Gudie Leisure Farm, in its multipronged programmes and projects, is at the forefront of building a critical mass of 1,000,000 wealthy, healthy, intelligent, energetic, disciplined, fulfilled, and resilient Ugandans that will drive transformation of themselves, their families, communities, the country, and the continent in our lifetime by the year 2030. We call these Agripreneur Champions.
The growth and transformation of these Champions is measured on 10 metrics namely:
1. Business Worth
2. Gross Monthly Income
3. Monthly Savings
4. Number Of People Employed
5. Household Standards of Living
6. Adoption and Practicing Climate Smart Methods
7. Social Embodiment
8. Net Annual Income
9. Accumulation Of Assets
10. Compliance
To date 388,513 Agripreneur Champions are abreast onto this transformation journey. Our vanguards and torchbearers include:
• 873 cottage managers from 873 parishes charged with training of 87,300 from 30 districts in all regions of Uganda;
• 150 trainers from Metropolitan Kampala charged with training 150,000 households
• 1480 school agri-clubs with a reach of 149,696 students and pupils to grow and consume vegetables and fruits
• 135 district medicinal and aromatic plants champions to lead the MAPs journey into our meals and health.
All the apprentices have been provided a cottage starter-pack of indigenous vegetable seeds, royal red pawpaw seeds and seedlings of medicinal and aromatic plants to enable them lead the healthy the organic agriculture and healthy feeding movement.
Their mandate is to make sure 1 million households in Uganda are consuming at least 500g of fruits and vegetables and 5g of spices daily by the end of 2025.
Their mandate is to make sure 1 million households in Uganda are consuming at least 500g of fruits and vegetables and 5g of spices daily by the end of 2025.
By the end of 2030 they will drive the cottage industries of products like healthy snacks, soups, sauces, condiments, dressing, spices, teas, cosmetics and the like.
Through its nutraceuticals programme, Gudie Leisure Farm addresses the health needs of people, animals, plants, and the environment in an organic sustainable manner. This industry has attracted the best talents of our times, across countries: nutritionists, food scientists, pharmacology experts, organic cosmetologists, environmentalists, and quality assurance specialists.
We have innovated and produced organic related plant health products that enrich and restore soil fertility, control and treatment of plant pests and diseases, to boost optimal growth and maximum yields.
In the area of personal care and health, we have cosmetic products from natural plants that guarantee head to toe health.
All our products entail creation of an ecological footprint, from carbon sequestration plants and trees, zero waste and recycling practices that turn waste to health.
The key waste product in our White meat value chain is litter and dung. These become core raw materials in the insect protein production, biogas and organic soil fertilizer.
Being a leader in the chick hatching and omelette culinary sector, with egg shells as by-products has led us into an organic tile cottage manufacturing line. The niche of soft bones from fish, pork and chicken feed the mineral rock lick block cottage industry. The inevitable polyethene bag packaging for our feeds and meat is now the raw material for plastic pavers cottage industry.
We are guided by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The transformer we are nurturing have the duty to build a resilient body:
• take a balanced diet,
• rest at least 8 hours a day,
• drink at least 3 litres of water,
• consume 500g of fruit and vegetable a day,
• consume at least 350 grams of white meat per week,
• Maintain a balanced interpersonal relationships for good emotional health
• ever immaculately kempt
• seek immediate medical attention through saving for their health when they are healthy.
We intentionally focus on fruits, vegetables, and medicinal aromatic plants as key drivers of our health. They give us a healthy source of vitamins, minerals, fibre and plant chemicals that are essential for the wellbeing of humans and animals.
The Analysis of the Nutrition Situation in Uganda( 2010), revealed that micro-nutrient deficiencies are common with a prevalence rate of Vitamin A deficiencies at 5.4%, zinc-20% to 69% in children and about 30% of pregnant mothers affected by anaemia.
Poor diets with lack of fruits and vegetables contribute to stunting. Stunting is irreversible: beyond the age of two, the damage done by stunting cannot be undone. Our strategy is the first 1000 days of mother and infant balanced nutrition. Stunted children have a weak immune system, poor brain development and suffer poor health. Stunting leads to emotional and psychological problems in adolescence, such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem.
Worldwide one in four children under the age of five suffered from stunting. In Uganda, stunting affects nearly one in three children under the age of five. In addition, 54% of adults in Uganda suffered from stunting as children. The annual costs related with child under nutrition are estimated at 1.8 trillion Uganda shillings, equivalent to 5.6% of GDP ((USAID, in the year 2017, some 3.9 million deaths worldwide were attributable to not eating enough fruit and vegetables (WHO, 2019).
Moreover, global health costs associated with unhealthy diets are projected to reach USD 1.3 trillion/year by 2030 (according to a study by FAO and the Chile’s Social Development Ministry – Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: FAO and Ministry of Social Development and Family of Chile,2021). Insufficient intake of fruit and vegetables is estimated to cause around 14% of deaths from gastro-intestinal cancer worldwide, about 11% of those due to ischemic heart disease, and about 9% of those caused by stroke (Afshin et al., 2019).
We live in a natural pharmacy-Uganda. Despite vegetables and fruits being fast growing and readily available, on average, we consume only about two-thirds of the recommended minimum amounts of fruit and vegetables (calculation based on Afshin et al., 2019).
Another area where we perform poorly is spices. Besides being vital in improving the flavour and taste of the food, they are exceptional antioxidants, antispasmodic, antiseptic, digestive, carminative, DNA protector, and stimulants of many physiological functions. This has gross implications in building a critical population of transformers.
A typical Ugandan consumes less than .1 gram of spices a day while a typical Asian consumes 14g, American 4gm and European 5g.