Help bring Financial Stability to Uganda

An Opportunity survey of Ugandan coffee farmers revealed that without support, 65% of the farmers are likely to fall below the $1.25/day poverty line and 90% are likely to fall below the$2.50/day poverty line. Coffee, however, is one of the top-earning export crops in Uganda and holds tremendous potential to become a powerful economic engine for rural farming communities. With access to loans, savings accounts, technical training, and connections to good crop purchasers, coffee farmers are increasing their yields, accessing profitable markets and boosting their incomes, improving their families’ livelihoods and financial security.

Opportunity’s Agriculture Finance team is working to expand outreach to key coffee-producing regions throughout Uganda, including Mityana, Mubende, and Masaka in the western regions, and has partnered with more than a dozen coffee companies in the country to help farmers connect to higher-value markets and earn a good profit for their crops. Opportunity is currently working to digitize payments between coffee farmers and coffee companies to reduce the need for cash – which can be difficult to manage, and risky to carry in lump sums. Digital payments will also help farmers manage their accounts conveniently without the need to travel to a bank branch.

Opportunity’s 2018-2019 goals include:

• Explore opportunities for expansion in new regions – Opportunity recently opened a new branch, Oyam, in the northern region of Uganda and is working to expand lending to coffee farmers in the surrounding regions.
• Strengthen market linkages for coffee farmers – Opportunity’s growing network of value chain partners will connect more coffee farmers to the rapidly growing industry, helping them grow and sell more coffee and improve their incomes.
• Expand agricultural best practices trainings for farmers – Improved trainings will help farmers with challenges such as protecting their crops from recent recurrences of pests and diseases.
• Connect farmers digitally to financial services – Opportunity is working to rapidly expand digital banking services for farmers, improving access for clients in rural areas.

For a small farmer in rural Uganda, a good harvest opens up countless possibilities. A good harvest means a farmer can grow her savings account, and send her children to school well-fed. It means she can make improvements to her home, buy medicine when she or her children are sick, and hire her neighbors to help on her growing farm, expanding opportunities for others in her community to earn a good income and work their way out of poverty.

Links:

• Visit our Website
• Where We Work: Uganda