CIDI
Agro Processing & Value Addition
CIDI adds value across shea butter, coffee, maize, honey, bamboo, wild mango, cashew, cassava and non-timber forest product value chains — turning raw harvests into quality, market-ready products and sustainable farmer incomes.
Program 1 · Shea
Shea Butter & Natural Oils
CIDI works with partners to improve shea post-harvest handling, value addition, quality, packaging, enterprise development and market linkages like Shea Beauty Company Ltd.
Oil Extraction in Progress
Raw oil flows from the hydraulic press into the collection bucket — the first value-addition step after the raw material arrives on site.
Processed Shea Butter
Smooth, pale-yellow raw shea butter, settled in bulk tubs and ready for packaging.
Value Addition
Shea Butter Products
Finished, labelled and packaged shea butter — processed and branded by CIDI's partner enterprise, Shea Beauty Company Ltd.
Organic Raw Ugandan Shea Butter
250g jar — rich in natural antioxidants and Vitamins A & E, branded under Shea Beauty Company Ltd.
Natural Oils
Complementary Oil Products
Alongside shea butter, the same processing operation extends into a range of natural, cold-pressed oils.
Pure Castor Oil
100ml dropper bottles of cold-pressed castor oil for hair and skin care.
Avocado Oil
Nutrient-rich avocado oil, cold-pressed and packaged for retail.
Program 2 · Coffee
Coffee Value Addition & Processing
CIDI supports coffee producers and enterprises with post-harvest handling, quality improvement, value addition, business development and market linkages.
Processing
From Yard to Bag
At Kitasiba Farmers' Coffee Processors, coffee moves through intake, drying, bagging and dispatch before it's sold on.
Kitasiba Farmers Coffee Processors
The processing yard, with coffee drying and sacks stacked at the store entrance in Kakuuto, Kyotera.
Post-Harvest Storage & Collection
Dried coffee packed into sacks and staged in the open yard, ready for weighing and transport.
Weighing & Logistics
Sacks are checked, loaded onto trucks and dispatched from Store 1 to buyers.
Post-Harvest Handling & Marketing
Quality Assurance & Market Access
On-site milling equipment and third-party certification back up the quality of what leaves the yard.
On-Site Milling
A powered mill housed in its own room handles the hulling and milling step ahead of grading and packing.
Certified Quality & Marketing
UNBS Permit No. 13595-0031-0478 — Kitasiba Farmers Maize Millers certified to use the Uganda Standards Certification Mark (US EAS 44:2019), opening market access.
Program 3 · Maize
Maize Processing & Value Addition
From the co-operative factory floor to milled, sealed maize flour — CIDI adds value across the maize chain, strengthening food security and farmer incomes.
Processing
Milled, Weighed and Sealed
At Kitasiba Farmers' Co-operative Society Ltd Maize Factory, supported by CIDI and Caritas, maize is milled, weighed, bagged and sealed on site.
Kitasiba Farmers' Co-op Society
The maize factory, supported by CIDI/Caritas — the collection and processing hub for smallholder farmers.
Weighing
Each sack is weighed on the factory floor before it's recorded and moved on.
Milling & Packaging
Milled flour flows from the CIDI-branded cyclone collector into sacks for weighing and sealing.
Sack Sealing
A worker uses a portable sewing machine to seal filled sacks of quality maize flour.
Program 4 · Honey
Honey Apiary Processing
CIDI and partners strengthen beekeepers through improved honey harvesting, post-harvest handling, processing, quality assurance, packaging and market access.
Apiary Field Work
Hives, Colonies & Inspections
CIDI technicians work directly with farmer groups to set up apiaries, bait hives, and monitor colony health.
Hive Baiting
A beekeeper in protective gear baits a hive box at Para village.
Technical Backstopping
Apiary support at Rwamutonga B, Buseruka, Hoima — Western Region.
Extraction Training
A group session on honey extraction equipment, building processing skills.
Hive Inspection
Routine hive inspection with Pandega Apiary farmers.
Value Addition
Harvested Honey Products
Pure, natural honey harvested by CIDI-supported farmer groups — packaged, branded and brought to market.
Bunyoro Natural Honey
Jars of pure forest honey — labelled and priced for the local market.
Market Exhibition
Honeycomb and bottled honey showcased at a community trade fair, connecting farmers directly to buyers.
Program 5 · Bamboo
Bamboo Value Addition & Processing
CIDI partners with bamboo enterprises to strengthen processing, product development, quality, branding and market linkages for sustainable commercial growth.
Processing & Value Addition
From Standing Cane to Product
Bamboo enterprises process raw cane into furniture, baskets and crafted goods.
Bamboo Furniture Workshop
An open-air workshop where artisans build furniture frames from cane — strengthening processing capacity.
Handcrafted Bamboo Products
A craftswoman weaves bamboo strips into finished goods — product development and value addition.
Woven Bamboo Baskets
Finished, colour-banded baskets ready for branding and market linkages.
Program 6 · Wild Mango
Wild Mango Processing
CIDI supports wild mango producers and enterprises in post-harvest handling, processing, value addition, packaging and access to markets.
Program 7 · Cashew
Cashew Value Addition
CIDI works with partners to improve cashew post-harvest handling, processing, value addition, quality assurance, commercialization and export market access.
Harvesting Raw Cashew Nuts
Smallholder farmers harvest and gather raw nuts at the farm-gate — the starting point of the value-addition chain.
Cashew Kernel Sorting & Processing
Workers at a partner processing facility sort kernels by hand — quality assurance ahead of grading.
Grading & Quality Assurance
Graded Cashew Kernels
Sorted and graded kernels — quality assured, labelled and ready for commercial and export markets.
Cashew Sorting Line
Workers sort raw cashew nuts along a full processing line at a partner facility — a critical quality-assurance step.
Graded Cashew Kernels
Kernels graded by size and labelled for commercial and export markets — value addition that earns premium prices.
Program 8 · NTFP Value Chains
Non-Timber Forest Product Value Chains
CIDI works with public, private-sector and community partners to strengthen NTFP value chains from post-harvest handling through market linkages.
Program 9 · Cassava
Cassava Value Addition & Processing
CIDI works with farmer cooperatives to strengthen cassava post-harvest handling, chipping, drying and value addition for food security and commercial markets.
Processing
Peeling, Milling & Benchmarking
CIDI supports cooperatives with post-harvest handling and processing equipment across partner groups.
Peeling & Sorting
Roots are peeled and sorted into basins by hand, at a monitoring visit to Pajau Upper, Pakwach.
Benchmarking Milling Equipment
A benchmarking visit to Abongo Women group's cassava milling machine.
Milled at the Co-op
Dried cassava run through a small mill at Greater Kamuli Cooperative Society, Buyende.
Value Addition
Sun & Solar Drying
Chipped cassava is dried on raised racks, open ground and in solar tunnels — preserving quality ahead of milling and market.
Sun Drying on Wooden Racks
Chips dried on a raised wooden rack at Pajau Upper, Pakwach — preserving quality ahead of milling.
Open-Air Ground Drying
Large-scale open-air drying at Greater Kamuli Cooperative Society, Buyende — Eastern Region.
Solar Greenhouse Drying
A monitored solar drying tunnel at Kumi Area Cooperative Society — controlled drying for consistent output.
Cross-Cutting
Connecting producers, enterprises & partners
CIDI connects producers, enterprises and partners to strengthen quality, value addition, business capacity and sustainable market opportunity.
Adding value at the source
CIDI works with smallholder farmers and women-led cooperatives to process, brand and market their harvest — turning raw produce into quality products and sustainable incomes.
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