Growing stronger markets with quality seeds

With funding from AGRA, Farm Africa is supporting smallholder farmers in eastern Uganda to adopt seed varieties for rice, beans and maize that are nutritious, in high demand and grow well in changing climates.

The project is driving demand for improved seeds by making them more affordable and increasing farmers’ access to and awareness of them. This helps to create a stronger, more resilient market for seeds, which can attract investment and consistently deliver high-quality seeds to farmers.

Farm Africa is training 100 village-based advisors, most of whom are women, and 30 district agricultural officers, to provide extension services to smallholder farmers. These services include climate-smart agriculture, gender training and digital tools such as mobile text messaging to provide advice and support. These services are supported by demonstration plots, where farmers can learn new techniques and see the benefits of improved seed varieties first-hand.

To help farmers afford the seeds and other inputs they need, the project is working with 400 Village Savings and Loan Associations to improve access to affordable finance, with a focus on women and young people.

The project is also working with four private companies to scale up the supply and last mile distribution of quality certified seeds and other farming inputs to rural areas. By increasing smallholder farmers’ use of improved seed varieties, the project is not only helping farmers boost their productivity and incomes, it is also strengthening the long-term supply and demand of nutritious, climate-smart crops, making it more viable for other agricultural businesses to invest in these rural communities.