Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees, primarily displaced due to violence and civil unrest in neighbouring South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Around 95 percent live in settlements across eleven refugee-hosting districts, with 80 percent living below the international poverty line, and 54 percent experiencing food insecurity. Despite Uganda's progressive refugee policy, refugees struggle to integrate into local economies and become self-reliant. The protracted displacement situation of most refugees and limited prospects of return to their countries of origin mean that local integration is the most realistic durable solution for refugees in Uganda. In Uganda, FAO conducted value chain and market systems analyses in order to develop the skills of 1 000 refugees and 1 365 members of Ugandan host communities in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement to participate in productive agriculture. Using FAO’s Farmer Field School approach in partnership with a local Ugandan non-governmental organization, mixed groups of Ugandans and refugees learned how to grow passion fruit, a valuable cash crop, using locally adapted, climate-smart techniques. Participants were also trained to grow horticultural crops, including tomatoes and eggplants to improve household nutrition, and were encouraged to form Village Savings and Loan Associations and producer cooperatives to negotiate prices collectively on the market.

This good practice fact sheet provides an overview of a four-year inclusive value chain development project implemented by FAO from 2020 to 2024, with funds from the IKEA foundation, in refugee-hosting regions of Kenya and Uganda.

SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS

On market opportunities/value chains: Profitable and inclusive value chains can be created by adopting a market system approach. This encompasses the selection of high-value, desirable crops based on market demand and agroecological viability, but also the carrying out of value chain analyses to identify potential agroprocessors and buyers for the products, the engagement of stakeholders, and the training of producer organizations. All this helps to ground the value chain in existing commercial networks and increase its sustainability once the intervention ends.

On gender: Training women not only in agricultural techniques, but also in business and marketing can improve their productive skills and access to information, resources, and decision-making, potentially leading to a change in gender roles and a reduction in women’s work burden. Including women in agricultural activities such as marketing and selling products, can also foster greater understanding and appreciation of women’s abilities among men. Lastly, activities around the male role model can promote changes in men’s attitudes towards traditional gender roles, the need to address gender-based violence, and sharing domestic responsibilities.

On conflict sensitivity: Including the Conflict Sensitivity Programme Clinic at an early phase of the project can lead to several important project adaptations, particularly related to gender dynamics and youth. Future projects should incorporate a Programme Clinic to inform design and include women and youth more intentionally at the participatory project design phase.

On youth: Organizing a specific Farmer Field Schools (FFS) for youth can foster the engagement of previously unemployed young people who were also lacking the opportunity to acquire new productive skills. Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), organized around FFS, support the improvement of young people’s financial management and planning skills. Moreover, such initiatives can foster a sense of unity, pride, and purpose in youth groups.

On social cohesion: Mixed host/refugees Farmer Field Schools enable both groups to learn and work together, sharing knowledge and skills, and discussing the experience in applying the techniques learned. This creates a sense of group unity, as both communities work together for a common goal. Additionally, by improving farmers’ productive capacity, refugees and hosts interact more frequently in the markets, which is proven to reduce tensions and promote peaceful coexistence. Ensuring the economic sustainability of these activities, for example by establishing linkages with the private sector and producing high-value crops, enables them to continue without humanitarian funding and facilitates the economic integration of refugees over the long term.

On access to land: The development of legal tools, including land tenure protection agreements, enables refugees to continue negotiating secure access to land and expand production in the future. Refugees’ access to land can also be expanded by the creation of mixed host/refugees FFS groups, which enables them to farm collectively with the host community on their land.