Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda)

What Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda) does

Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda) is an independent, locally registered non-profit agricultural development organisation headquartered in Kampala, Uganda. Founded in 2012 as a Wageningen University seed sector project and transitioned to independent organisational status around 2021, ISSD Uganda builds pluralistic, market-oriented seed and food systems that serve smallholder farmer households, women and youth, refugee and host communities, and government bodies including the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF). Its service portfolio is anchored by the Local Seed Business (LSB) model and the Quality Declared Seed (QDS) regulatory class, through which 250 farmer-led enterprises across 63 districts produce seed of over 59 varieties of 14 self-pollinating crops, supplemented by the Participatory Integrated Planning (PIP) bottom-up methodology and programmes spanning watershed restoration (CommonGround), horticulture market development (HortiMAP), youth agri-preneurship, sector coordination, and natural resource management. ISSD Uganda's core technology asset is the Seed Tracking and Tracing System (STTS), a cloud-based digital platform with mobile application and QR-coded lot identifiers built in partnership with Eight Technology Consult; the STTS enables identity preservation and quality assurance across the seed value chain from breeder fields through QDS sales, addressing the documented prevalence of counterfeit seed (estimated at 40% of Uganda's seed market). The organisation is funded almost exclusively through international development grants and consultancies — primarily from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Uganda, GIZ, NORAD/DANIDA, the European Union, the Mastercard Foundation, and Netherlands Food Partnership — and does not generate commercial revenue from seed sales or technology licensing.

Name

Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda)

Legal name

Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda)

Website

https://issduganda.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISSD Uganda is an independent Kampala-based non-profit that strengthens Uganda's seed and food systems through farmer-led Local Seed Businesses, the QDS regulatory framework, the PIP methodology, and the digital Seed Tracking and Tracing System, serving smallholder farmers, women, youth, and government partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Development Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511), Farm Management Services (115116)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Planting & Seeding Services (Drilling, Transplanting) (AFACAAAA)

Keywords

• Seed sector development
• Agricultural development services
• Farmer-led seed production
• Seed tracking technology
• Rural livelihoods programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. International Development Grants and Donor Funding: ISSD Uganda is primarily funded through grants and development assistance from international donors including the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Uganda (EKN), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, GIZ, NORAD/DANIDA, European Union, Mastercard Foundation, and others. Revenue supports programme implementation, not commercial product sales.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ISSD Uganda is a non-profit agricultural development organization that strengthens Uganda's seed sector and rural food systems. It delivers grant-funded programs, methodologies, and digital tools—including the Local Seed Business (LSB) model, the Participatory Integrated Planning (PIP) approach, and the digital Seed Tracking and Tracing System (STTS)—targeting smallholder farmers, government regulators, and development partners across 63 districts.

Product overview

ISSD Uganda offers a portfolio of development programs and digital solutions focused on strengthening Uganda's agricultural seed and food systems. The core offerings include: the Seed Tracking and Tracing System (STTS) digital platform for seed sector regulation; the CommonGround Project for watershed and community resilience; and the HortiMAP Project for horticulture market development. These are complemented by six programmatic areas covering Resilient Seed Systems, Sustainable Agri-Food Systems, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Research & Learning, Policy Evolution, and Sustainable Natural Resource Management. The organization also promotes the Local Seed Business (LSB) model for farmer-led Quality Declared Seed (QDS) production and employs the Participatory Integrated Planning (PIP) methodology for community empowerment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CommonGround Project A four-year resilience-building project targeting 150,000 smallholder farmer households in highland watersheds of Rwenzori, Kigezi, and Elgon regions of Uganda, implemented through the Participatory Integrated Planning (PIP) approach.
• Horticulture Market Acceleration Platform (HortiMAP) Project A four-year horticulture development project promoting quality vegetable seed uptake and market acceleration for smallholder farmers in Uganda, in partnership with TechnoServe, PUM, and Wageningen University and Research Centre for Development Innovation.
• Seed Tracking and Tracing System (STTS) A cloud-based digital platform with mobile application for tracking seed from breeder fields through to certified/Quality Declared Seed (QDS) and sales, using unique seed field/lot identifiers and QR codes generated at seed lotting level in seed testing laboratories.
• Local Seed Business (LSB) Model A farmer-led seed production and marketing service model under which Quality Declared Seed (QDS) is produced and marketed by 250+ Local Seed Businesses, supporting smallholder farmers' access to quality seed of locally important crops not served by the formal seed sector.
• Participatory Integrated Planning (PIP) Approach A bottom-up approach that fosters collaboration between farmers and communities to develop household and community visions and plans for resilient farming systems, based on resilience-based stewardship principles.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150,000 resilient farmer households targeted through CommonGround project in highland watersheds (2022-2026)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022WENR is the lead implementing partner for the CommonGround project alongside ISSD Uganda. WENR provides technical expertise in environmental research and watershed restoration. The 4-year CommonGround project (2022-2026) is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Uganda.
• JESE, AID, Caritas Kabale, A2N UgandacoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Local implementing partners for the CommonGround project in various districts. JESE works in Rwenzori, Caritas Kabale in Kigezi, A2N Uganda in Elgon, and AID across implementation areas. They deliver field activities including PIP training and watershed restoration.
• TechnoServecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnoServe is the lead implementer of the HortiMAP project (2021-2024), a four-year horticulture project funded by the Dutch Government through EKN, implemented in partnership with PUM and WCDI.
• PUM (Senior Experts)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPUM provides senior expert support to the HortiMAP project alongside TechnoServe and WCDI, contributing technical expertise in horticulture sector development.
• Wageningen University and Research Centre for Development Innovation (WCDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWCDI is a historical partner that implemented ISSD projects (2013-2021) funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands, transforming Uganda's seed sub-sector. WCDI is also a partner in the HortiMAP project.
• Eight Technology Consult (U) LTDcoreTechnology or IntegrationEight Tech Consult is a local ICT firm with affiliation to Makerere University ICT faculty. They led the development of the National Seed Tracking and Tracing System (STTS) in partnership with ISSD Uganda, using mixed systems development life cycle with agile methodology.
• GIZ UgandacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIZ Uganda under its PRUDEV programme supported transformation of 18 farmer groups into LSBs in Northern Uganda. In late 2022, GIZ contracted ISSD Uganda to strengthen capacity of these LSBs. ISSD Uganda also shares its LSB model and QDS expertise with GIZ for scaling.
• World Vision UgandacoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorld Vision Uganda was the local implementing partner for GIZ's PRUDEV programme, establishing 18 LSBs in six districts of Northern Uganda (Lira, Oyam, Kitgum, Agago, Dokolo, Amolatar) during 2021-2022.
• Northern Uganda Resilience Initiative (NURI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNURI is a DANIDA-funded programme under the Denmark-Uganda Country Programme. It awarded ISSD Uganda a consultancy to strengthen its technical team in the LSB model and QDS system for 69 farmer groups in 13 districts. ISSD Uganda plans to market itself from engagement with NURI.
• National Oil Seed Project (NOSP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOSP is a Government of Uganda project through the Ministry of Local Government (2023 onwards). Over 10 years, NOSP plans to support 200 LSBs across 53 districts in West Nile, Northern, Eastern and mid-Western Uganda, explicitly using the LSB model pioneered by ISSD Uganda.
• Enza Zaden, Rijk Zwaan, Holland Greentech, Bakker Brothers, East-West Seed, SyngentacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuring the ISSD Plus project, ISSD Uganda partnered with six Dutch seed companies to promote uptake of quality vegetable seeds in Uganda, addressing the horticulture subsector with superior varieties.
• SNVminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNV contracted ISSD Uganda for a baseline consultancy study under the Climate Resilient Agribusiness for Tomorrow (CRAFT) project, which aims to improve food security through climate-resilient farming systems.
• Kilimo TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerISSD Uganda is a partner in the Youth in the Horticulture Sector project, a Mastercard Foundation Uganda initiative through Kilimo Trust that promotes climate smart technologies and innovations in rice-vegetable production and marketing for smallholder farmers.
• Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAAIF is the government regulator that ISSD Uganda supports through the STTS roll-out. ISSD Uganda's QDS framework is anchored in Ugandan national seed policy and regulations, developed in collaboration with MAAIF.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA): AGRA is the largest Africa-focused seed and soil-health systems NGO. It is the most direct peer to ISSD Uganda's seed-sector transformation, QDS-equivalent schemes, and smallholder-driven seed production across sub-Saharan Africa.
• Self Help Africa: Self Help Africa is an Irish NGO implementing smallholder enterprise, seed system, and value-chain programmes across East Africa. It is comparable to ISSD Uganda in organisational scale, methodology, and donor base.
• World Vision Uganda: World Vision Uganda is a major implementer of farmer-group and seed-systems work via the GIZ PRUDEV programme that ISSD Uganda capacity-strengthens. It is comparable as a domestic Ugandan counterpart and an implementing partner.
• TechnoServe: TechnoServe is a US-based non-profit implementing market-driven agricultural programmes in developing countries. It is both an implementing partner of ISSD Uganda (HortiMAP) and a direct peer due to overlapping smallholder horticulture work in East Africa.
• One Acre Fund (Tupande): One Acre Fund delivers farm inputs, training, and market access to smallholder farmers across East Africa. It directly competes for donor funding targeting smallholder productivity, seed systems, and farmer resilience in Uganda and neighbouring countries.
• Farm Africa: Farm Africa is a UK-based charity implementing market-driven agriculture, including seed systems and farmer enterprise development, across East Africa. Comparable to ISSD Uganda in mission, geographic focus, and donor profile.
• SNV Netherlands Development Organisation: SNV is a Dutch-funded development NGO operating across multiple developing countries in agriculture, energy, and water. It is a direct comparable for ISSD Uganda given its donor-base, agricultural-development focus, and contracting relationship with similar partners (GIZ, DANIDA, EKN).

Broad incumbents

• CGIAR / IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture): IITA is a global CGIAR research centre producing early-generation seed and crop varieties for tropical Africa. It is a broader incumbent working upstream of ISSD Uganda's LSB model, supplying basic seed for orphan crops that ISSD Uganda's LSBs multiply.
• Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is a large US-based humanitarian and development NGO implementing agricultural recovery and resilience programmes in fragile settings, including Uganda. It is a broader incumbent overlapping with ISSD Uganda's resilience and food-security programming.

Others

• Wageningen University & Research (WUR) – Centre for Development Innovation (WCDI): WCDI is the original incubator of ISSD Uganda through the ISSD/ISSD Plus projects, and remains a strategic partner (CoP facilitator, HortiMAP partner, WENR for CommonGround). It is the institutional ancestor and a closely linked ecosystem participant rather than a direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ISSDUganda
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/integrated-seed-and-sector-development-uganda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda)