Who we are
Over the past 20 years, Kilimo Trust has built a solid reputation as a reliable partner for sustainable market-led agricultural development in the East African region. With headquarters in Uganda, and affiliated subsidiaries in Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, Kilimo Trust maintains a lean operations team, choosing to work through partnerships with local and regional actors for efficiency.
In each of the East African countries, the agriculture sector employs over 70 percent of the population. However, the contribution of this sector to GDP is no more than 30 percent across all those economies. Kilimo Trust is committed to addressing this and other sector challenges by structuring national and regional trade in agricultural products in support of its mission to make agribusiness a transformative tool for wealth creation, food and nutrition security for smallholder farmers and value chain actors.
Kilimo Trust relies on the support of its funding partners and implementing partners (public and private), as well as the guidance of its Board of Trustees and the Management to realize the grand vision of a sustained and equitable wealth creation, food and nutrition security for smallholder farmers and other value chain actors. Our core values: Value for money, Partnerships, Teamwork, Empathy and Integrity are the bedrock of our operations.
How it started
Kilimo Trust started its operations in East Africa in 2005 as a research entity and grant-giving organization to support research that connected science with farmers. At that time, the Trust was funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GCF) which was founded by Lord David Sainsbury in 1967 to support multiple projects in Africa and Asia.
Between 2005 and 2010, with funding of over US$13 million, Kilimo Trust supported farmer institutions, government research organizations like the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) of Uganda, processors, civil society organizations (CSOs), and financial institutions in the five East African Community (EAC) member states. We also supported about 50 projects on research, testing approach for financing, how to support market access, and various other projects.
Change and growth
In 2011, our focus changed from giving grants for research to implementing projects along the commodity value chain. We leveraged our experience and expertise in value chain transformation and transitioned to a direct implementer. This was to better serve the region’s smallholder farmers and other agricultural value chain actors, helping them become key players in local, national, and regional value chains.
The core approach to the work at Kilimo Trust became known as the Consortium Approach to Value Chain Development that was piloted in 2012 in Uganda with funding from UNDP and later scaled out in Tanzania with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Germany’s Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in the Competitive Africa Rice Initiative (2013 -2017).
In 2017, Kilimo Trust expanded its operations by establishing fully-fledged subsidiaries in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya. Additionally, the organization has extended its activities to Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with plans for further expansion into Ethiopia.
Beyond its market-driven approach to development, Kilimo Trust integrates Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Job Creation into its project implementation. A strong emphasis is placed on the inclusion of women, youth, and Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) within agricultural value chains. The key result areas focus on Agricultural Transformation and Resilience, Efficient and Effective Project Implementation, Resource Mobilization and Sustainability, and Operational Efficiency. These efforts lead to the adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies, the promotion of climate-smart agricultural practices, capacity building and technical assistance, access to markets and finance, and the promotion of nutritious and safe food practices—all aimed at achieving sustainable livelihoods and stronger communities.
Our impact
Through the Consortium Approach to Value Chain Development Model, Kilimo Trust has in numerous regional projects solved the challenge of unreliable markets, poor quality produce, and financial illiteracy through generation of accurate market/value chain information, training, business linkages, including partnerships with state and non-state actors. Kilimo Trust has also championed youth empowerment and capacity-built farmer institutions.
As of June 2024, Kilimo Trust has conducted over 75 market and value chain studies and has directly supported 709,096 farmers and other actors through various interventions. The organization has leveraged USD 63 million in investments from private and public sector partners. It has facilitated the trade of over 670,384 metric tons of food staples, valued at USD 284.8 million, and established 3,000 business linkages through 70 consortia. Nearly 468 high-potential SMEs have been nurtured, including 22 youth-owned and 18 women-owned agribusinesses. These initiatives have linked them to growth capital and markets, resulting in the creation of 6,327 jobs. Additionally, farmers and value chain actors have accessed USD 15.1 million in agricultural finance.
Our future
By 2028, our strategic goal is to directly impact 1.4 million smallholder farmers, support 1,500 SMEs, and create 12,100 jobs. We aim to facilitate access to agricultural finance worth USD 112 million for farmers and other value chain actors, while driving the trade of commodities valued at USD 817 million. Our efforts also target the distribution of 80,000 MT of agro-inputs and the establishment of 5,242 business linkages. Additionally, we seek to leverage USD 110 million in public and private sector investments through Kilimo Trust projects.
To achieve this goal, we shall continue to use the framework and strategy that is aligned to six sustainable development goals (SDGs): No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, and Climate Action.
Within the short term, we intend to pursue digitalization in agriculture for efficiency and development of agricultural value chains. We will also continue to explore new growth frontiers in the nexus between food, nutrition, health and renewable energy for sustainability and growth. The inclusion of youth in agriculture remains an ongoing aspect of our interventions as they are integral in advancing the mission of Kilimo Trust of transforming lives through agribusiness.