Uganda - MACCA project empowers women farmers in Uganda

Small scale farmers in Africa are hugely vulnerable to climate change. That is why OVO, together with 4 other partners, is starting the MACCA project. The goal: sustainable agriculture, higher harvests and a fair income.
 

Measures Against Climate Change in Agriculture - in short MACCA - wants to strengthen small farmers in Uganda against climate change. Climate change is increasing the extreme temperatures and droughts, with a disastrous impact on agricultural yields.
 

A two-track project

Therefore, MACCA wants to use CLIMTAG, a dashboard that shares reliable, region-specific climate information. This will enable farmers to anticipate and adjust their sowing and harvesting processes.

At the same time, the project wants to empower at least 500 female smallholder maize farmers in the Busoga region. The project will provide them with training in agroecology, affordable loans to expand sustainable farming activities and access to direct sales on the Ugandan market.

This way, the women can increase their agricultural yields, generate a higher family income and improve their standard of living. The focus is on the Busoga region, the poorest region in Uganda over the past decade.

Collaboration between partners

The project will be implemented by a consortium of partners. Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs (OVO) and Einstein Rising are taking the lead, completed by three experienced organizations.

• Einstein Rising is an ecosystem builder for social enterprises. Its focus is on using technology to develop sustainable business models. In addition, Einstein Rising provides incubation services to young start-ups that have come up with innovative solutions to everyday challenges.
   
• Amelia Agro Africa Limited will act as a true agro-lab. It will provide smallholder farmers with a toolkit to help them grow their productivity in a climate-resilient way. It has everything in place to become a true showcase farm, with a major impact on the wider region. The selection of agricultural practices to be promoted will be determined based on a CLIMTAG analysis for the region.
   
• Akaboxi Limited is a microfinance institution that empowers communities of small farmers to access funds and markets for their products. Akaboxi discards the unsafe process of keeping cash at home. In its place, it offers a safer, more reliable and easy-to-monitor savings and transaction program that connects to financial services.
   
• Rena Beverage Solutions Limited is a private company that produces purely organic products such as hibiscus tea, juices and wines. The products are popular among Ugandans, who value healthy organic food.

By providing affordable loans and training, among other things, the entrepreneurs who are part of the consortium can scale up their operations in the region.