KAD AFRICA
LOCATION
UGANDA
SECTOR
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
YEAR OF INVESTMENT
2016
Need
More than 70% of households in Uganda grow food on a subsistence basis only, earning no income for their labour or the crops they produce. Culturally, many of these farming tasks are delegated as chores to women and girls. Of the 19 million hectares of land available for agriculture in Uganda, less than 1% is under cultivation for fruits and vegetables. The potential for economic and nutritional gains from growing passion fruit in Uganda is woefully under-exploited. Passion fruit vines can be grown above ground on poles, leaving land open for ground dwelling crops and enabling farmers to feed their families, while generating income through sales of surplus passion fruit.
Solution
KAD Africa provides land, mentorship and support for young women to form cooperatives to grow and market passion fruit. KAD also connects this last mile of production with mass market distribution. It targets young women between the ages of 14 and 20 years who have dropped out of school, 60% of whom have at least one child, and provides them with land, extension support, mentors, a ready market and the opportunity to sell their produce to domestic and international customers.
Impact
Thanks to KAD, over 2,000 out-of-school girls have found an alternative economic pursuit in farming, with 50,000kg of passion fruit produced to date, and an average monthly income of $20 per person.
