Better Seeds For a Better Yield
In Kigezi highlands in Kamuhoozi Village, Rukungiri District, Honesta spreads her bean harvest across a tarpaulin to dry. She begins to shell the 12 kgs of beans she has harvested from the 3 kg of seed received through Raising The Village. The yield is significantly higher than her previous harvests, and Honesta is excited about the success she has seen.
“I am going to get some food for my household and also sell some to get some money,” she shares. “I have always wanted to buy some utensils like plates and cups so I plan to do it this planting season. From the same harvest, I also keep some seeds for the next planting season.”
Honesta lives with her husband and seven children and has always been a subsistence farmer. For households like hers, agriculture is the main source of livelihood and often comes with challenges including a lack of high-quality seeds, the changing climate, and insufficient training on modern farming methods.
“In our community, we have a problem of climate,” Honesta explains. “We were unable to detect the right planting seasons. We have been equipped with skills through different trainings by Raising The Village, which have helped us manage better. We also receive hybrid seeds that are of higher quality and we learned how to apply organic compost manure that adds some nutrients in the ground,” she shares.
With the right training and tools, subsistence farmers like Honesta are now able to achieve large harvests that help them improve their incomes and break the cycle of ultra-poverty. With higher yields, households have better food security and are able to sell portions of their harvest to generate income and pay for other basic needs. Efforts are supported by the broader community, RTV’s team, as well as District Agricultural Officers who provide ongoing support on good agronomic practices and trainings.
“Poverty has been a really great problem in this community,” Arthur, the Chairman of the Agricultural Committee at Kamuhoozi Village, Kahoko Cluster shared. “We really appreciate Raising The Village for coming and investing in us. We now see a brighter future for our community and we promise to keep the momentum.”
Raising The Village is committed to ensuring sustainable development to ensure ultra-poverty is eradicated in our generation. With sustainable solutions like equipping communities with knowledge and the necessary tools to be agents of change within their own communities, we believe households like Honesta’s in Kamuhoozi Village can break the cycle of ultra-poverty and invest in their futures.
