The Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE) in partnership with the Innovation Village is to support the digitization efforts of farmers under the Digital Doors Programme.
Through a programme spearheaded by the MasterCard Foundation, the Innovation Village is implementing the Digital Doors Programme to provide the right digital tools to local entrepreneurs, companies, start-ups, and Micro, Small, and Medium (MSMEs) to access the digital economy.
Speaking during the signing of the partnership in Kampala, Kenneth Katungisa, the UNFFE’s Chief Executive Officer, noted that the partnership is in alignment with the organisation’s aspirations to onboard and support millions of farmers including over 400 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
“Digitisation is one of the pillars to transform the agriculture sector to become lucrative, attractive, and inclusive for farmers to be able to compete favourably. The result for farmers is to provide increased access to essential services, products, market, funding, and employment opportunities.”
An assessment conducted by UNFFE on FPOs highlighted that small-scale farmers face several challenges, including lack of digital tools, digital skills and access to reliable markets, financial services, and accessibility to reliable and affordable inputs.
The Lead Digital Economy Practice at Innovation Village, Saul Weikama, explained that the Digital Doors Program is a subset of The Village’s Digital Economy Practice, that seeks to transform our communities using information technology.
“The development of the digital economy is a critical steppingstone to job creation in the new “Future of Work”. For it to be viable, solutions for the last mile user are critical to be able to make it not only inclusive but sustainable across the value chain,” he said.
Weikama added that as the Innovation Village, they are excited to partner with UNFFE to support the digitization efforts of FPOs and farmers in Uganda.
The partnership also allows digitizing the agriculture sector but most importantly reaching the last mile user in adopting the use of technology to operate in the digital economy.
“Among the first tasks will be addressing the challenges including digital literacy and lack of digital skills among farmers and providing access to reliable markets and financial services,” he said.
