PROJECT BACKGROUND
Agriculture and Development Program: (ADP) Implements its work in Kabarole and Bunyangabu Districts in the targeted sub counties of: Kasenda, Kiyombya, Buheesi, Rwimi, and Buheesi town councils.
The goal of ADP is to improve and sustain food security and livelihoods of farmers through sustaining production of quality food and nutrition security, monetary incomes, and to ensure their register, function and sustain themselves to contribute to their wellbeing. This is done through implementation of different out puts that include among others:
- Farmers adopt improved agricultural methods (e.g. efficient land operations, timely planting, planting in lines, timely weeding, mulching, harvesting etc).
- Farmers reduce production costs considerably through use of efficient technologies
- Farmers adopt and sustainably use organic methods to improve soil fertility/integrated soil fertility management.
- Farmers integrate IKT improved agricultural methods, reduction of production costs, improving soil fertility, diversifying their production and practicing agro-forestry.
- Smallholder farmers undertake bulking, collective storage and joint marketing
- Marketing groups together with ADP have jointly done a market analysis for a deeper understanding of marketing constraints in order to formulate an appropriate marketing strategy
- smaller holder farmers decrease post-harvest losses by adopting improved storage and value addition in order to fetch better prices at both regional and national markets
- Farmers have established saving and credit schemes for borrowing and re-investment in improvement of the value chain.
- groups have strategies to effectively raise group income into practice by leveraging on their indigenous knowledge
- farmer groups have established saving and credit schemes for borrowing and re-investment in improvement of the value chain by applying IKT.
- Groups advocate for their rights at local government level
Achievements of the project
- 92% targeted farmers adopted improved agricultural practices by 2021.
- 88% farmers adopted use of organic fertilizers (compost, farm yard manure, plant tea, liquid manure etc.) and other soil fertility management practices by the year 2021.
- 95% farmers grew more than 3 crops per season for both food and cash
- 95% old and new farmer groups were using selected quality seed
- 75% farmers stored food for consumption for the coming seasons
- 60% targeted farmer groups adopted growing of more than 5 agro-forestry tree species around their farms
- farmers practicing safe storage of food produce
- 20% the old groups established market linkages with prominent buyers
- 20% of farmers marketed their produce through other strategies other than open marketing
- 25% of groups established bulking centers and graded their products for sale before selling
- 61% farmers reduced postharvest losses from 37% to 10% of the total harvested produce
- 97% of the old groups registered and attained legal status
- 96% new groups registered and attained a legal status
- 30% of old groups were able to raise their lending capital annually by 35%.
- 94% of new groups had started savings and credits by the end of the phase.
Success story
Trainings and support in banana management from ADP has enabled me to look after my plantation in an improved way. I have put trenches for water catchment, mulched, applied compost manure and planted agroforestry trees for soil recycling and wind breaks and have seen changes in the size of bananas I produce. Before the training I would produce bananas less than 10kgs but now I produce bananas of 20-40 kgs. This has increased my income; I am able to meet 70% of my household requirements from the sale of bananas. Alituha Joseph. Kyabwiso Abagambakamu.
A well-managed banana plantation for Mr. Alituha Joseph
Conclusion.
ADP phase III project has been effective in giving skills, knowledge and support to small holder farmers which has have turned into increased production, income, and promoting food security and nutrition.
