Agricultural production in Uganda is mainly dominated by smallholder farmers engaged in food and industrial crops, forestry, horticulture, fishing and livestock farming.
The country is one of the leading producers of coffee and bananas in the world. It is also a major producer of tea, cotton, tobacco, cereals, livestock and fishing products among many others.
However, the agriculture sector experiences challenges such as adverse climate variability and most communities depend on subsistence agriculture.
But this will likely change following a partnership between Resilient Africa Network (RANLab) and Uganda Development Bank (UDB), who have rolled out an initiative aimed at supporting individuals to grow and expand their start-up enterprises in all sectors, by providing Shs50 million as incentive to develop and pilot the solution towards scaling in addition to linkages to potential investors and financiers.
This year, the Accelerator will focus on the agriculture and manufacturing sectors under the theme: ‘Towards a Smart and Sustainable Agricultural and Manufacturing Sector’.
The UDB i-growth Accelerator will identify, recognize and accelerate outstanding innovative start-ups in line with the proposed theme and will support them to commercialization.
According to UNDP, 2007, Uganda’s agricultural yields are meager and non-diversified.
The multiple stresses have risen from current climatic hazards, poverty and unequal access to resources, food insecurity, globalization trends (including impact of global financial crisis).
Due to unpredictable rain patterns, floods, prolonged dry spells, drought the agricultural methods employed are usually not effective to grow sufficient crops and raise livestock.
Value addition to produce is low since communities are stuck in a cycle of low productivity and skewed markets in which they have limited leverage.
This has resulted into low income, pervasive poverty and no growth.
“We need to disrupt the status quo, and introduce creative and modern methods of farming, open markets for produce and promote bulking and value addition technologies,” said UDB Executive Director Patricia Adongo Ojangole, at the signing of the partnership at the bank’s head offices on Rwenzori Towers.
The initiative is open to interested applicants from diverse backgrounds who propose brilliant projects in relation to the theme.
Submissions can be done in teams or individuals, while projects should suggest transformative interventions or solutions.
Applicants should note carefully that the suggested projects could be in form of ‘technologies’ or ‘approaches’. It should be a project with demonstrable proof of concept for the solution to an existing enterprise with at least 1 or 2 years of existence.
Successful teams and individuals will be included into the UDB i-Growth Acceleration Program, where teams will receive among other things technical support, Mentorship and Business Coaching.
All applicants are required to apply online by filling the application template that can be accessed via: http://grants.ranlab.org
Application closes on January 25, 2018.
