Page 24 - Vol.39-No.5

HARVESTING AND STORAGE

INCLUSION THROUGH AGRICULTURE FOR

REFUGEES IN UGANDA

In that light, the Food and Agriculture market, keeping money aside for emergen-
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) cies and using the rest to feed her children.
invests in self-reliance for the benefit of “I realize that the skills I have gained
everyone – from the country and com- have changed my life,” says Betty. She
munities that host refugees, who are often even shares these new skills with others
themselves food insecure, to the refugees, in the settlement: “Many others come to
who can build skills to support their live- learn from me.”
lihoods in their place of displacement or
back home, should it become safe to re- The passion fruit crop has proven popular
When Betty Ocira Acayo arrived in turn there. in the local market, and if in the future the
new farmers scale up production, FAO will
northern Uganda with her five children, Betty was invited to join FAO’s Refugee be able to connect them to larger buyers
her first concern was where she and her Agricultural Value Chains for Economic from the capital who can buy the fruit in
family would live – followed closely by how Self Reliance project. Funded by the IKEA bulk. This will further increase the sustain-
she would feed them. Foundation, the project’s goal is to build ability of the passion fruit value chain in
Betty’s family crossed the border in sustainable livelihoods for both refugees Uganda and improve the economic out-
2016, alongside over 500 000 other peo- living in the Kiryandongo settlement and comes for farmers.
ple, mostly women and children, fleeing Ugandans living in the neighboring com-
violent conflict in South Sudan. The Gov- munities around it.
ernment of Uganda welcomed families like Through the project, Betty joined an
Betty’s, providing a home for her family FAO-implemented Farmer Field School
in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement and a where, by working on an experimental gar-
40x40 metre plot of land for her to farm. den side-by-side with other refugees and
While Betty had some experience of kitch- Ugandans, she learned effective agricultural
en gardening, many refugees from South techniques, including vertical gardening, to
Sudan arriving in Uganda had primarily been maximize the space in her plot. She also
livestock keepers, with limited experience learned irrigation techniques that require
of farming. less water, an important consideration in
Many of the 1.5 million refugees in water-scarce Kiryandongo. In the meantime, beyond self-reliance,
Uganda are in the same situation as Bet- Participants were also provided with the project is also contributing to the
ty – they have been displaced outside of chickens and taught to keep them. The peaceful coexistence of refugees and their
their country for longer than five years, eggs served as a needed source of protein host communities. It is not uncommon for
and they don’t know when it will be safe or income for many families. In addition to tensions to arise between refugees and
for them to return home. crops for her family’s consumption, Betty local communities, especially over access
Despite the inclusive policies that grant and the other Farmer Field School partic- to natural resources like water and trees
refugees land for farming as well as the ipants were given seeds and learned how and an imbalance in humanitarian and de-
right to work and move freely in Uganda, to grow passion fruit specifically to sell. velopment assistance between the groups.
a lack of economic opportunities means In South Sudan, Betty had only grown FAO is working with the Government of
that more than half of refugees continue crops for her family to eat. In contrast, Uganda to address the root causes of these
to rely on emergency distributions of food the Farmer Field School in Kiryandongo tensions by creating sustainable forestry
and cash to meet their basic needs. Over promoted building skills related to busi- management plans and promoting the use
90 percent of refugees are highly eco- ness development, marketing and financial of alternative energy sources.
nomically vulnerable, with more than one literacy. This helped Betty and the other Meanwhile, the project is also helping
third experiencing food insecurity. farmers in her group formalize and register to improve the relationship between the
with the district local government, which groups, specifically by including host com-
opens up access to additional financing, munities in all of the project activities and
including government grants. creating mixed Farmer Field School groups
of Ugandans and refugees so that they
They have also formed a savings group
that allows members to put away mon- can learn new skills from each other and
ey collectively and lend to members for collaborate towards a common goal.
emergencies or for investment back into
their agricultural businesses.
For Betty and the other women who
make up 70 percent of participants, the
project has been transformative. When
Refugees have long said that relying on Betty’s husband died in South Sudan, her
emergency assistance is not a long-term family lost their breadwinner. Now she has
solution. They wish to become self-reliant taken on that role, selling passion fruit,
and simply need the tools and skills to do so. eggplant and other vegetables in the local

22 Vol. 39 No. 5 Circle 29 on enquiry card