Amolatar District, Uganda

Strengthening Smallholder Engagement

Hope Development Initiative (HDI) is a women farmers’ co-operative based in the Lango sub-region of northern Uganda focussing on production, agro-processing, value addition and trade in rice, oilseeds and cassava. Peter was employed to strengthen the smallholder engagement model used by the 15,000-member strong initiative. One of the primary constraints to improving on-farm crop productivity is lack of access to high quality seeds with proven adaptation to the local environment, a theme that is common for smallholder farmers throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Working alongside the HDI Founder and social entrepreneur Dr Agnes ‘Mama Rice’ Apea, the blue-print was formulated for development of the mechanised central nucleus farm for production-at-scale of assured high-quality seed for distribution in a hub-and-spoke model to HDI out-growers. Input was also provided to strategise roll-out of branding plans for ‘Mama Rice’ into the local and regional markets.

Challenges Resolved

The strongly entrenched paradigm is that ‘modern farming’ best practice is a red tractor operating a 3-furrow disc plough.

The belief that “modern agriculture” is defined as conventional tillage with disc ploughs and harrows pervades at every turn throughout sub-Saharan Africa yet practised for even a short period of time on typically fragile African soils. This approach is highly destructive to soil structure, organic matter, and micro-biology. Breaking this mindset is always a major challenge as we work to upskill stakeholders and impart the key principles of Regenerative Agriculture as the best way forward.

Availability of and access to high-quality, well-adapted seed has been a constant challenge for HDI smallholder farmers.

A constant challenge for smallholder farmers throughout Uganda and the broader region is ready access to well-adapted high-quality seed. This is essential for them to grow more uniform and vigorous crops with increased resistance to stress, disease and pests. Development and operation of the HDI nucleus farm facilitates production at scale of quality seeds, and so, proactively improving access and bringing maximum value to the HDI smallholder out-growers.