Executive Summary

In 2009, the Buseesa Community Development Centre (BCDC) began its first microlending
project in a small village in the deep bush of Uganda. In just six years, the organization has
expanded to serve 22 villages in Ugandas forgotten Kibaale District and broadened its
services with two new institutions, Ems Health Clinic and the Deirdre Ann Academy (DAA)
primary school, to launch an integrated attack on poverty. BCDCs mission is to empower the
people of Kibaale to pave the pathways of their own futures. The organization believes that
learning, living healthfully, and providing for ones family are rights for all people.
The DAA currently serves 110 students in grades K3. Students at the school take classes based
on the Ugandan curriculum and are provided a hot lunch of beans and porridge each day.
Unfortunately, while this lunch contains enough starch and protein to satiate the students
stomachs, it does little to combat their invisible hunger: micronutrient deficiencies that stunt
growth and hinder learning. Additionally, while science, mathematics, and agriculture are taught
in the classroom, instruction is often theoretical (in preparation for Ugandas rigorous Primary
Leaving Examination) and fails to address the real-world situation of the students of
Kiryabicooli, roughly 90 percent of whom come from families that practice subsistence farming.
Finally, as its students advance, the DAA hopes to expand to grades P7 and serve 300 children
by 2019, but this goal is unattainable with its current funding.
To improve student health, fully equip pupils for success, and shift resources toward continued
school expansion, BCDC requests $23,813 in startup and first-year operating capital for a
sustainable school farm at the DAA. Similar projects throughout Uganda, such as the Sisters of
Notre Dame St. Julie Mission Farm in Buseesa, have demonstrated great success at meeting
these priorities for other schools. BCDC plans to acquire and cultivate approximately nine acres
of land for growing staple foods, micronutrient-rich crops, and eggs, the sale of which will be the
primary source of farm income. The farm will be managed by an organic farmer trained in local
agricultural practices and a local staff of farm workers. This staff will collaborate with DAA
teachers and administrators on a project board to develop a plan that meets the nutritional,
educational, and financial needs of the school.
At the end of each farm year, the project board will evaluate

Percentage of meals supplemented

Teacher reports on student wellbeing and performance
Percentage of class days that incorporate the farm for each grade level
Teacher assessments of student learning
Student assessments of farm experience
Return on farm investment

This feedback will allow the board to adjust the farm plan each year based on the results of the
project and evolving needs of the school. As the farm improves through this yearly evaluation
and adaptation, BCDCs effort could become a model for other charitable organizations
undertaking similar initiatives throughout eastern Africa.

ii

Mission Statement
Buseesa Community Development Centre (BCDC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to
combating poverty in the forgotten Kibaale District of Uganda. Through microcredit,
education, healthcare, and other development initiatives, the BCDC empowers the people of
Kibaale to help themselves and obtain a better future.

Organizational History
BCDC was founded in 2009 as a microfinance initiative providing small loans to the residents of
Buseesa, a small village in the Kibaale District. The microcredit program has now expanded to
serve 797 borrowers in 22 different villages, 74 percent of whom are women. Since its
beginnings, the BCDC has backed over $300,000 in loans, with a repayment rate of over 97
percent. The organization uses a group repayment system that bolsters its sustainability by
encouraging members to keep each other accountable.
As BCDC continued to develop and invest in the Buseesa area, it began to diversify its efforts. In
2014, the Deirdre Ann Academy (DAA) opened in the nearby town of Kiryabicooli. The DAA
now serves 110 students in four grades and plans to expand to 300 students in eight grades by
2019. Students learn from certified teachers and receive a hot lunch each day. BCDC also
opened Ems Health Clinic in 2014, adjacent to the school. The clinic serves hundreds of patients
each month in an area where they would otherwise go untreated. Over 3,000 patients have been
treated this year. The clinic staff also practices community outreach, traveling to other villages to
provide health services.
BCDC is governed by a Board of Directors located in the United States. The Board of Directors
works directly with staff at BCDC Headquarters in Uganda and BCDC President Nicholas
Smith. President Smith oversees two directors: Education Director Maria Chal and Health
Director Emily Rymland. Each of these directors oversees an individual branch of BCDC
operations and interacts regularly with division managers (microfinance, school, and clinic)
operating in Uganda. These managers, in turn, manage community outreach staff, teachers, and
clinicians in the Kibaale District.

Statement of Need
One of BCDCs priorities for the DAA was the creation of a school lunch program that would
nourish students and sustain their energy levels throughout the day. 90 percent of the DAAs
students come from the families of subsistence farmers, for whom the opportunity cost of
sending their children to school every day is so high that they cannot afford to send lunch as
well. For this reason, the DAA heavily subsidizes its tuition rates and spends $2,000 per year
purchasing food for its students.
1

Due to limited funding and balance with other school demands, this amount is all that BCDC is
currently able to funnel into the lunch program, but unfortunately it is not enough to offer
students nutritionally balanced meals. Students are served poshoa corn flour porridgeand
beans, in keeping with the lunch served at the majority of Ugandan primary schools.1 While this
meal contains enough starch and protein to satiate students stomachs, it does little to combat
what Kugonza et al. call an invisible hunger: micronutrient deficiencies that stunt growth and
hinder students ability to learn. 2
Multiple international bodies have recognized the staggering scope of vitamin A and iron
deficiencies in Uganda.3 While numbers for school-age children are unavailable, USAID has
reported that, in 2006, 20 percent of Ugandan children under the age of five suffered from
vitamin A deficiency, and almost 75 percent of children in the same age group were anemic.4
Additional micronutrient deficiencies in Ugandan children include Vitamin B-12, zinc, and
calcium.5 The World Health Organization identifies the immediate and ongoing effects of these
micronutrient deficiencies, especially anemia, as impaired physical and cognitive development,
increased risk of morbidity in children and reduced work productivity in adults, and explains
that these effects invisibly erod[e] the development potential of individuals, societies and
national economies.6 The director of the DAA estimates that 40 percent of his students show
symptoms of these deficiencies, including wasting and a higher susceptibility to diseases. These
students arrive at school already hungrystruggling to maintain focus and gain the knowledge
and skills they need to improve their chances of escaping poverty.
In addition to nourishing their students, the staff of the DAA is dedicated to creating a
curriculum that is both culturally and economically relevantto preparing students not just for
academic achievement, but for life. In accordance with this goal, students are taught English and
1

Donald Kugonza et al., Solving the invisible hunger crisis among school children through service learning: A case
study from Kamuli, Uganda (paper presented at the International Conference Hidden Hunger, Stuttgart, Germany,
March 3-6, 2015).
2
Ibid.
3

FAO of the United Nations, Nutrition Country Profile: The Republic of Uganda, 2010,
ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/ncp/uga.pdf; USAID, The Analysis of the Nutrition Situation in Uganda, May,
2010, http://www.fantaproject.org/sites/default/files/resources/Uganda_NSA_May2010.pdf; David Balikowa,
Social determinants of health: Food fortification to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in Uganda (paper presented
at the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct. 19-21, 2011); The World
Bank, Uganda: Nutrition at a Glance, April 1, 2011, http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/05/10/000442464_20130510161616/Rend
ered/PDF/772040BRI0Box00C00uganda0April02011.pdf.
4

USAID, Analysis of the Nutritional Situation in Uganda.

USAID, Phil Harvey, Zo Rambeloson, and Omar Dary, Determining the Dietary Patterns of Ugandan Women and
Children, May, 2010, https://www.spring-nutrition.org/sites/default/files/a2z_materials/508uganda_food_consumption_survey_final_08152011.pdf.
6

Micronutrient deficiencies, WHO, accessed November 30, 2015, http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/ida/en/.

critical thinking skills in addition to the standard Ugandan curriculum, which includes local
language skills and agriculture. However, a hole remains: while agriculture is taught in the
classroom, this learning is often theoretical and does not emphasize training in practical farming
techniques. Because agriculture employs over 84 percent of the Ugandan labor force and about
90 percent of the population of Kiryabicooli, this education is therefore tangential to success in
daily adult life.7 BCDC hopes to remedy this problem by offering tangible agricultural and
animal husbandry skills that students can use to earn a more prosperous future.
A final concern for the DAA is expansionthe school currently provides classes for preschool
through third grade, but as the oldest students advance to the next grade level at the end of each
school year, the DAA must grow as well. By 2019 the DAA will be a full-fledged primary
school, serving 300 students in grades preschool to seventh. BCDC also hopes to build
dormitories for the seventh grade class, so that students can adequately prepare for Ugandas
rigorous Primary Leaving Examinations. With such an urgent need to expand, it is essential for
the DAA to dedicate as many financial resources as possible toward this goal.
In order to improve student health, fully equip pupils for success in life, and shift resources
toward continued school expansion, the BCDC requests $23,813 in startup and first-year
operating capital for a sustainable school farm at the DAA.

Project Overview
The farm will be led by a project board consisting of a farm manager trained in local organic
practices, BCDC directors, and teachers. The board will work together to achieve the nutritional,
educational, and economic goals for the project.
Two categories of crops will be grown on the proposed farm: staple crops that provide the basic
caloric and protein requirements for growing students, and supplemental crops that provide
students with essential micronutrients. Staple crops will include corn (for posho) and beans, and
supplemental crops will be selected by a farm manager with experience in local farming
practices. Such crops may include tomatoes, cabbages, sukuma wiki (a local variety of collard
greens), dodo (a local variety of spinach), onions, watermelons, pineapples, and more.
The farm will also be utilized by teachers as an outdoor classroom for math, science, and
agricultural lessons. These classes will be designed by teachers in conjunction with the farm
manager in order to complement the cultural farming knowledge that students gain from their
parents and community. Instruction in mathematics at the farm, for example, will allow pupils to
7

Thomas Kipkurgat, Agricultural science curriculum for Messiah Theological Institute in Mbale, Uganda: a needs
assessment, (doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech University, 2006), iv, https://repositories.tdl.org/ttuir/handle/2346/16217.

plan farm layouts and input purchasing more effectively. Instruction in organic practices will
give the next generation of farmers skills that could maintain the health of their land for
continued success. Finally, by focusing on the cultivation of diverse, micronutrient-rich crops,
teachers will demonstrate different farming niches that their students could one day fill.
In addition to crops, a poultry operation will be implemented in order to produce significant
quantities of eggs and meat. Enough of these products will be reserved to meet the lunch needs
of staff and students and address vitamin B12 deficiency. Surplus eggs and meat will be sold to
help finance the rest of the operation. Although startup costs will be high, investing in enough
infrastructure to raise a substantial quantity of poultry and eggs will create a base of sustainable
income to cover farm costs and supplement funding for other school initiatives, such as
classroom expansions and hiring of additional staff members.
Similar school farm projects throughout Uganda have been greatly successful. For over a decade
in the nearby town of Buseesa, the Sisters of Notre Dame have operated a school farm that
produces five meals per week for nearly 1,000 students, faculty, and staff.8 Elsewhere in Uganda,
researchers from Iowa State University have collaborated with Ugandas Makerere University to
establish farm programs at five different schools.9 These farms cover roughly a third of the lunch
needs of the students they serve and provide irreplaceable teaching opportunities.

Project Plan
First, the BCDC will procure land for the farm. The organization already owns five acres near
the DAA, and four additional acres are available across the street from the current plot. A local
organic farmer will be hired to assess this land for fertility prior to purchase and ensure that it is
suitable for the project. Assuming the land is acceptable, BCDC will negotiate an agreeable price
and move forward.
The organization will then hire additional personnel. To maximize the farms growth potential,
BCDC will hire a farm manager who specializes in local organic agricultural practices and has
experience in conducting similar projects. The organization has tentatively identified Von Moses
as this farm manager, and Moses has expressed interest in the project should it be funded. Moses
is a Ugandan agriculturalist who possesses a diploma in organic farming from Rural Community
in Development (RUCID). This degree afforded him extensive training in the organic
production, processing, packaging, and marketing of both crops and livestock, as well as the
promotion of community involvement in farm projects.10 In addition to his formal training,
Moses has several years of experience working as the farm manager at the Sisters of Notre Dame
8

St. Julie Mission Farm, Sisters of Notre Dame, accessed November 30, 2015, http://www.sndky.org/what-wedo/uganda-mission-4/st-julie-mission-farm-9/.
9

Kugonza et al., Solving the invisible hunger crisis.

Training, Rural Community in Development, accessed November 30, 2015, http://rucid.org.ug/training/.

10

school farm in Buseesa, during which time he delivered meals to 1,000 students and teachers
every school day.
After the farm manager has been hired, six additional farm workers will be hired from
Kiryabicooli to provide the bulk of the labor. BCDC will work with the manager to identify staff
with the appropriate agricultural knowledge and willingness to cooperate with the students and
teachers who will make use of the farm. Finally, an additional cook will be brought onboard to
help process the bounty of the farm for the DAA.
Next, farm infrastructure will be constructed. Because the farm manager will most likely have to
be relocated from another part of Uganda, BCDC plans to build housing for him or her in
Kiryabicooli. BCDC will also construct a storage shed for farm produce, install a mill to grind
maize, and build a chicken coop to house the farms poultry and egg operation.
After the infrastructure is in place, the newly hired staff will provide expert guidance to BCDC
leaders and DAA teachers, joining forces in a board of stakeholders that will plan the farm.
Getting buy-in from all of these parties will ensure enthusiasm for the project and harness the
different varieties of local knowledge available in Kiryabicooli. The teachers, for example, will
be able to discuss what sort of math and science skills they would like their students to practice,
while the farm manager will be able to advise on the best planting strategy. Together, the board
can determine the specifics needed to balance the nutritional, educational, and economic
priorities of the farm. The resulting plan will win the support of the entire school community and
bolster its commitment to seeing the farm succeed. This strategy will also determine BCDCs
first set of purchases for farm inputs, such as seeds, tools, chickens, and feed components.
Once the planning and purchasing are complete, the staff will begin farm operations. Because
farming success is time-sensitive, the farm manager will organize his or her staff to accomplish
all tasks during the appropriate season. The manager will also accommodate visits from school
classes as part of the curriculum and ensure that students are able to learn in a relaxed setting but
do not interrupt productivity. Inputs such as seeds and tools will be replaced on a regular basis,
and harvesting will be planned to ensure that the largest supplies of food are available when
demand from the school is at its peak.
Uganda has two agricultural seasons, each approximately four months long. The first harvest
from the farm will thus take place roughly four months after the initial planting. The first of the
farms eggs will be ready for consumption roughly six months after the first batch of chicks is
purchased. After food is harvested, it will need to be properly stored and cooked to ensure its
nutritional value for the school. The DAA already has a fully equipped kitchen and pantry, and
the additional storage space, corn mill, and cook will allow the school to handle the influx of
goods. This capacity may require expansion as the school increases its enrollment to its goal of
roughly 300.
5

A preliminary budget for all project activities is included in Appendix A.

Evaluation Plan
After the first year of farming, BCDC staff will carefully assess the results of the project.
Throughout the year, the kitchen staff will record what percentage of meals have been
supplemented with farm products, and at the end of the year they will report this number as a
metric for how well nutritional deficiency has been addressed. Teachers will offer qualitative
assessments of student malnutrition at both the beginning and end of the farm year to determine
if the project is making a difference at this level. Regarding educational success, teachers will
track the percentage of class days in which they utilize the farm for instruction and provide
qualitative reports about the farms impact on student learning. Teachers will also survey
students about their experiences on the farm. The students qualitative feedback, as well as the
percentage of students that say they have learned from the farm, will provide more input for
evaluation. The economic aspects of the farm will also be examined with an eye toward longterm sustainability.
Goal

Objective

Major
Activities

Improve health
of students
who exhibit
signs of
malnutrition

Students are
given high
caloric,
protein-rich,
and
micronutrientrich foods at
school

Implement
Percentage of
school farm to meals
grow
supplemented
appropriate
crops and raise
eggs for the
DAA lunch
program

Improve

Students are

Indicators

Develop
6

Outcomes

50 percent of meals are

supplemented by food
from the farm by the
end of the first year.
100 percent of meals
are supplemented by
food from the farm by
the second year.

Teacher reports on
student well-being
and performance

Teachers report that at

least half of their
students who showed
signs of malnutrition
appear healthier and
perform better by the
end of year two.

Percentage of class

Teachers utilize the

cultural and
economic
relevance of
science and
agricultural
classes

Transfer DAA
funds from
purchasing
food to
expanding
school

provided with
hands-on
experience
with farming
and animal
husbandry

Farm project
is sustainable

science and
agricultural
curriculum to
include class
sessions in
which students
study and
work on the
farm

Raise laying
chickens and
sell eggs for
profit

days that
incorporate the
farm for each grade
level

farm to teach their

students at least one out
of every ten class days

Teacher assessment 80 percent of teachers

of student learning report that student
learning has been
enhanced by hands-on
instruction at the farm.
Student assessment
of farm experience

At least half of students

report that they have
learned from the farm,
and at least half of
qualitative comments
about their experience
are positive.

Return on
investment (ROI)

The farm begins to

generate profit during
the second year and has
paid for itself by the
end of the fourth year.

*See Appendix B
for calculation

Finally, the project board will hold an end-of-year meeting to discuss all of these results and
produce two written documents: an end-of-year report and an updated plan for the next season of
farm work. Information on the percentage of meals supplemented and the farms effect on
student health will be used to adjust the amount and type of crops grown and animals raised.
Feedback on the extent and success of student instruction on the farm will be used to alter the
curriculum. Finally, financial information will determine whether more resources should be
dedicated to raising poultry products or cash crops to make the farm economically sustainable.
By analyzing feedback from all of the stakeholders involved in the project, the project board will
ensure that the farm best serves the needs of the students.

Bibliography
David Balikowa. Social determinants of health: Food fortification to reduce micronutrient
deficiencies in Uganda. Paper presented at the World Conference on Social
Determinants of Health, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct. 19-21, 2011.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Nutrition Country Profile: The
Republic of Uganda. 2010. ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/ncp/uga.pdf.
Kugonza, Donald, Dorothy Masinde, Gail Nonnecke and David Acker. Solving the invisible
hunger crisis among school children through service learning: A case study from Kamuli,
Uganda. Paper presented at the International Conference Hidden Hunger, Stuttgart,
Germany, March 3-6, 2015.
Micronutrient deficiencies. World Health Organization. Accessed November 30, 2015.
http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/ida/en/.
St. Julie Mission Farm. Sisters of Notre Dame. Accessed November 30, 2015.
http://www.sndky.org/what-we-do/uganda-mission-4/st-julie-mission-farm-9/.
The World Bank, Uganda: Nutrition at a Glance, April 1, 2011, http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/05/10/00044246
4_20130510161616/Rendered/PDF/772040BRI0Box00C00uganda0April02011.pdf.
Thomas Kipkurgat. Agricultural science curriculum for Messiah Theological Institute in Mbale,
Uganda: a needs assessment. PhD diss., Texas Tech University, 2006.
https://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/16217.
Training. Rural Community in Development. Accessed November 30, 2015.
http://rucid.org.ug/training/.
United States Agency for International Development. The Analysis of the Nutrition Situation in
Uganda. May, 2010.
http://www.fantaproject.org/sites/default/files/resources/Uganda_NSA_May2010.pdf
--------.Phil Harvey, Zo Rambeloson, and Omar Dary. Determining the Dietary Patterns of
Ugandan Women and Children. May, 2010.
https://www.spring-nutrition.org/sites/default/files/a2z_materials/508uganda_food_consumption_survey_final_08152011.pdf.

Appendix A: Budget
Farm Project Startup Costs
Unit Cost (UGX)

Quantity Total UGX

Total USD

Land and Security

Land (1 acre)
Fencing (1 roll chicken wire)
Land assessment

3,550,000
90,000
100,000

4
7
1

14,200,000
630,000
100,000

4,000
177
28

10,000
10,000
6,000
5,000
6,000
8,000,000
14,200,000
443,750
50,000

5
5
2
1
2
1
2
9
5

50,000
50,000
12,000
5,000
12,000
8,000,000
28,400,000
3,993,750
250,000

14
14
3
1
3
2,254
8,000
1,125
70

1,775,000
3,550,000
3,550,000
438,000

1
1
1
1

1,775,000
3,550,000
3,550,000
438,000

500
1,000
1,000
123

1,350,000

1,350,000

380

66,365,750

18,692

Tools and Equipment

Hoe
Hoe handle
Panda
Rake
Watering can
Food mixer
Egg collector (500 capacity)
Chicken cages (120 capacity)
Charcoal stove (incubation)

Infrastructure
Food storage shed
Chicken coop
Farm manager housing
Maize mill

Transportation
Miscellaneous transport costs

Total Startup Costs

Farm Project First Year Input Costs

Unit Cost (UGX)

Quantity

Total UGX

Total USD

Seeds
Maize (1 kg)
Beans (1 kg)
Tomato (1 tin)
Cabbage (1 tin)
Sukuma wiki (1 tin)
Dodo (1 packet)
Onions (1 tin)

5,000
2,000
11,000
6,000
5,000
2,000
8,000

42
42
2
2
2
6
4

210,000
84,000
22,000
12,000
10,000
12,000
32,000

59
24
6
3
3
3
9

1,850
50,000
80,000
8,165
25,000

1,000
24
6
150
60

1,850,000
1,200,000
480,000
1,224,750
1,500,000

521
338
135
345
423

1,232,000
2,130,000
1,775,000
1,480,000

5
1
1
1

6,160,000
2,130,000
1,775,000
1,480,000

1,735
600
500
417

18,181,750

5,121

Chicken Inputs
Chicks (1 chick)
Maize (1 bag)
Silverfish (1 bag)
Seashells (1 kg)
Charcoal (1 bag)

Labor
Farm worker (1 year)
Farm manager (1 year)
Cook (1 year)
Chicken manager (1 year)

Total Input Costs

Total Farm Costs

84,547,500 UGX

23,813 USD

Budget Narrative
Cost estimates included in this budget have been offered by local experts. Costs for tools and
equipment, seeds, and labor were provided by Von Moses. Costs for land and security as well as
infrastructure were provided by BCDC staff located in Kiryabicooli. Costs for chicken inputs and
prices for the sale of chicken eggs and meat were provided by Gerald Muhanguzi, an accountant
based in Kampala, Uganda, who grew up in Buseesa.
A total of 1,000 laying chickens will be purchased in the first year: 500 at the beginning of the
year, and another 500 six months later. Chicks mature and begin to lay eggs after six months of
incubation. Enough eggs will be reserved to serve all members of the school community one egg
per day, with the excess being sold as wholesale trays of eggs. Mature laying chickens lay one
egg per day for about one year before ceasing to lay. Thus, a new batch of 500 chicks will be
purchased every six months, and mature chickens will be butchered and sold for meat after oneand-a-half years. Meat from these chickens will be provided to the students four times per year
and the remaining meat sold for profit.
This constant rotation of new chicks, laying chickens, and chickens sold for meat will ensure that
the chicken farm is constantly producing eggs and meat for both the students and for profit. The
income from the poultry operation alone is anticipated to recoup the grant amount sometime
during the third year of operation.

Appendix B: Return on Investment

Farm Project Income
Qty (in trays or
chickens)

UGX

USD

Year 1
Months 06 (0 laying chickens)
Months 712 (500 laying chickens)
Yearly Egg Sales
Yearly Total

0
4
720

0
30,000
5,400,000
5,400,000

0
8
1,521
1,521

15
5,400
850

112,500
40,500,000
10,200,000
50,700,000

32
11,408
2,873
14,282

5,400,000
56,100,000
106,800,000

1,521
15,803
30,085

Subsequent Years
Months 0-12 (1,000 laying chickens)
Yearly Egg Sales
Yearly Meat Sales
Yearly Total

Running Total Income

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
100 chickens produce about 3 trays of eggs per day.
The market price of 1 tray of eggs is approximately 7,500 UGX.
The market price of 1 chicken sold for meat is about 12,000 UGX.