Uganda

QSA has been working with development partners in India …

We currently support two projects in Uganda. The following project summaries are from the QSA Annual Report 2025. One of these projects is delivered in partnership with the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

St Jude Family Projects

Greater Masaka

QSA’s long-term partner, St Jude Family Projects, is a significant Ugandan civil society organisation that aims to build rural food and income security and empower vulnerable communities. As a reputable rural training centre for Sustainable Integrated Organic Agriculture, St Jude’s core work involves sharing and consolidating knowledge and practice in climate-resilient livelihoods with farmers’ communities.

QSA’s three-year project partnership with St. Jude, which started two years ago, has made significant progress in enhancing food security and ensuring dependable income for unserved rural smallholder farmers, particularly women. The project is empowering 288 households and seven schools through integrated approaches to agricultural production, entrepreneurship, and ecological farming. Key components of St. Jude’s agricultural program include water conservation, soil health, and the promotion of drought-tolerant crops—both indigenous and hybrid varieties. For these farmers, adopting climate-resilient agricultural practices is essential to withstand increasing droughts and floods.

This year, 80% of participating households have successfully implemented at least three effective agroecological methods with 77% consuming three nutritious meals daily. Furthermore, 70% of participants have adopted environmentally sustainable practices, which include transitioning to energy- efficient stoves and renewable energy technologies like solar power, contributing to better ecosystem management and a safe environment to live. 80% of families also gained access to clean water and better hygiene facilities by implementing surface runoff water.

The project also helped strengthen 6 farmers’ saving and credit groups and established informal associations for market linkages. With St. Jude’s community facilitation, the groups have gained access to government funds, as the government finds it more effective to work with organised groups. This year, 163 participants successfully gained access to government initiatives, such as Parish Development Model for poverty reduction, and the Emyooga Program, which provides access to finance that assists smallholder farmers in transitioning from subsistence to commercial farming. The support is received in the form of revolving credit funds for enterprise development.

St. Jude’s partnership with seven local schools in establishing food garden beds, croplands and agroforestry areas have promoted learning and improved nutrition for students. The schools now can manage at least 28% of their food requirements. Likewise, the intervention in sanitation and hygiene within schools has positively influenced girls and disability inclusion, enabling learners with disabilities who had previously withdrawn from school to return due to better facilities.

Dream Farm Kyakabunga

Kiruhura

Dream Farm Kyakabunga is a three-year project that aims to empower 40 female community members by equipping them with eco-farming skills to enhance food security and income while addressing climate change. The initiative focuses on ensuring at least three daily meals and increasing women’s income from AUD $60 per month through ecological farming practices.

In this second year of the project, 21 women community members were able to manage three meals a day, while the remaining 19 women can now afford two meals a day. All participants have gained a deeper understanding of nutrition and have adopted a more balanced diet, supplemented with food grown on their farms, including vegetables and fruits.

The intensified community-based training for the participants has increased food production, resulting in eighteen women achieving surplus harvests for sale and adopting sustainable farming methods. The project has managed to

equip women with the skills and knowledge necessary to capitalise on economic opportunities and increase their incomes. Twenty-three women in the groups are now growing at least two additional crops and engaged in non-agricultural enterprises earning more than AUD $60 per month with ripple effects benefitting the community members

The project benefitted forty women including four women with disabilities and their households’ members.