Promoting Rural Development in the Northern Region of Uganda

Strengthening Rural Development in Northern Uganda (PRUDEV II)

Uganda	Ministry of Local Government (MoLG)

A farmer displays his bumpy cabbage harvest.

Context

In Uganda’s Northern Region, 90 per cent of the population engages in agriculture. However, the region's agricultural and food industry struggles to drive local economic development (LED) due to climate change, limited market access, and inadequate financial and non-financial services for smallholder farmers and agro-based micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Moreover, smallholder farmers in the region lack knowledge of climate-smart agricultural practices and long-term natural resource use. At the same time, agro-based MSMEs operate below full potential due to limited technical knowledge and insufficient access to business development services within a non-streamlined supply chain. Consequently, both smallholder farmers and MSMEs underinvest in enhancing agriculture-based value creation for jobs and income generation.

By improving long-term production, processing, and marketing of agricultural products, smallholder farmers and MSMEs can access local and East African markets, leading to job creation, increased incomes, and enhanced resilience.

Objective

The agricultural and food system in the Northern Region of Uganda is more beneficial to smallholder farmers and agro-based MSMEs.

A farmer delivers his produce to a processing mill.

Approach

With a focus, on women and young people, the project takes a facilitator approach to local economic development through the following actions:

Building skills: The project improves the expertise of smallholder farmers and agro-based MSMEs to adopt practices for climate-smart agriculture and eco-friendly use of natural resources.
Facilitating partnerships: Aiming to enhance the potential of all actors along value chains, the project builds multi-actor partnerships.
Integrating solutions: The project combines conventional methods with existing digital solutions tailored to meet the needs of its targets and improve their functionalities.
Developing climate-resilient value chains: The project emphasises on the development of climate-proof and resilient value chains by employing climate-smart agriculture, agroecology, and green jobs approaches.