Local farmers want 100,000 cocoa seedlings a season

Demand at the nursery stands at 100,000 seedlings overall per season. The nursery shed has capacity for 50,000. Tamale Steven Israel says the gap represents lost revenue and a missed opportunity to support 200 additional farming families.

It began with fruit trees.

“Youth, when guided well can make the world a better place!”

Tamale Steven Israel

In 2024 an International Baccalaureate (IB) grant gave Tamale and a team the initial funding to establish "a community-driven agricultural initiative", beginning with a fruit tree nursery bed. "The project was a success, not only in the number of fruit trees propagated but also the tangible hope it generated," he says.

The key lesson from that grant, he says, was "the power of listening to the market". As the nursery gained visibility, a new and urgent demand emerged from local farmers. They wanted high-quality cocoa seedlings.

"Cocoa is the lifeblood of our regional economy, yet farmers consistently struggle to access affordable, disease-resistant seedlings," Tamale says.

The goal now is to bridge the gap by scaling operations. Tamale says meeting farmers' demand translates directly into increased sales, and that the revenue will be reinvested in future operating cost, seeds and a small fund for fellow youths in the community who wish to do a similar enterprise. A local source of seedlings, he adds, reduces the need for farmers to source from "distant and less-reliable suppliers".

The work has an environmental side too. "Environmentally, we are sequestering carbon, preventing soil erosion and promoting agro-forestry," he says.

Tamale is a student at the Institute of Allied Health & Management Sciences in Mulago, Kampala. He is joining college for a course in Public Dentistry. The nursery has a second purpose, aimed at people the same age.

"I wish to show my peers that agriculture is viable, dignified and can be a profitable career path," he says.