| Project Detail |
COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges to smallholder farm households and communities across the rural and urban food systems in Uganda. The inter- and intra-community movement restrictions through lockdowns and curfews imposed by governments have caused significant disruptions to the economic connectedness that drive and sustain local, regional, and national supply and demand in output and input markets. The proposed project will respond to the threat of COVID-19 to food, nutrition, and income security by supporting the Soroti Sweet potato Producers and Processors Association (SOSPPA) to increase its investment in production, processing, and value addition of biofortified orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) products. Sweet potato is a versatile and resilient crop with proven performance in diverse agro-ecologies including in low-input smallholder production systems and in rebuilding livelihoods of farm households and communities after droughts, floods, or displacement. The crop provides reliable yields of at least 8 t/ha under varying climatic and soil conditions, making it one of the fastest expanding food crops in Africa over the past 20 years. Biofortified orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) varieties, rich in beta-carotene, are highly effective in combating vitamin A deficiency among children under 5 years of age and pregnant and lactating women. The overarching goal of the project is to build the capacity and resilience of SOSPPA to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other shocks by improving food, nutrition, and income security of its members. This will be achieved through processing and value addition and the promotion of profitable and sustainable sweet potato-based innovations and linkage to markets, financing, and weather insurance in the project area. The project will harness the experiences of the World Bank funded Uganda Multisectoral Food Security Nutrition Project (UMFSNP) and CIP/WFP’s DDBIO projects, and build on the ongoing Agriculture Cluster Development Project’s (ACDP) value chain development initiative. Specific objectives of the proposed project include: (a) Improve market access and farm incomes for SOSPPA farmers through OFSP marketing, processing, and value addition supported by effectively managed facilities and trainings; (b) Increase productivity and production of sweet potato roots and vines, and other nutritious crops, amongst SOSPPA farmers with yield-enhancing agro-inputs, and climate smart agricultural practices; (c) Promote diversified utilization and consumption of OFSP products amongst SOSPPA members and in current and new markets; and (d) Strengthen SOSPPA’s governance and management capacities to deliver services to its members. The Project Development Objective is to increase production and consumption of sweet potato and build the resilience of the smallholder producers and processors for economic value addition in project areas. |
