GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, December 7, 2021 – Ugacof, Sucafina’s sister company in Uganda, is supporting sustainable income growth for youth and female farmers in Uganda. In connection with Sawa World, a Kampala-based non-profit, we’re supporting 300 youth and women farmers in Kalungu District as they create small businesses to augment their monthly incomes. This program is a sustainable way to positively impact livelihoods for coffee farmers in our supply chain and we’re proud to be involved.
This year-long project began in spring 2021 and is designed to increase monthly incomes for women and youth farmers with less than 4 hectares. Of the 300 farmers selected, at least 50% were women. Participating farmers attend workshops on quick-to-learn skills that use local materials, and learn business and marketing skills. Through these classes, they are empowered to found their own small businesses, which can add at least US $25 to 35 to their monthly income. These microbusinesses require less than $100 to start.
Ten young farmers have also been selected as youth ambassadors to receive additional training. Youth ambassadors will help facilitate future workshops and continue supporting farmers as they begin their small businesses.
To begin, Sawa World conducted a baseline income assessment that draws data from nearly 200 families. This helped us determine how we could best support farmers in our supply chain and later, measure the success of our program.
From previous projects, Sawa World has already identified 14 income activities that can support farmers in the region. With this project, we will help them identify an additional income activity that can be shared with local farmers.
One to 2 months after the initial workshops, refresher trainings are available to support farmers with their longer-term business goals. These courses are run by the youth ambassadors and include business skills including pricing strategies, product quality and marketing.
We’re excited to support Sawa World as they help farmers found microbusinesses that increase their monthly incomes. This project is just one among our many sustainability efforts. For more information, check out our 2020 sustainability report.