Fruit growing for Nutrition and Income generating in Kamuli

PROJECT 

URICT UGANDA is a registered NGO founded 2005, focusing on rural women’s empowerment through skills training. URICT proposes to establish organic fruit farming (oranges and mangoes) in Bukyerimba village (pop. 7,567, 2010), Kamuli District, Eastern Uganda, and provide training for 180 farmers (75% women).

Only 50km from Jinja, Bukyerimba itself is poor and isolated, with an 89.7% illiteracy rate. Crops are plagued by pests and diseases (tristeza, wooly white flies, aphids), there is no health center or school, and the nearest clean water is 3km away.

Despite  such  setbacks,  participatory  rural  research  indicates  that  farmers  are  keen  to  increase  food security, and that the soil is suitable for fruit cultivation.

With startup support, and expertise from a US student in tropical pest and disease management, this community can produce fruit for home consumption and sales - ensuring economic self-sufficiency for the many women-headed households of Bukyerimba.

Although fruit and vegetable production is the main economic activity, farmers have received neither extension services nor training. However, URICT’s discussions with NAADS officials indicate that assistance will be forthcoming if the villagers start a self-help project. This will ensure sustainability after funding ends. The local NAADS Director has even agreed to be a project leader.

·    Establish organic fruit farming as viable means of employment, especially for women

·    Increase productivity and quality of fruit through superior varieties/ technology

·    Improve nutrition levels through supply of improved quality fruit

·    Reduce postharvest losses, and improve market access

·    To provide fruit seeds, farm inputs, and training in organic farming methods

·    To attract support of government agencies like NAADS

·    To establish a forum for collective farming and information sharing

·    To establish ongoing information exchanges with overseas partners

·    Training: In disease and pest control, agricultural best practice, record keeping, marketing

·    Creation of a stakeholders’ forum so farmers can jointly tackle problems. A committee of 11 farmers (nine will be women) will be meet monthly

·    Printing booklets for research and reference under guidance of the local Ugandan university student, who is from this village

·    Improved crop productivity and quality

·    Raised incomes, women will become self-supporting, and learn leadership and management skills

·    Learning new farming methods will increase yields

·    Collective bargaining power will ensure farmers can better access and compete on local markets, access research findings, and identify common problems

·    Improved nutrition, food security, more effective environmental management

·    Villagers will gain access to ongoing extension services, ensuring sustainability