Vani-Coops
Uganda
In Uganda, vanilla is a precious resource. But the farmers who grow it live in poverty, depend on intermediaries and have no voice in the supply chain. Vani-Coops works to change that structure.
The context
Ugandan vanilla — the same Bourbon cultivar as Madagascar's, the most sought-after on the international market — has been recognised since 2018 as a strategic national crop. Yet the farmers who produce it remain in conditions of vulnerability: unpredictable price fluctuations, dependence on intermediaries, limited access to direct markets, insufficient post-harvest processing techniques.
The result is a paradox common to many agricultural supply chains: those who produce the product are the ones who benefit from it least.
The project
Vani-Coops is a three-year project by ISP in Africa — in partnership with Makerere University, VANEX, Etifor, Una Casa per l'Uomo and Casa Costa Foundation — working with 5 cooperatives in the districts of Mukono, Jinja, Rukungiri and Kasese. Direct beneficiaries: 22,685 people, 70% of whom are women.
The project works on three axes. Productivity and quality: training for nearly 3,000 farmers on good agricultural and post-harvest practices, equipment for the cooperatives, and the creation of a laboratory for vanilla quality analysis. Market access: a study of the European and Italian market, training on international certifications, a study visit to Italy for a Ugandan delegation, and direct networking with market players. Rights protection: child labour prevention, training on social security and labour rights, and multi-stakeholder conferences with authorities and ministries.
Our contribution
Casa Costa Foundation ETS contributed €10,000 in 2026, directed toward the creation of the vanilla quality analysis laboratory — a tool made available to cooperatives to certify and increase the value of their product on the international market.
Our role in the project also includes organising a networking event in Italy to directly connect Ugandan farmers with Italian market players, reducing dependence on intermediaries.
Why we do it
The vanilla supply chain is a precise example of the kind of structural injustice we are interested in addressing: not an emergency, but unbalanced power relations that perpetuate poverty. Supporting Ugandan cooperatives means working so that those who produce are paid in proportion to what their work is worth.
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