USADF Signs Four Economic Development Grants:

WASHINGTON - June 4, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 4, 2009 – In an effort to reduce poverty and create social benefits, the United States African Development Foundation has signed four grants to support economic development at the grassroots level in Uganda.  The grants will benefit Agro-Genetic Technologies Ltd (AGT), Alito Joint Christian Farmers Group (AJOCFG), Kibinge Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society Limited (KCFCS), and Mpanga Growers Tea Factory Limited (MGTFL).

Upon the grant being signed, USADF Chairman Dr. John Agwunobi stated, “USADF strives to identify and work with the most impoverished, under-served, and under-privileged communities in Africa.  These grants will fund projects designed by these communities to ensure a better quality of life.”

Agro-Genetic Technologies Ltd
Agro-Genetic Technologies Ltd (AGT) is a private biotechnology company located in Kampala that produces high quality, disease and pest-resistant crops for smallholder farmers to boost yields, improve household food security and increase their incomes.  The coffee and banana industries in Uganda have been badly affected by a number of pests and diseases, which has negatively impacted Uganda’s economy.  AGT intends to expand production of disease-free seedlings through tissue culture techniques to make them more affordable to the small farmers who depend on crops such bananas, coffee, and pineapples for their families’ livelihoods and as their staple foods.  The five year, $215,000 USADF grant will double AGT’s production capabilities, purchase necessary scientific supplies, establish nurseries and demonstration gardens in rural areas, purchase a delivery truck, and provide critical training.

Alito Joint Christian Farmers Group
AJOCFG works with more than 1,900 smallholder members, nearly 700 of whom are women, in Awili Village, Okwerodot Parish, Apac District, an area severely affected by 20 years of armed conflict and that is among the poorest regions in Uganda.  All of AJOCFG’s members are rural farmers involved in growing and marketing oil seeds and have no other employment opportunities.  The three year, $150,000 USADF grant will help AJOCFG meet the growing demand for vegetable oil and increase individual members’ incomes. Funds will be used to expand AJOCFG’s warehouse, purchase oxen and plows needed for tilling, procure solar panels and equipment, and improve the organization’s capabilities to process and market sunflower and soya seeds.

Kibinge Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society Limited
KCFCS is a farmer-owned association located in Kyabiiri Village, in Masaka District.  Comprised of more than 800 poor rural farmers who have no access to alternative job opportunities, the Association supports members’ coffee processing and marketing activities. They are also working towards fair trade certification, which will increase the sale of coffee and members’ incomes.  The four year, $105,000 grant will be used to enhance the quality of coffee being produced by members by purchasing better production and processing equipment, allowing KCFCS to obtain expert technical assistance and training, paying for expanded storage facilities, and developing an improved accounting system.

Mpanga Growers Tea Factory Limited
MGTFL is a smallholder farmer-owned tea factory located in Western Uganda that directly supports more than 780 tea farmers.  The company currently lacks the necessary tea leaf withering capacity that would allow it to increase the quantity and quality of  tea they produce.  The five year, $245,000 USADF grant will deliver maximum socio-economic benefits to the hundreds of tea farmers in Kabarole District who sell tea to or are shareholders in the company as well as the 500 employees at MGTFL’s factory.  Funding will procure 20 tea withering troughs, replace old fans and radiators on the 18 existing withering troughs, and secure IS0 2200 certification, an international standard for food safety management.

USADF began programming in Uganda in 1986.  Uganda’s current portfolio stands at twenty-one investment projects totaling more than $3.5 million.  For more information about the portfolio, please visit the country’s quick source page at http://www.adf.gov/USADF-QuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Uganda.htm.

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa.  Currently USADF operates in 20 African nations.  Over the past 25 years, USADF has funded nearly 1,500 projects representing in excess of $150 million in support of African enterprises and local African communities.  For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov.

###

• Contact Us
• Site Index
• Privacy Statement
• Fair Act
• No Fear Act
• Inspector General Hotline
• Disclaimers