Raintree Farms partners with USAID to expand SIP to…

Just over a year ago, the company earned a grant from USAID’s B4R project to extend our SIP supply chain model to the farmers around Budongo forest in an effort to stem community forest encroachment. As SIP provides farmers in the community with much-needed monthly income, farmers have less incentive to encroach on the protected forest, thereby reducing forest human/wildlife conflict and destruction of the forest reserve.

There are currently over 250 farmers enrolled in the project that is expected to reach maturity in about 3 years. Though a pilot, the program is already showing signs of success as farmers utilize the income from SIP to invest in other income-generating activities and invest in the education of the next generation of family members.

The engagement allows the company to explore how SIP can be a triple-win for companies by creating positive, environmental, financial, and social impact.

The Budongo SIP extension program is designed around a custom food-forest model that will pay farmers monthly to manage a half-acre plantation of not only moringa, but several commercial and non-commercial tree species on the same plot. Farmers begin with half an acre of moringa, then intercrop commercial trees for robusta coffee, Hass avocado, and macadamia trees. Then they will additional indigenous trees around the boundaries to increase tree cover surrounding the forest reserve. All in all, each farmer is required to plant 35 seedlings on their homestead for a total tree population just over 7000 for the 250 farmers.

Once mature, farmers will not only earn from the planted moringa, but also from the coffee, Hass, and macadamia trees. Each farmer’s monthly income is projected to quintuple by 2026, a marked increase over other non-participating farmers in the community.

The company plans to publish regular updates on this project in the coming months. Want to contribute to make this project more successful? Send us a note or leave a comment down below.