Agriculture is the backbone of Uganda’s economy, employing 70% of the population, and contributing half of Uganda’s export earnings and a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Currently the Agriculture sector is growing at an average rate of 2.8% per year in the last 8 years. Since most Ugandans live in rural areas and practice farming, raising agriculture incomes – a centerpiece of making farming more productive and profitable through agriculture diversification and value addition is critical to reducing poverty, boosting prosperity and creating jobs, especially for women and youths.
PaCT has widely engaged communities with focus on empowering women and youth capacity to ensure that the 80% of Uganda’s land which is arable is being utilized for cultivation. This has been successfully achieved through establishing modern demonstration farms for leading cash crops like coffee to offer benchmarking and research opportunities to coffee farmers for increased coffee production. Elderly women are also being supported and empowered to establish vegetable backyard gardens for improved nutrition and household income.
