Introduction: A Necessary Shift Integrating shea and other tree species within crop gardens promotes a shift from amber to green, enhancing soil health, biodiversity, microclimate regulation and long-term sustainability through regenerative undercropping practices. In Northern Uganda, people and nature have long shared a quiet harmony. Trees are more than time, they offer shade, shea nuts, firewood, and echoes of memory. Wetlands are not just water, they are lifelines, nurtur

Introduction The Climate Smart Jobs project is a successor project of the Northern Uganda Transforming the Economy through Climate Smart Agribusiness Market Development (NUTEC MD). The CSJ Deputy Team Leader, Technical – Jackline Kitongo was a Senior Technical Manager on the NU-TEC MD project. Here, she is interviewed by the CSJ Communications Lead, Josephine Karungi, and she reflects on the assumptions made and the lessons she is learning on CSJ. Early Thoughts I thought tha

The Climate Smart Jobs (CSJ) project is testing a business model inspired by the Livelihoods and Food Security Programme (LFSP) in Zimbabwe, which was also implemented by Palladium. Evaline Ayoo, one of our Business Model Specialists, is supporting the adoption of the Goat Breeding Model by Farmer Group Enterprises. She visited Zimbabwe to learn from the LFSP experience. During that trip, she met an inspirational FGE that had invested in a grain shelling service. This group,

In May 2023, we spoke with several actors. CSJ was taking a market systems approach, so we needed to engage the private sector, government, development organisations, media and smallholder farmers to get their insights on what we were planning to do. We wanted to validate the assumptions we had and understand the constraints faced by women and refugees. We also wanted to identify solutions that would address the needs of smallholder farmers in relation to the climate challeng

Climate Smart Jobs (CSJ), implemented by Palladium in collaboration with partners Swisscontact, CABI, and Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited, is proud to announce the launch of Uganda Climate Innovation Fund (UCIF), a 7.3 billion Uganda shillings initiative under its comprehensive programme funded by the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO). The initiative aims to transform the economy through climate-smart agribusiness. CSJ's overarching goal is to stimulate large-sc

Introduction Healthy soil is the foundation of successful agriculture. As soil quality declines, farmers see smaller harvests, higher costs, and shrinking profits. In today’s agriculture, soil testing is a vital tool for managing fertiliser application and improving crop production. Without it, farmers guess at what their land needs, wasting resources and harming the environment. A while ago, I reached out to Razak Omia, the CEO of Omia Agribusiness Development Group. Razak i

The Uganda Climate Innovation Fund (UCIF), launched in 2023 under the Climate Smart Jobs (CSJ) project, is a bold experiment that backs innovators to tackle climate-related problems for smallholder farmers in northern Uganda. So, where are we now, and what’s the story behind the progress? Two team members, Stephen Maxi Opwonya (UCIF Lead until November 2024) and Nelson Kasadha (Incubation Lead), share their thoughts. Where we stand today All 5 pioneers in Window 1 have recei

Introduction Smallholder entrepreneurship groups are typically close-knit, trust-based formations. Individuals, usually well-known to each other, come together around a common goal, agreeing to honour the group’s objectives. When some of the harsh realities of business test such groups, many fail. CSJ is testing an innovation of Palladium’s, Farmer Group Enterprises (FGEs). The Climate Smart Jobs project is supporting enterprise-minded smallholders to form Farmer Group Ente

Introduction Our latest outcome harvesting survey conducted in February 2025 examined the interactions of smallholder farmers (SHFs) with services provided through the Climate Smart Jobs (CSJ) project, specifically component 1. The survey assessed how effectively SHFs were implementing climate-smart practices and whether these practices contributed to rising incomes and enhanced resilience to climate change over the long term. This summary outlines the essential findings and

The main objective of the market assessment was to evaluate existing soil testing models with potential applications in Northern Uganda, including models currently in use in Northern Uganda, Uganda, Kenya, and other regions. The assessment aimed to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each soil testing model, as well as evaluate the opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses of each model in relation to the Northern Uganda context and the needs of smallholder fa

The UCIF will support innovators and entrepreneurs to pilot, incubate, and accelerate new climate-smart products and services. It aims to drive innovation in Uganda’s efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change and promote sustainable land management in the agriculture sector. Interested applicants (potential pioneers) are expected to complete the application through the CSJ website ( www.csj.co.ug ) by following these steps: Click on the Uganda Climate Innovation Fund ta