Smallholder farmers’ project wins global award

A wheat field in Kapchorwa. Thousands of farmers have benefitted from links with private sector companies that buy their products and the projects they initiate in the communities. FILE PHOTO

An initiative that has an impact on thousands of smallholder farmers in Uganda has been recognised with a global award.
Nile Breweries’ “Project Groundswell” came ahead of nearly 100 sustainable development projects submitted into the competition.

At the awards ceremony in London, UK, earlier this month, the breweries company was the inaugural winner of Graham Mackay Leadership Award, named after CEO/chairman of the SABMiller Group, Graham Mackay, who passed on two years ago.

Project Groundswell is anchored in breweries company’s Local Enterprise and Agriculture Programme (Leap).
As well as being a success in business terms, up to 20,000 smallholder farmers now earn income from the programme, with a further 180,000 people indirectly involved in the value chain.
“It’s a win-win, not just for local farmers and for the company, in terms of growth and beer sales, but also for government, in terms of excise revenues,” says Greg Metcalf, the managing director, NBL.

The project has enabled thousands of people screened for HIV/Aids, and 93 million litres of clean water is now supplied annually to 16,000 people through boreholes.
“We work to empower the average person to rise above their condition and become a champion through employment,” says Onapito Ekomoloit, the corporate affairs director, NBL.