Human Capacity Development for Income Generation and Organic Market Linkages in Uganda

Summary

Rapid economic growth in Uganda has resulted from the strong emphasis on the market liberalization policies tied to export promotion. Commercialization of smallholder farmers’ products has been at the heart of the country’s development program since the year 2000. This study describes how the organic farming sector links farmers to markets through community empowerment, resource development and market linkage intervention strategies using a qualitative analysis of the institutional support provided by the organic sector. The private sector assures technical commodity related support, organic export linkage, and higher incomes while the civil service society emphasizes facilitation to a wide range of market linkages and builds capacities along aspects of the market chain. They both contribute to the empowerment of the communities to make decisions on various aspects of their farm lives. Further studies to assess the impact of the respective farmer market interventions on the livelihoods of the rural population are required.