Agro-forestry for sustainable land use and economic empowerment targets farmers through community groups, allowing them to plant native’s trees, fruit tree species and various crops that are sold through a community grocery market established in town. The innovation also has a 25-acres model farm to train local farmers in agro-forestry techniques, land use planning and other modern practices of farming which can be applied on their own land. The goal of this initiative is to sustainably improve smallholder agricultural practices through improved productivity and market development, resulting in marketable surpluses that raise farm incomes in the region, and increase communities’ food security for the wider northern Uganda areas as well as safer practices of natural resource management. The initiative developed this innovation because, majority of farm households in our communities lack the means or incentive to invest in their farms, skills in commercialized production technologies and links to output markets to sell surplus production.

The surplus from the farmers’ aggregate production including the products from the initiative’s farm is sold through that grocery store in town. This grocery also acts as a linkage between these farmers and the different buyers within and outside the district, as well as serving the factory demands.