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The project aims to empower young people aged 16 to 35 by improving skills, expanding market access and offering inclusive financing in key sectors including poultry, horticulture, oilseed, dairy and beef value chains

Heifer International and the Mastercard Foundation will extend their collaboration in a new partnership to expand access to agribusiness opportunities for over 250,000 young people in Uganda.

The Stimulating Agriculture for Youth Employment (SAYE) project, led by Heifer International and local partners, will run from 2023 to 2029 in the Busoga sub-region of Eastern Uganda. The project aims to empower young people aged 16 to 35 by improving skills, expanding market access and offering inclusive financing in key sectors including poultry, horticulture, oilseed, dairy and beef value chains. Young women will make up 70 per cent of participants, while three per cent will be young persons with disabilities.   

“Our goal is to transform the market ecosystem in Busoga in a way that drives inclusion and economic resilience for the many young people who currently have trouble securing dignified and fulfilling work,” said Surita Sandosham, Heifer International President and CEO.  

The $48 million SAYE project will build on the work of Heifer International’s East Africa Youth Inclusion Program (EAYIP), which was also in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, and created 33,000 new jobs for more than 25,000 young people between 2016 and 2022. EAYIP leveraged an agri-hub model to boost young people’s access to technical, business and financial products and services. 

Under SAYE, Heifer will lead the formation and strengthening of youth- and farmer-led agri-hubs, while local partners will focus on business incubation, skills training, promoting micro, small and medium enterprises, and improving access to financial services. 

The SAYE project will roll out in 11 districts of the Busoga sub-region: Jinja, Mayuge, Iganga, Kamuli, Kaliro, Namutumba, Bugweri, Luka, Buyende, Bugiri, Namayengo. The high rates of poverty in these districts partly stem from an overreliance on low-value crops like sugar cane and limited opportunities for income generation. SAYE is targeting sectors with low entry barriers for young people and high market potential, aiming to boost local income opportunities.  

The project aims to empower young people

Poultry

The partnership will help to improve financial independence for women in Anantapur and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh

Heifer International, Cargill and Walmart Foundation announced the expansion of Hatching Hope: Accelerating Incomes Through Diversification into India to improve financial independence for women in the Anantapur and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.

With demand for eggs and poultry meat on the rise across India, backyard poultry farming is an economically sustainable agri-business that is easy to undertake and can provide high returns in a shorter timeframe. The project offers new income-generating activities and leadership positions within farmer producer organizations (FPOs) for women, challenging the social and cultural norms that limit their financial independence.

The global Accelerating Incomes through Diversification program, launched in Mexico in August 2021, will support eight FPOs in India and 13 in Mexico with technical expertise, training and increased access to resources to add new profit-making streams to members’ agri-businesses. The programme is made possible through philanthropic investments from the Walmart Foundation and Cargill. The $2 million grant for this project from Walmart Foundation is part of its commitment made in September 2018 to invest $25 million (approximately Rs 180 crores) over five years to improve farmer livelihoods in India through the development and implementation of farm aggregation models.

The project in India builds on the work of Hatching Hope, a global initiative that aims to improve the nutrition and livelihoods of 100 million people by 2030 through the production, consumption and promotion of poultry. Hatching Hope: Accelerating Incomes Through Diversification will partner with local organisations – Andhra Pradesh Mahila Abhivruddhi Society, Grameen Vikasa Kendra and Snehakunja – over 32 months through March 2023 to introduce backyard poultry to an additional 8,918 smallholder farm businesses, leveraging Hatching Hope’s existing infrastructure and programme expertise. 

The partnership will help to improve financial