Building Trust in Marketplaces

Feed the Future prioritizes investments that have the best potential to improve the livelihoods of a wide range of people in the food system, including the most vulnerable and extremely poor. Feed the Future also unlocks opportunities where systemic change is needed by focusing on services that are important to multiple value chains, including agriculture inputs, processing and research.

For example, Feed the Future, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries and the Uganda National Bureau for Standards implemented a new e-verification system that uses tags to mark authentic agricultural inputs as non-counterfeit. Uganda suffers from nearly $1.5 billion in estimated losses each year due to counterfeit inputs. This system gives farmers the confidence to buy improved inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer, knowing that their purchases are guaranteed by the government; further, private input firms now purchase the tags for placement on their products.

Focusing on Quality Controls

Feed the Future provides training and support across the food system in Uganda and leverages public and private investments to reduce poverty. Feed the Future also continues: the improvement of crop genetics; bio-fortification; and integrated pest and disease management for crops like cassava, coffee, sorghum and beans, and livestock like indigenous chicken. As part of this effort, Feed the Future expanded seed stocks, conducted market studies and established strategic partnerships and systems to commercialize seed varieties.

In 2020, Feed the Future helped over 134,000 farmers to plant approximately 8,600 hectares of land with vitamin A-rich orange sweet potatoes and iron-rich beans. In doing so, these farmers earned more than $1.8 million and sold:

• 430 metric tons of iron rich bean seeds.
• Over 1,200 metric tons of iron rich bean grain.
• 3,800 metric tons of orange sweet potato roots.
• Over 2,800 metric tons of orange sweet potato vines.

Cultivating Nutritious Foods

Rapid population growth in Uganda has caused malnutrition rates to remain high and has tempered other economic gains. Feed the Future focuses on sectors that have high-profit margins, are easily available and provide nutritional benefits.

Feed the Future helped over 86,000 farmers plant approximately 8,300 hectares of land with vitamin A-rich orange sweet potato and iron-rich beans. In doing so, these farmers earned $154,000 and sold:

• 430 metric tons of iron-rich bean seeds
• 890 metric tons of iron bean grain
• 48,000 metric tons of orange sweet potato roots
• 2,400 metric tons of orange sweet potato vines