By Natsuki Iida | Member of Advocacy Team
To all of you who have always supported us, here is the latest report on the project ”Hunger Relief for Most Vulnerable People in Uganda”!
BackgroundKaramoja region of Uganda, East Africa, is classified as one of the world's poorest areas. Nearly half the population is on the brink of starvation due to high food prices caused by the war in Ukraine and drought caused by climate change. Since last year, Terra Renaissance has been providing support to the residents of this region in producing their own food by utilizing irrigation facilities.
Empowering Communities Through Irrigation farming: Year Two Progress Report
While there are still differences in outcomes among the farming groups, we are pleased to report that they have been able to consistently harvest staple grains and vegetables this year, marking the second year of the project.
Eggplants, which struggled to grow last year, saw a doubling in yield this season thanks to the introduction of varieties better suited to the Karamoja environment. Additionally, Sukuma wiki (leafy greens), a new crop this year, is also growing well and is ready for harvest. These successes have brought great joy to the residents.
Both eggplants and Sukuma wiki can be harvested continuously over a certain period, which not only leads to cash income through sales but also improves nutrition through home consumption.
One of the most significant challenges we encountered during the project was record-keeping for production, management, and sales. Most of the people we support have not received adequate schooling and are illiterate. This means that even if they successfully harvest and sell their produce, the inability to keep accurate sales records hinders their business operations. Furthermore, financial matters can become a source of conflict within the group.
Currently, our Terra Renaissance staff is providing assistance, but in the future, the farming groups themselves will need to sustain these activities.
Therefore, in the second year, we started providing basic education aimed at acquiring simple literacy and numeracy skills. We travel from village to village with a single blackboard, conducting lessons in an open-air classroom setting.
Among the residents, there are many young people who were unable to attend school due to poverty. They are now learning eagerly with sparkling eyes.
In the near future, we hope that the members who have received basic education will become the backbone of the farming groups, supporting them through tasks such as bookkeeping. We will continue to provide careful support to make this a reality.
While challenges are inevitable, we will continue to move forward with the project, prioritizing a patient approach that respects the pace of the farmers. We remain committed to a process of trial and error, celebrating small improvements along the way. We kindly ask for your continued support.
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