The Purchase for Progress (P4P) Initiative is a World Food Programme (WFP) funded project being implemented by SNV. The objective of the project is to build functional and sustainable grain market structures and connect 6,000 smallholder farmers to markets by:

· improving linkages (agro-inputs, commodities, and financial services)

· improving access to information (market, meteorological, and extension)

· improving access to financial services (management of savings and lending and other formal financial service providers)

· reducing post-harvest losses at the household level.

Phase 1 of the project was launched in 2014 targeting 900 farmers in the districts of Kasese and Kabarole. SNV, working with project partners supported farmers to form village savings and loan associations (VSLAs). Thirty-five VSLAs comprising over 1,100 farmers were formed during the reporting period. Project partners trained 186 group leaders in VSLA methods and supported all 35 VSLAs to acquire standard VSLA kits. By the end of 2014, the groups had accumulated over UGX 100 million (USD 37,000) in savings.

In 2015, SNV secured additional funding from WFP to expand the project to support additional 500 farmers in Kamwenge, Kasese and Kabarole districts. The project directly impacted the lives of 5,360 farmers.

In 2016, 4,000 farmers were linked to sustainable markets and are now food secure. A total of 741,474 kgs of maize and 29,336 kg of beans was produced and bulked through the satellite collection points by 1000 farmers despite the long dry spell that affected 40% of the farmers’ grain. Total earnings from sales of maize and beans in 2016 was 746 million UGX.

The project is part of the wider USAID Feed the Future Prorgamme.

For more information, please download the project fact sheet.