In early 2018, Uganda Development Service provided training to farmers in the area around Kamuli. They then visited farmers in their fields during November to see how successfully the objectives of the training had been implemented during the past season.
They had aimed to demonstrate new modern farming methods and how to adapt farming to be more resilient to variable weather conditions such as dry and drought times. They tried to bring solutions to farmers, to support farmers with financial literacy and entrepreneurship, and to teach farmers how to access seeds as a way of increasing productivity.
November's review showed that farmers had managed to grow more vegetables in the season. In addition, they started growing new fruits like passion fruit and pineapples.
Unfortunately, finding markets to sell their produce remains a challenge. One of their requests to UDS was for help to identify markets for their crops so that they can begin to generate a stable income as suppliers.
Limited water sources are another challenge. They've asked for UDS to find them a source which will work better both for their homes and their crops.
UDS concluded that there is a need for more support, to empower the farmers with more knowledge. They will try to identify markets in urban areas, and then buy produce from the farmers and sell it in urban centres.
To solve the problem of limited water sources, UDS will try to work alongside partners like Afrinspire, supporting the farmers to find a clean water source. They will also look at providing tools, like watering cans, as another way of helping farming activities to progress.