Kevin Oryema directing the tractor driver during opening of the garden in Nwoya district. Photos by Arnest Tumwesige
By Arnest Tumwesige
Gulu: Acholi is one of the sub regions in Uganda with vast fertile land. Yet, those who engage in farming do so on a scale only fit for home consumption.
But, the narrative on underutilization is slowly changing among farmers in Nwoya, Omoro and Lamwo districts.
Enrolled by CAPABLE International, Uganda, an NGO based in Gulu city, the farmers are undergoing mindset change and mentoring that they have what it takes to deliver and only require a “spark” to achieve it.
Alice Aciro, 58 years old, is one of the 30 beneficiaries of the spark under Wanen Anyim Farmers’ Cooperative in Palaro parish, started in 2022 in Odek sub county Omoro district.
To qualify, a household baseline survey is conducted to ascertain the level of vulnerability and each household’s access to a minimum of five acres of land.
A team from CAPABLE, comprising a business mentor, agronomist, counselor, and adult literacy teacher, commences weekly engagement for two years before the group graduates to a cooperative.
During each engagement, the members are mentored on farming as a business, book keeping, creating alternative sources of income, drawing household plans, good agronomic practices and adult learning.
Counseling aims to iron out any possible conflicts that may arise within a household over issues like selling of household property, alcoholism, child neglect among others.
“It was not easy at the start, I thought it was the usual way of group formation and there is no follow up but you receive the money, I almost pulled out due to too many demands from the team,” Aciro told GNNA.
Through persistence, Aciro, who used to cultivate about two acres per season, now cultivates five acres. She was lucky to receive the Parish Development Model (PDM) loan in 2023 and now plans to open nine acres to plant soya beans, maize, groundnuts, and sim-sim among others.
In Langele Parish, Lii sub-county Nwoya district is Nwoya Ogelo II soya beans and maize cooperative society with 49 active members.
Boniface Lukol, the cooperative’s general secretary, said they started in 2021 under close monitoring. Through that, Lukol is among successful farmers who farm on a 13 acre piece of land.
“In a year I can save up to a minimum of shs30m. That is from farming only. ….Again from the knowledge we got from CAPABLE Uganda, I’ve managed to open my shop and I have a produce store. Out of all; shop, farming and produce buying, I’ve managed to buy a car which is worth shs70m,” Lukol told GNNA.
Why the model is good
Evelyn Adong, the Vice Chairperson of Nwoya Ogelo II soya beans and maize cooperative society, said farming requires easy access to inputs, financial support, and mind-set change and extension services.
Besides, the support by CAPABLE, Adong noted that farmers are also provided with knowledge on post-harvest handling and keeping the produce to sell when their prices increase.
“The side income generating activities individual farmers have are helping us a lot to keep our produce. Otherwise, selling produce when prices are low makes it hard for a farmer to realize the benefits,” Adong explained.
The 48 year old, has completed her six-room commercial house which had stalled at window level, bought a maize thresher at shs5m in October 2023, and plans to build a residential house.
Doris Abalo the Lamwo district secretary for production and marketing, said the approach employed by the NGO makes the beneficiaries’ part of the implementation plan which eases ownership, and has empowered farmers to venture into large scale commercial farming unlike before.
“The farmers are given soft loans with an interest of 1.5% and pay back after selling their produce. The recovered money including the interest is ploughed back into the groups,” Abalo told this publication.
Bridging the gap in service delivery
Jomo Godfrey Oyet, the Omoro district production officer, said all sub-counties are supposed to have an agricultural officer, a veterinary officer, fisheries officer and their respective assistants, but this is lacking.
According to Oyet, out of the 15 sub counties and two town councils in Omoro, there are only 11 extension workers serving at a ratio of 1:3000 households, which limits their access by farmers.
He commended the approach employed on marketing the produce, saying it makes farmers realize the benefits of their labor.
“They mobilize farmers in those groups once they are in a group, they produce and do what we call bulk marketing. In most cases farmers tend to sell their produce because they need immediate money. But the approach of CAPABLE is that they also give some financial support and that money will be deducted after sale,” Oyet explained.
Annual Agricultural Survey (AAS) 2019 Statistical Release by Uganda Bureau Statistics show that, households under Ngetta Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI) under which Acholi sub region falls, have the largest average holding size, with 2.6 hectares, and the smallest, with 0.4 hectares.
However, the same survey indicates that the farmers who had received information or advice from extension services was only about 5%. This is lower than the 12% recorded in the survey of 2018.
Farmers construct stores, buy tractors
Due to distance of stores constructed by government and partners, farmer groups like Wanen Anyim Farmers’ Cooperative in Palaro parish, Odek sub-county are constructing their own.
Bosco Oryema, aged 58, and the Cooperative’s chairperson said their plan is stand-alone after two years of CAPABLE’s regular engagement.
With the nearby government store 5kms away at Odek trading center, the members were inspired to construct their own facility with a plan of starting value addition once construction is completed.
When a GNNA reporter visited the group in Odek, the members who had turned up for their weekly meeting, proceeded to the construction site to assess the extent of the work and promised to complete it in the next two months.
“CAPABLE gave us 100 bags of cement and 90 iron sheets as part of their contribution. We contributed labor and bought other materials which I estimate at shs27m,” Oryema explained.
Kevin Oryema, the chairperson of the tractor procurement committee for Ribe Aye Teko Gony Cogo group, said instead of members constructing a store, they opted to buy a tractor at shs70m.
The money was realized from individual savings and loans from lending institutions. The group is located in Gony Cogo village, Lutuk parish in Lii sub-county Nwoya district.
Oryema, who is part of the group with 47 members, told this publication, the zeal to procure a tractor was based on the past experience of unnecessary delays.
“You would go hire a tractor from other people and they don’t come in time. You would find long lines. As a result, we realized this was delaying farming,” she noted.
The tractor is now opening gardens for none and member farmers at a uniform rate of 100,000 shillings per acre and on a daily basis, it generates about shs10m.
Since she started farming two years ago, the 54 year old has bought a plot of land at shs2.5m in Anaka sub-county trading center, a mowing machine at 300,000 shillings, and bought 22 local goats with a plan of reaching 100 by next year.
Operational inputs
In 2018-2019 when CAPABLE did a baseline survey to inform the intervention, 40 groups kick started the poverty alleviation drive. However, effective this year, the number has doubled, a deliberate measure taken to ensure there’s visible change in the community.
Dominic Idro, the Co-Founder of the organization said once a group is formed in a particular area, formation of another group must be at least within a radius of two kilometers so that the number of households with improved household income increases.
So far, the NGO is spending about shs2.6b annually as a loan which is given to the beneficiaries.
However, the farmers procure seeds with guidance from agronomists. Other areas of individual farmer expenditure are ploughing, weeding, and harvesting.
Idro however said, visioning of each household is a priority and whatever is planned is kept in the system.
Idro told our reporter that each group has 30 members, and staff grouped into eight zones who interact with two groups daily, bringing to 300 farmers weekly.
As a result, nine primary producer cooperatives have been formed and registered with the Ministry of Trade in Nwoya and Omoro districts.
“People have the potential to come out of poverty. What is required is waking them up and providing opportunities not in the form of donation but having business relations with them,” Idro emphasized.
The NGO is operating in the sub counties of Ot-apoyo, Ongako, Bobi, Koro, Lakwaya, Odek, and Acet town council in Omoro district. In Nwoya district; Lii, Alero sub-counties have been enrolled. Lukung, Potika, Palabek Ogili, Palabek Kal and Nyimur in Lamwo district are also benefiting.
