Partnerships for Forests (P4F) is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and is one of several programmes within the broader Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use (IFSLU) Programme. Uganda's shea belt covers roughly half of northern Uganda, where Vitellaria paradoxa subspecies Nilotica shea is the dominant tree in the savannah parklands. Shea trees support agroforestry systems and conserve soil and water, so higher income from standing trees can strengthen incentives to protect parklands, making the value chain a potential fit for P4F support.

Formal trade remains fragmented and unquantified. During a 2026 scoping exercise, P4F engaged several sector stakeholders and found strong buyer interest in Nilotica shea. However, no one in the sector can yet quantify buyer demand or how much Uganda produces, processes and exports, because existing data is fragmented across organisations.

P4F is commissioning this assignment to close these two gaps before deciding how to support the sector, by consolidating available supply-side data and engaging international buyers directly to quantify demand.

Closing date: 16:00 GMT+3, Friday 20 November 2026.