Building Evidence on Agricultural Value Chains Interventions in Refugee Settings: Baseline Analysis in Uganda.

This report examines baseline data that was collected to assess the impact of the Refugee Agricultural Value Chains for Economic Self-reliance (RAVES) project in Uganda. By providing sustainable long-term solutions – beyond humanitarian assistance – to both refugee and host communities, this project aims at mitigating the negative effects of displacement, uplifting refugees, supporting host communities while reducing the risk of social tension between communities. The project supports participants in engaging in high value crop value chain (i.e., Kad Africa on passion fruit) and linking them to private sector actors. In particular, farmers receive training through farmer field schools, quality seeds and other agricultural inputs to improve the production standards required by the private sector. Contract farming agreement between farmers and private sector buyers are mentored and supported through a graduation approach, whereby the facilitation by the project for this seller-buyer relationship is gradually reduced over the period. RAVES is implemented in Kiryandongo district, where biophysical conditions are suitable for growing passion fruit. This report assesses whether randomisation was successful and investigates the determinants of access to markets. The analysis suggests that the randomisation between treatment and control was fully successful in host communities and, to a lesser extent, in the refugees’ settlements. Large differences emerge between host communities and refugee settlements in terms to demographics, food security, endowment of land, and constraints in agricultural production. This calls for the need of a tailored approach of project specific components.