uganda aspires to establish at our base camps demos on nutrition sensitive agricultural technologies; and we have plans to introduce demonstration drip irrigation, using water from rain water harvesting. The establishment of these demos will be done in a manner in which surrounding community members are involved – working hand in hand with CPAR Uganda, so that participating smallholder farmers may replicate the enterprises at their respective homes.

Using our base camps as epicentres, CPAR Uganda will develop and sustain agricultural value chains for crops, beginning right from seed selection to consumption and marketing. We will work with farmers in developing these agricultural value chains; we will give them start up seeds and knowledge throughout one farming season. We will do so in the principles of contract farming.

The crop value chains that CPAR Uganda will promote we will select after we test them for economic value, nutritional value and cultural acceptability.

Photo: The beginning of the transformation of our Loro Base Camps - leafy green vegetables (cow peas leaves) growing in in place of grass and flowers.