Akanyo farmer field school in Nebbi

(UGANDA) All across West Nile and Uganda, staple dishes demand that one has a hefty serving of fresh veggies.

For Alice, buying fresh vegetables for her family to eat each and every meal was proving to be an economic burden. So for Alice, joining a Farmer Field School where she could learn all about growing fresh vegetables in her own small plot was such a joy. She was happy to share her story at one of our visits to the Farmer's Field School.

On May 25th, as the World Renew team approached Akanyo Farmer Field School in Wabiroch village in Vurr parish, Nebbi district, they were warmly welcomed with a song of praise and thanksgiving for the project. On this particular visit, using drama and testimonies, the Farmer Field School demonstrated how the integration of the green manure and cover crops into their farming system has helped in weed control, increased moisture retention, and improved soil quality. It has also made life at home so much better.

Alice gave her praises of kitchen gardening and bee keeping: “Before I joined the group I used to buy greens and vegetables from other people and sometimes even spent nights without food due to lack of vegetables to cook alongside the main dish. But now, I grow my own vegetables and even have enough to sell to others in need. In addition to access to vegetables at home, the sale has helped me meet my weekly savings within the group and I have also bought some chickens. As a result of the apiary management training, I shared the knowledge I got on bee keeping with my husband and this helped us to improve the care for three local bee hives we had and we have since bought two more bee hives. Now we have a total of five bee hives. We aspire to have more bee hives with better honey production with improved types of hives.”

Another member who had embarked on tree planting shared this: “Before I joined the FFS, I would become very upset with my husband every time he planted a tree. I thought he was just making our homestead bushy. But after learning about the importance of trees, especially fruit trees, together my husband and I have planted oranges, mangoes and brother-heart. The trees are not only a cool shade on a hot day but we anticipate having fresh fruits and also an income from them.”

The group has 20 female members that regularly get together at their group garden to learn new techniques to improve their individual gardening. World Renew supports a team of project facilitators that meet with the FFS group to discuss challenges and opportunities to improve their livelihood in a holistic manner.

The role of the facilitator is just like that of a catalyst; to cause the change that is required. The ability existed within each household to make the changes but the information leading to the change in each one’s actions needed an external person to bring it to light and identify it.

“Before I joined the FFS group, I used to collect all the grass in my garden and put it away for burning. I thought this was a better way of keeping my garden clean and productive yet I was losing the soil nutrients. Now I have planted cow peas, mocuna and lablab beans to suppress the weeds in the crop and add nutrients to my soil," said Anyayolyel Tereza Onegi, a member in the same group. After realizing the benefit, Tereza put into practice what she learned.

It's often through small beginnings that the potential for better livelihood improvement in the community is enhanced. The Farmer Field School methodology has helped participants embrace environmental stewardship and responsibilities to incorporate agricultural conservation practices that will influence existing farming systems.

The change in attitude and behavior takes time. However, once it has taken root and is demonstrated by the members of the Akanyo Farmer Field School, it could have a long lasting impact on those involved in the practices that are being promoted by the support you have provided.

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