Agriculture is the backbone of our community’s economy, more than 90% of the residents in Tororo districts specifically in West Budama County are involved in agricultural activities yet many women continue to face challenges in accessing productive resources, like good quality seedlings and high value crops that can provide them with cash for their livelihood and also to send and sustain their children in school.

The crops grown currently do not have the value that can provide income to the people of west Budama county and pool them from Poverty, this is indicated by Tororo District Records , (2010) that indicates that majority of the households in west budama are involved in some agricultural activities with cassava growing being more dominant represented by 23.7% and other crops include, millet, sweet potatoes, maize, sorghum, groundnuts, banana, beans and cotton. Though these foods crops provide food for domestic consumption the women of west Budama county Tororo district are requesting for cocoa seedlings to enable them plant cocoa as cash crop to provide them with consistent income, to enable them fight poverty and send their children to school.

The people in west Budama county have been planting cotton as the main cash crop for the last 100 years however cotton growing, though is important in the daily life of the people in this area, it does not provide the value that can sustain a decent value to the people of West-Budama County. To this reasons the women of Padhola group are requesting for cocoa seeds to enable them begin cocoa farming in order to earn a decent wage that can sustain life.

One of the major reasons to why the women in west Budama county, Tororo district, are requesting for cocoa seeds is because cocoa, as a high-value crop, presents a unique opportunity to empower women economically due to its consistent global demand, resilience, and profitability, as indicated by some farmers in ivory coast that On average, cocoa yields range from approximately 350 to 650 kilograms per hectare, which translates to about 140 to 260 kilograms per acre. In a study by Fairtrade reported that in 2020/21, the average annual household income for Ivorian cocoa farmers was $4,937, up from $2,670 in 2016/17, this increase was attributed to higher cocoa revenues. This income by Ivorian farmers is good as compared to the fact that people women in, West Budama Tororo district are some of the poorest and donot have a valuable crop, in fact UBOS, (2021) Indicates Tororo district as the second poorest Sub-region in Uganda after Karamoja, however though there is total poverty in the region the poverty levels is also far more high among women most of whom their source of livelihood is in agriculture.

Though the women in Tororo district and west budama in particular would like to grow cocoa as their main cash they do not have access to the seedlings that can enable them to grow the crops. This project seeks to empower our group of women farmers by providing them with improved cocoa seeds and the necessary support to establish cocoa farms. This initiative will not only improve household incomes but also contribute to food security, gender equality, and community development.

Project Goal

To empower rural women through the cultivation of cocoa as a high-value crop for sustainable income generation.

Specific Objectives

To acquire and distribute quality cocoa seeds to 50 women farmers in every sub county in west budama.
To train the women in modern cocoa cultivation practices and sustainable farm management.
To establish a minimum of 50 acres of cocoa plantations in west budama.
To enhance women’s participation in the agricultural value chain and improve their livelihoods.

Target Group

The project will directly benefit 50 rural women from each subcounty in west Budama who are organized under the Women’s Agribusiness Group (WAG). Indirect beneficiaries include their families and the wider community. The target group of women has been specifically chosen because of the poverty levels in the area, which according to UBOS, 2024, WEST BUDAMA county which belongs in the Bukedi region has the Gdp Per capita of 135 which is lower than the national average of 1,185 and more to that the poverty rate in Bukedi is 37% while for Uganda as a whole is 35%. This figures shows that targeted area and group for this project is disproportionately affected by poverty more than Uganda as a whole.

Table below shows the poverty levels for the sub counties that the project is targeting.

LOCAL COUNCIL (sub counties)	Percentage below poverty line	No of poor individual
Petta	35.93	4,270
Iyolwa	32.90	8,098
Mulanda	33.82	9,544
Paya	37.24	11,782
Kirewa	32.72	6,901
Kisoko	36.43	5,569
Nagongera	32.32	9,130
Rubongi	32.81	9,512
Nagongera Town Council	32.32	3,889

Source: Uganda Bureau of Statistics Poverty Report

The targeted sub counties from west Budama all have poverty levels of beyond 30%, this therefore shows that there is need for this project to be implemented and specifically to target women to alleviate these sub counties from abject poverty.

5. Key Activities to project implementation

In order to implement this project, the following activities will be implemented;

5.1 Identification and selection of beneficiaries

The project will ensure that 50 women with at least two acres of land are identified and mobilized. In this case the project will begin with Paya sub county, in the first year only one sub county will be chosen to ensure that the project management can easily follow up on every farmer to ensure that the project goals are implemented.

Paya sub county has been chosen because it has the largest number of poor individuals than all the sub counties of Tororo district and west Budama county and therefore it presents the highest level of vulnerability it is to this reason that the project has chosen as the first sub county, where the project will be implemented.

5.2 Procurement of high-yield cocoa seeds

The project management will ensure that it procures the necessary seedlings for the implementation of the project to be successful.

5.3 Training workshops on cocoa agronomy, nursery management, and pest control

The project management will hold training session for the farmers in The first sub county to enlighten them about the cocoa growing process and the agronomics required to ensure the success of the project.

5.4 Distribution and planting of cocoa seeds

The project management team will distribute cocoa seeds to the targeted women.

5.5 Monitoring and evaluation of farm establishment progress

The project management who will be accompanied by an agronomist will move to every farm to ensure that all the necessary processes required in cocoa farming have been followed.

6. Expected Outcomes

50 women equipped with quality cocoa seeds and trained in cocoa farming
50 acres of cocoa farms established
Increased household income and food security
Enhanced women’s economic empowerment and resilience

7. Project Duration

The project will be implemented over a 36-month period, with ongoing monitoring for the first 2 years of the cocoa plantation lifecycle.

8. Budget Summary or Paya sub county only (First Sub county)

Item	Quantity	unit cost	Total cost
cocoa seeds	2000	13.7	27400
Training sessions by expert agronomists	3	1200	3600
Field tools and equipment (in sets)	100	30	3000
Farm supervision and extension by expert agriculturalists	3	1200	3600
Monitoring and evaluation of the project	2	1000	2000
second hand Mersey Ferguson tractor	1	21,000	21000
Total			60600

8.1 budget information for second phase of the project (Kirewa and peta sub county)

Item	Quantity	unit cost	Total cost
cocoa seeds	2000	13.7	27400
Training sessions by expert agronomists	3	1200	3600
Field tools and equipment (in sets)	100	30	3000
Farm supervision and extension by expert agriculturalists	3	1200	3600
Monitoring and evaluation of the project	2	1000	2000
Total			39600

Note: these two Sub counties will be using the tractor that was procured earlier

9. Sustainability Plan

The project promotes long-term sustainability through skills transfer, peer learning, and cooperative marketing. Once the cocoa trees mature, farmers will reinvest part of the income to expand their farms and support new women joining the group. We also plan to link up with cocoa buyers and processors for value addition.

The project will request for funds for the implementation of the project in the first two years in the sub counties of Paya, Kirewa and Petta only the rest of the sub counties which include; Kisoko, Nagogenra, Rubongi, Iyolwa will be taken care after four years;

When the farmers from the first three sub counties complete their harvest they will contribute 10% of their earnings to the other farmers and this will enable the sustainability until all the remaining four sub counties are completed. This will ensure that the women in these sub counties have source of income and they are able to take and sustain their children in school.

10. Logical frame work for the project activities

table showing the logical frame work for intervention by the project management

General objective:	Intervention logic	Objective verifiable indicators	Source of verification	Assumption
Empowering Women Through Cocoa Farming for Sustainable Livelihoods	Distribution of cocoa seedlings, training of 50 women each in the three Sub counties of paya, kirewa, and Petta sub counties	1.Harvest of cocoa 2.Improved general household welfare 3.Improved incomes of rural households	1. Impact study 2.Individual interviews	Political stability and security shall prevail
Specific Objective:	The distribution of cocoa seedling in Paya sub county, for the first year then the second year the distribution will be in Kirewa and Petta sub county.	1.Ensuring that 50 farmers in each of 3 sub counties of Paya, Kirewa and Petta sub county. 2. Training the women in cocoa planting and farming best practices 3. Training farmers on the best pesticides to use for spraying against pests and diseases	1. Monitoring the farms	Farmers plant the cocoa as trained
Results	In every sub county of west Budama at least 50 women in each sub county of Paya, Kirewa and Petta sub county will plant at least two acres of cocoa, in the first two years of the project beginning and after 7 years Atleast all the sub-counties of west Budama will have women having The extension workers will visit different farmers to ensure that the necessary cocoa farming practices are adhered to by the farmers	1. There will be improved livelihood of the different households in west Budama 2. The women will feel a sense of dignity because they can contribute to family income 3. The girl child retention and enrollment in schools will be high 4. Early marriage numbers will reduce 5. Domestic violence will reduce because women will have some income that will enable them to contribute to family income	Monitoring the families Individual interviews in different house hold	1.The political situation is stable 2.The cultural institutions will accept and promote women economic empowerment
ACTIVITIES

Activities

Intervention logic

Objective verifiable indicators

Source of verification

Assumption

Conducting training session of 50 women per sub county.

The first three sub counties in the first three years will be handled

The reasons simply because the funds to cover the entire district at one will need more resources and also it may lead to poor supervision therefore on the first year only one sub county will be handled (Paya Sub county)

1. The training of women will be done by extension workers.

2. Agronomists

3. Project management staff will be educating women on the benefits of improving their source of income to cater for their life needds

1.Interviews

2.Attendance of workshops by the women

There is political support to fight against poverty among women

NGOs and development partners currently in tororo district and the activities they are involved in

The following are some of the NGO’s and development organizations in Tororo district

Development partner	Location	Target	Service delivery mandates
Plan Tororo	Tororo county, Rubongi Kisoko and Petta sub counties	Children	*Health* · Construction of health facilities · Provision of PMTCT services *Education* · Construction of classroom blocks *Water* · Protection of spring wells Planning & Probation · Birth & death registration · Advocacy for children’s rights
MIFUMI	Entire district	Women & children	*Domestic violence* · Conduct sensitisations on domestic violence · Provision legal services · Supports survivors of violence, early marriage, loss of property and widow inheritance
Africa 2000	Osukuru, Kisoko & Nagongera	Farmers	Agriculture · Conduct sensitisations on modern methods of agriculture
World Vision	Iyolwa, Nabuyoga, Kirewa and Paya	Children & Women	*Health* · Construction of health facilities *Education* · Construction of classroom blocks *Water* · Protection of spring wells · Drilling of boreholes
Uganda orphans rural development program	Kisoko, Nagongera, Mulanda	Orphans	Counselling and empowerment
Child Development Cooperation	Rubongi	Orphans	Counselling and empowerment
Nagongera Youth Development Center	Nagongera, Paya, Municipal Council	Youth	Counselling and empowerment
Uganda Women’s Efforts to Save Orphans	Molo, kisoko and paya	Orphans	Counselling and empowerment
Tororo Civil Society Network	Tororo Municipality	Entire community	Human rights, community empowerment
The Aids Support Organisation	Tororo Municipality	Entire community	People Living with Aids Provision of support to PLWA
Benedictine eye hospital	Tororo Municipality	Persons with disability and Entire community	Health Provision of health services
Sasakawa global 2000	Mulanda	Farmers	Agriculture

Conclusion from the table of other development organizations in tororo district shows that there is no current organization working on improving house hold income of women in the district in line with women empowerment through farming of cocoa. Therefore it is imperative for this organization to move on.

STRENGTH WEAKNESS OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS

Of padhola women action projects

Strengths

Weakness

Opportunities

Threats

Strong management technical team
Transparency in resource allocation and utilization
Staff commitment
Conducive political structures
Strong financial management system
Strategic location of the district near Kenyan market

Poor road network
Limited funds
Inadequate and unreliable data for planning

Funding from development partners
Conducive geographical climate
Enabling policies
Hard working communities

Child abuse
Defilement
Environmental degradation
Declining soil fertility
High population growth

10. Conclusion

Investing in women’s cocoa farming is investing in sustainable development. With your support in providing cocoa seeds and basic training, our group of women will turn this opportunity into a life-changing venture. We are confident that this project will lead to long-term economic benefits and empower women to become key players in the agricultural sector.

PROJECT PROFILE

MAP SHOWING THE LOCATION OF TORORO DISTRICT

Executive summary and Justification