Improving children's education and youth employment
Coffee is one of the top export products of Uganda. 95% of the coffee exported from Uganda is Robusta coffee, making it the number five exporting country of Robusta in the world. About 90% of coffee farms in Uganda are smallholder farmers having farms of 1-2 acre. The Uganda coffee sector has a high-risk profile on the occurrence of child labour. Apparently, the main underlying reason for child labour is poverty. Families are not able to earn a living income, and school fees and other household costs cannot be paid.
In the coffee sector, where relevant interventions have not yet taken place, about 40% of the households keep children away from school to work on their farm. With the support of project activities including awareness raising, improved incomes and community-based activities mainly, the incidence of child labour can be reduced to less than 5%.
In addition, coffee farmers do not have diversified crops and are insufficiently prepared for the effects of climate change. In April – July 2022, a long period of drought took place in Uganda, destroying the crops of maize and beans, resulting in an increase of food prices by more than 50%. Farmer inputs (if they could afford it before) are twice as expensive due to the Russian – Ukrainian war.
Recent studies also show that the percentage of child labour has further increased during and after COVID-19 pandemic. Local and National government fail to make progress in diminishing these percentages by taking corrective and preventive action against child labour. A positive note is that the severity of child labour is not classified at the highest level. Hazardous or forced child labour does not seem to be common in the coffee sector.
Currently an impact assessment on child labour is being conducted in Phase A.

Project number
NL-KVK-27378529-FBK22S08ABTotal budget
€ 475,000Countries
UgandaProject status
ImplementationBudget spent
Programme
Fund against Child Labour (FBK)Tied status
TiedContact
iati@rvo.nlProject partners
Brand Coffee Farm Uganda SMC Limited, Brand Development Group B.V., Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD), Kanseera Multi Purpose Co-opreative Society Limited, Kitengal Coffe farmer cooperative society limited, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Uganda Coffee Farmer AllianceSectors
Food crop productionType | Provider | Provider ref. | Receiver | Receiver ref. | Value (€) | Date | Value date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Incoming Funds | 475,000.00 | 20-12-2022 | 20-12-2022 | ||||
Outgoing Commitment | Brand Development Group B.V. | 475,000.00 | 20-12-2022 | 20-12-2022 | |||
Disbursement | Brand Development Group B.V. | 78,062.00 | 23-12-2022 | 23-12-2022 | |||
Disbursement | Brand Development Group B.V. | 78,624.00 | 17-10-2023 | 17-10-2023 | |||
Disbursement | Brand Development Group B.V. | 78,623.00 | 04-03-2024 | 04-03-2024 | |||
Disbursement | Brand Development Group B.V. | 43,680.00 | 13-11-2024 | 13-11-2024 | |||
Disbursement | Brand Development Group B.V. | 43,680.00 | 06-02-2025 | 06-02-2025 |