Agriculture Training 2022

Agricultural training has taken place in Imvepi Refugee Camp and Mijale Zone during March. We are delighted to have a report from Julious Abate, Agricultural Officer in the DOL, Arua.

“The training covered six (6) days, in two locations, Imvepi and Mijale. It was attended by members from 10 different saving groups, also archdeacons, pastors and the CBFs (Community Business Facilitators). The training was participatory, CBFs and pastors who were already trained on the same concepts helped in facilitating the lessons. The trainees were active, asking questions on areas they didn’t understand properly, answers were provided and this made them understand all the concepts very well at the end. The training was holistic, it covered topics on agriculture, savings, health living and discipleship. The total number of members who attended the training in the two locations was 260 out of the possible total of 300 members.”

Topics covered in agriculture:

• Site selection, preparation and planning.
• Nursery bed design, sowing and management.
• Vegetable beds and the design.
• Types of vegetables, – leafy, root and fruit.
• Types of manure, preparation and application.
• Rotational system/plan.
• Fruit tree planting and management.
• Organic pesticide, preparation and application.

Aims/objectives of the training:

• To empower group members with knowledge and skills to make them experts in their own fields.
• To sharpen the farmers’ ability to make critical and informed decisions that render their farming profitable.
• To guide farmers to critically analyse and make better decisions on their field problems.
• To sensitise farmers/group members in new ways of thinking and problem solving.
• Help farmers learn how to organize themselves and their communities.

Comments from a participant

“My name is Grace Adede (right), God’s Mercy savings/agric group in Imvepi. I was wondering why this training did not happen to me before this time. I was kept in the dark for so long. I could grow vegetables but out of knowledge and couldn’t give me good yields. Several NGOs in Imvepi gave us veg seeds without training the members. Thank God for DOL/CRESSUK for giving this training. It has opened my eyes and mind that the small plot given to me by UNHCR can give me vegetables every season. I can use manures, I can make organic pesticides from plants at no cost to protect my vegetables, am not going to eat beans every day, I am just waiting for the rains to fall so I can begin my veg project at home.”

What is happening next?

Yunia Yango, another member of the Arua team will do the next phase of training, which is based around nutrition, in the first and second week of May 2022 for Imvepi and Mijale respectively. By that time, the groups will have raised quality vegetables which she can use to demonstrate practically to group members how to cook without denaturing them and keep the nutrients in place.