In 2010, HHP made a commitment to support a farm project in Uganda. Lwankuba Farm is supported by The Mityana Charity which is based in Wokingham, close to Heathlands Farm.  The charity have long term control of a farm of approximately 500 acres and it is our objective to help them  operate it as a profitable / sustainable unit by providing both technical / managerial support and financial assistance.  Once the farm is profitable the idea is for the farm to annually re-direct a set percentage of its profits into supporting the charities main objectives - education and health care in Mityana, Uganda.

One of the challenges is the identification and organisation of a crop which could be grown and sold as a way of providing some part of the profits detailed above.  We are confident that once we have identified and secured a market we can then support the farm in delivering quality, volume and meeting delivery targets.  This is something we do at HHP on a daily basis (although granted in a different context / trading environment) and we feel we can make a positive contribution in this respect. We have seen that as a producer in Uganda one can rarely influence price unless there is a quality premium available.  The farm will therefore have to deliver a higher quality product than the competition and hopefully be able to export this abroad. 

Mark and Mary Hall and Daniel Van Der Veen (HHP Technical Manager) have now visited the site on 2 occasions and Daniel has done a detailed appraisal of the Mityana farmand other local farms.  The climate and soil are very well suited for the production of a range of crops and we have assisted the charity in the appointment of a well qualified farm manager.  We have obtained a range of second hand farm equipment which arrived in Uganda in a shipping container just before Christmas. 

We believe that the overall performance and organisation of the farm has increased since our involvement, with the harvesting of a maize crop, the clearing of undergrowth in other areas ready for cropping and the tending of a 3 year old orange grove more in line with the standards required.