Uganda's agricultural sector, which relies predominantly on smallholder farmers, grapples with multifaceted challenges that severely impede its growth and the economic well-being of farmers. Despite its critical role, contributing approximately 24% to the national GDP and employing over 70% of the population (according to official Ugandan data), the sector faces severe bottlenecks.

These challenges include dilapidated rural infrastructure, which leads to prohibitive transportation costs and substantial post-harvest losses due to inadequate storage and limited processing facilities. Farmers also suffer from a critical lack of access to timely and accurate market information, weak linkages to reliable buyers, and insufficient access to quality inputs like certified seeds, fertilizers, and appropriate financing.

These systemic deficiencies lead to low productivity, poor produce quality, limited value addition, and an inability for farmers to effectively participate in and benefit from dynamic, lucrative markets. Consequently, smallholder farmers are often trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and unable to realize fair prices for their produce or invest in sustainable agricultural practices.

To respond to these challenges, the Government of Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Dutch Development Policy, designed and funded the 'Resilient Efficient Agribusiness Chains (REACH) Project', i.e., REACH-Uganda. This project strategically intervened to tackle these pervasive market system failures and enhance support services within crucial value chains such as rice and potato, to foster resilience and efficiency.

The REACH Project was strategically designed to catalyze a significant transformation within Uganda's rice and potato value chains, targeting 40,000 farmers and businesses to enhance market linkages and agricultural support services. Its core mission was to address the systemic failures that plagued these sectors, including inadequate infrastructure, limited access to crucial inputs and financial services, and weak connections to viable markets. The project's main goal was to foster a resilient and efficient agribusiness environment by strengthening local market infrastructures and simplifying the procurement of essential resources, ultimately aiming to boost farmer incomes and agricultural productivity.

As a subcontractor to IFDC, DT Global led the market systems development component of the project which involved co-designing and managing sustainable, interventions that strengthen value chain functions.

REACH-Uganda Project, among other outcomes, had the following farmers’ life-changing benefits:

1. Significantly Increased Smallholder Farmers’ Income: The project achieved an 80% income surge for 40,859 smallholder farmers, with specific net income increases for potato farmers from $711 to $1,279 per acre/season, while rice farmers recorded as high as $559 per acre/season from a low of $338.
2. Enhanced Productivity and Crop Yields: Framers realized significant crop yields, with potato yields rising by 35% (from 3.07 metric tons per acre to 4.15 metric tons per acre) and rice yields increasing by a remarkable 126%, i.e., from a low of 0.6 metric tons per acre to 1.36 metric tons per acre.
3. Strengthened Market Linkages and Access to Services: REACH-Uganda successfully facilitated access to efficient and lucrative rice milling services for 6,654 grouped farmers and improved farmers' entry into dynamic markets.
4. Development of a Sustainable Potato Seed Value Chain: The program pioneered a commercially viable potato seed value chain, innovating certified seed production and meeting an additional 26% of the national demand for potato seeds. This eliminated counterfeit and substandard seeds previously circulated on the market.
5. Increased Adoption of Climate-Smart and Crop Diversification Practices: A significant number of farmers, i.e., 61% of the targeted farming population, adopted at least five climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices with 98% of them implementing crop diversification strategies as advised.
6. Improved Access to Financial Services: The project enabled 31% of farmers to secure loans via farmers’ Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) in addition to the formal institutions, enhancing their ability to invest in their farms. Prior to the project, they were unable to source finances to boost their agricultural production.
7. Increased Private Sector Investment and Collaboration:REACH-Uganda’s another major outcome was the ability to mobilize $7 million from business collaborators and district administrations, engaging over 30 firms/MSMEs and public sector partners, demonstrating significant private sector buy-in and investment in the value chains.
8. Enhanced Inclusivity in Agricultural Development: The project showed strong inclusion of youth (37% of direct assistance activities) and women (62% of participants in business and good agricultural practice training).