Uganda - Women farmers make a better living in Uganda - August 2019 - Mickael Franci
Arupo Regina (59)
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In the Teso region of Uganda, Cordaid and partner organization SOCADIDO support female farmers who struggle to maintain their livelihood because of climate change, land depletion or a lack of tools and agricultural knowledge. Cordaid and SOCADIDO provide seeds, tools, technology and training.
The program started in August 2017 and has been implemented in 9 sub-counties in Teso and supports 9000 farmers in total. The main objectives are threefold: increase food production, reduce post-harvest losses and improve access to finance for the farmers.
Each participating farmer received 2 kilograms of seeds, mainly black-eyed peas, corn and vegetables like cassava and potato, which they plant in a plot of land of about one acre.
All 9000 participating farmers are put into groups of 30. The 300 farming groups are trained on harvest loss reduction, how to organize savings and credit and improve economic activities.
Each sub-county also has a marketing association. That is where the farmers collect their produce reserved for the market after they put aside all they need for their own consumption. The farmers get paid per kilogram of product sold. The association connects the sellers and buyers.
"The problem was that they had a poor bargaining position and often had to sell their products for a bad price", says Tom Edul, Program Coordinator for the Female Farmers Deserve Better program. "As a group, the farmers are much stronger and better equipped to improve their income."
Another vital factor in raising the value of their products is the possibility to save the harvests for a longer time. In some cases, the time of year greatly determines the price of the products. By providing the farmers with special bags, called PICS bags, fruits and vegetables can be saved for months. Now they can wait for the right time to sell and get a much better price.
The successful project is about to end in a few months, but SOCADIDO is eager to extend and expand. Edul: "We really want to continue. The results are great, and we have really made a difference in the lives of these farmers. Our methods of distributing PICS bags, providing tarpaulins for drying the harvest, which increases the quality of the produce, and the implementation of irrigation systems, are unique in this region. The farmers truly appreciate our efforts and they now have the confidence and courage to sell their products on the markets for a reasonable price. They can sustain themselves and even grow their businesses."
Uganda - Women farmers make a better living in Uganda - August 2019 - Mickael Franci
Arupo Regina (59)
---
In the Teso region of Uganda, Cordaid and partner organization SOCADIDO support female farmers who struggle to maintain their livelihood because of climate change, land depletion or a lack of tools and agricultural knowledge. Cordaid and SOCADIDO provide seeds, tools, technology and training.
The program started in August 2017 and has been implemented in 9 sub-counties in Teso and supports 9000 farmers in total. The main objectives are threefold: increase food production, reduce post-harvest losses and improve access to finance for the farmers.
Each participating farmer received 2 kilograms of seeds, mainly black-eyed peas, corn and vegetables like cassava and potato, which they plant in a plot of land of about one acre.
All 9000 participating farmers are put into groups of 30. The 300 farming groups are trained on harvest loss reduction, how to organize savings and credit and improve economic activities.
Each sub-county also has a marketing association. That is where the farmers collect their produce reserved for the market after they put aside all they need for their own consumption. The farmers get paid per kilogram of product sold. The association connects the sellers and buyers.
"The problem was that they had a poor bargaining position and often had to sell their products for a bad price", says Tom Edul, Program Coordinator for the Female Farmers Deserve Better program. "As a group, the farmers are much stronger and better equipped to improve their income."
Another vital factor in raising the value of their products is the possibility to save the harvests for a longer time. In some cases, the time of year greatly determines the price of the products. By providing the farmers with special bags, called PICS bags, fruits and vegetables can be saved for months. Now they can wait for the right time to sell and get a much better price.
The successful project is about to end in a few months, but SOCADIDO is eager to extend and expand. Edul: "We really want to continue. The results are great, and we have really made a difference in the lives of these farmers. Our methods of distributing PICS bags, providing tarpaulins for drying the harvest, which increases the quality of the produce, and the implementation of irrigation systems, are unique in this region. The farmers truly appreciate our efforts and they now have the confidence and courage to sell their products on the markets for a reasonable price. They can sustain themselves and even grow their businesses."