Wilmat Development Foundation | Enriching Communities

Climate Smart Agriculture

Our Contextual Overview

Nutrition and food security are critical areas that Wilmat Development Foundation works to ensure that the welfare of beneficiaries particularly in rural areas with high cases of malnutrition (among children, teenage mothers, pregnant mothers and persons with disabilities), food insecurity, low agricultural output, high poverty levels among others are addressed through CSA Approach incorporated into the locally available mechanisms of production. The overall goal of this program is to contribute towards the realization of food and income security approaches at household levels in all WDF’s operation areas and consequently at national levels.

★ WDF Focuses on fulfilling 5 priority areas which includes support of women and men farmers with farm inputs, agricultural information and advisory services, agricultural processing, market access and value chain in addition to agricultural produce. WDF has identified Smart Organic Farming as a way to empower communities with relevant crucial skills and involve them in various agricultural initiatives with the goal of reducing the level of socio-economic vulnerability in Ugandan communities. We intend to explore the opportunities available to communities across the country so that they can leverage these opportunities and contribute to the development of their families and the nation, overall.

★ In rural areas, we have been able to train communities how to incorporate modern organic farming techniques into the traditional to increase efficient use of natural resources and quality agricultural output. In urban informal settlements, we are piloting spatially efficient farming techniques such as backyard farming, vertical gardening, and step farming. So far, we have impacted over 2516 farmers both in the rural and semi-urban communities to become resilient and self-reliant in creating sustainable livelihoods. Together, we aim to apply this initiative and spread its reach to achieve the United Nations SDG 1 & 2 by 2030.

Organic Vegetable Farming

There is a fast growing demand for vegetables nowadays due to a widening awareness of their nutritive value. In 2018, we managed to initiate new innovations in vegetable growing especially the “Grow in a Sack Project”, “Farm2Earn” and “Backyard Farming” a venture that aimed at interesting rural and semi-urban communities into small-scale farming in a small space but with high yields. Our commonly grown vegetables in communities include tomatoes, cabbages, eggplant, carrots, nakati, and sukuma-wiki, among others. As our norm of supporting farming communities, through the support of various teams, donors and individual sponsors, we managed to provide free seedlings and organic pesticides to over 250 farmers despite the project facing the presence of Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and fear of the coronavirus spread. So far we have impacted over 1,877 beneficiaries have received support in form of;- Free Quality seedlings, organic fertilizers, watering cans, organic pesticides, Onsite Farming Training, among others for quality output.
We are currently piloting this program in the rural communities of Mayuge District of Eastern Uganda, Wakiso and Kampala Districts Central Uganda, and Kasese District of Western Uganda, and hope to spread in other communities over time.

Mushroom Organic Farming

An increasing number of people are growing mushrooms for nutritional, economic, and medicinal purpose. Since it does not require access to land, mushroom cultivation is a viable and attractive activity for both rural farmers and peri-urban dwellers. Small-scale growing does not require any significant capital investment. During the 2020 untimely lockdown in Uganda, we managed to establish new innovative projects of Mushroom growing and Poultry Farming as a way to keep our beneficiaries safe and productive amidst the tough times of Covid-19 pandemic. With the introduction of a new innovative project of Mushroom growing specifically Oyster species, we managed to reach out to 187 beneficiaries participating in Mushroom growing project during the lockdown season. Oyster mushroom is the most commonly grown species in Uganda but some farmers have also been exploring other species of mushrooms. These have been supported with startup capital, pre & post care knowledge among other services. Mushrooms are not only nutritionally healthy and delicious, but they also offer several critical ecological services. We are currently piloting this program in the rural communities of Mayuge District of Eastern Uganda and Kasese District of Western Uganda, and hope to spread in other communities over time.

Poultry Farming

More than 50 billion chickens are raised annually as a source of food, for both their meat and their eggs. There has been tremendous expansion of the Commercial poultry sector in the last three decades but free-range poultry still account for a greater proportion of the total poultry production in Uganda. The challenge is the free-range poultry has not undergone drastic improvement in its management system. The total poultry population in Uganda is projected at about 32.6 million birds of which 80% of the population being free-range indigenous type of breeds and the exotics contributing about 20% (MAAIF, 2018). In the last few years, climate change has drastically impacted the output of crops from smallholder farmers in a negative manner. Resiliency through Poultry’s mission is to improve the income of smallholder farmers while also helping to address food insecurity. Sasso chickens are highly adaptive and heat resistant chickens that have been proven to provide not only quality eggs at weekly rates, but also a reliable source of meat for either personal consumption or to be sold at market for income. Poultry farming beneficiaries have been supported with start up materials ranging from;- startup Chicks, Maize bran, Cotton feeds, Mukene (silver fish), among other services that has subsequently led to a sharp increase in quality output and prices.

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Women Economic Empowerement Program

Youth Empowerment in Universities

Introducing of VSLA Model in Mayuge Communities

Giving Back to Community Through Agricultural Practices

Empowering Communities

Climate Smart Agriculture

Our Contextual Overview

Organic Vegetable Farming

Mushroom Organic Farming

Poultry Farming

Climate Smart Agriculture

Our Contextual Overview

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