Uganda Abayudaya : Agricultural Assessment Report
The following page is complementary to an assessment document produced during a 1 week visit to Mbale and the surrounding area in Uganda. The videos and pictures aim to provide an overview of agricultural programs in the region and specifically of the Abayudaya.
Table of Contents
Uganda
The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa with no coastline or maritime claims. The terrain is mostly plateau with a rim of mountains. The land is fertile, well-watered with many lakes and rivers. It mostly sits on a central plateau covered by rainforest. It has high volcanic mountains to the eastern and western borders. Uganda’s neighbors include South Sudan to the north, Kenya east, Tanzania and Rwanda south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the west. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda also lies within the Nile basin and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate.
Interesting Facts About Uganda
Mbale
Mbale city is located at the foot of mount Elgon and is the municipal, administrative, and commercial center in the Mbale district. Mbale is approximately 225 kilometres by road, northeast of Kampala on an all weather tarmac highway. The city lies at an elevation of 1,156 metres above sea level. The estimated population of the city is around 100,000. Mbale’s central location makes it attractive, competitive and a business hub in the region. Its location, multiple entry points and its close proximity to Kenya makes it accessible to all regions and provides opportunities for trade and investment. An industrial zone is being established in the city. Mbale is experiencing typical problems associated with urban areas such as high population growth and unemployment, lack of basic urban services and inadequate waste management.
The population of Mbale district was around 500,000 in the 2014 national census and current estimates are around 650,000 people in 2020. Of the population of the district roughly half a million, 82.4% are economically involved in agriculture.
The Abayudia community in Putti belongs to the Orthodox stream and has about 200 members, while the entire village of Putti is around 5,000 members. The community has a school named after Yonatan Netanyahu that includes Jews, Christian and Muslims. The school is financed by donors and was established by Enosh Mainah, the political and spiritual leader of the local Jewish community. The school offers teaching in Judaism and Hebrew language studies. The school has 220 students between the ages of 4-12 (kindergarten and primary school), 2 buildings with 7 classes with 20-40 students per class. To compare with public schools which have 200 students in a class. The school also provides lunch to all students.
The primary courses of study are English, science (including agriculture), mathematics and social sciences (e.g. history and geography). Prior to Covid, there were also teacher trainings at the school funded by the government. Since Covid that has been no education at the school.
The livelihood of the village is dependent on raid-fed Agriculture. irrigation of crops in not a common practice. Most of the village members in Putti grow on small plots for personal consumption. The main crops are banana, cassava, maize and beans. The Abayudia community has a communal land of less than 1 acre which is surrounded by lands owned by community members. The communal plot grow tomatoes, maize, onion and beans. There is strong interest in expanding the agricultural land with two large plots near the school that are suitable, one is 4 acres and the second is 6 acres.
There is no electricity in the village and the closest electrical connection point to the community school is 3 km away. There is a water well near the school. A tap is connected to the well and the pumping of water is done by a hand pump. The depth of the well is 50 m, the maximum discharge of the well is 2.1 m3/hour and the recommended pumping rate is 1.56 m3/hour.
Uganda Jewish Relief Agricultural Program
Uganda Jewish Relief is an NGO that was established about 4 years ago with the support of World Jewish Relief. The main activity of the organization is in agriculture, but also includes financing outstanding students with a difficult background, financing urgent medical expenses and food distribution in times of crisis. The organizations activities included operations in the following Jewish villages KKSY, Putti, Buseta, Nasenyni and Nalubembe. In the last season about 80 farmers were involved in the program.
The main activities includes:
- Land owning farmers receive support for inputs (seeds, fertilizers and chemicals), and guidance by the organization’s staff.
- Nonland owning community members who want to take part in the organization’s activities receive 0.5 acres in the first year and 1 acre in the second and third year if they demonstrate good results.
- In both programs there is full financing of inputs in the first year and 50% financing in the second year. In the third year there only guidance.
- When a farmer taking part in a project experiences failure in his actions, he is sent to another farmer in the project to learn from him.
- Farmers who complete three years in the project and show good results can start working in the organization as instructors.
- The organization encourages farmers to work in cooperation, for example in cultivating the land, thus enabling them to save on expenses.
- Students who are interested in receiving a scholarship for higher education donate two years of agricultural work.
The professional work of the organization operates under the support of an agronomist from Rwanda who mentors them professionally. The organization has developed an economic plan for growing peppers to achieve seasonal profit. The agricultural produce is mainly sold to Mbale Kampala, Busia and Soroti.
Hadassah school
The school is located in the town of Nabugoye, located about 5 km from Mbale. The school principal Kokas Keki has recently taken over management of the school following the passing of his farther. The school is under the Abayudaya and is receiving financial support from Kulanu.
The primary school had 450 students (prior to Covid), but in the last two years studies have stopped. the school is mixed with Jewish, Christians and Muslims, but teaches a lot of content of a Jewish nature. On the school grounds there is a small garden where one of the teachers teaches the students farming. The garden grows cassava and corn that are used for school purposes. In addition to the vegetable garden, a 5-acre plot was recently identified not far from the school and seeking support to purchase the site.
Mark Gelfand’s poultry farm
The chicken farm was established at the start of 2021. The venture belongs to Mark Gelfand who provided the capital investment and the operational/seasonal expenses are provided by Sam and Allen who are locally responsible for operation.
The farm produces 3 breeding cycles with 500 poultry per cycle. The site includes two breeding rooms, one for chicks and one for adults. The breeding rooms are a common space where all the chickens / chicks are together without partitions or separation. The Coop includes watering and feeding systems.
There is a plan for the construction of a larger coop that will be used for meat and egg production. Scale up of programs is intended to be established on a new 15 acre site.
St. Pauls
The farm is located on the northern outskirts of Mbale. At the center of the farm is a secondary school with students aged 13-18 study. Agricultural studies are Compulsory for the first three years.
The farm itself is spread over a large area of 150 acres (60 hectares) that includes a barn, a chicken coop, a greenhouse, agricultural areas and pastures. The barn contains about 40 cows, of which 11 are milking cows. In total the cows provide 40 liters together (average of 3.6 liters per cow per day). The farm also contains poultry, a chicken coop with 80 broiler chickens and 60 turkeys. The farm has a greenhouse that is used for growing vegetables and 85 acres (34 hectares) of open field production.
Pentacostal church
The Pentecostal church operates the Pentecostal Theological College and a farm known as Ebenezer Farm. The school is located within the city and the farm is 8.5 kilometers south of the city. The school was established in 1960 and serves as a teaching center for priesthood. In addition, the site offers a variety of courses for 1 year certificate or a 2 year diploma in agriculture and other subjects.
The farm size is about 13 acres, it is fence only on one side and there is no connection to electricity. The farm has a livestock component and a horticulture component. The livestock includes 8 cows, 4 of which are milking. The cows produce 35 liters per day all together, about 8-9 liters of milk per day per cow. The rest of the area of the farm is used for plant production, around 5.5 acres. This area includes a banana orchard, a plot for vegetables, a grazing area for cows and there are 5 additional acres for eucalyptus for industry.
Innovation Africa
Innovation Africa (IA) is a nonprofit organization that brings Israeli solar, water and agricultural technologies to rural African villages. https://www.innoafrica.org/
The organization has been working in Uganda, based out of Mbale since 2008. Innovation Africa installs solar-powered water pumps to access water from underground aquifers and bring clean water to taps installed throughout the village provides drinking water to rural communities. When possible irrigation projects are also completed. Within the assessment the team visited one of the villages that has implemented drip irrigation.
Agriculture for life project
The Agriculture for Life project started as a response droughts in the area. The project was established by Israel Siriri together with Issac and Nehemiah (who just graduated with an agricultural degree). The project works with all members of the village, Jewish, Muslim and Christian. There are currently 77 members of the project.
The project’s objectives are to achieve food and nutritional security for the local population by training farmers to improve their productions and agricultural methods.
The projects activities include:
- A 3 acre demonstration site that is growing 1) pineapple and bananas. 2) cassava.
- Nehemia is responsible for the training program and meetings occur weekly. On a monthly basis additional farmers from the area arrive for trainings done together with extension officers.
- There is monitoring of farmer’s fields for the purpose of providing support during the cultivation.
- There are trainings on financial management
- There is a finance available through the program.
- The program provides access to seeds, fertilizers and chemicals to farmers
A major obstacle in agricultural development within the villages is the nature of the agricultural system where there are many small plots with few continuous areas. This land fragmentation is common in all the villages in the region and in Uganda in general. Most of the plots in the village are small and up to an acre and a half in size. Only a few farmers have large plots. The workforce at the farm is based on the farmer and his family and only a few take daily workers.
Tikkun Olam Primary School
The team vistied Tikun Olam school, the tour was together with Yoash Mayende (the school principal), Yona, and four teachers from the school. The school has 19 teachers who educate 350 students between the ages of 4-15 mixed of both Jewish and non-Jewish students and staff. The school has three classroom buildings and a small computer room, all of which receive electricity from a solar powered system. The school also has a borehole that supplies water for the area.
Yoash is focal person for the school. The school has agricultural land of 5 acres. There is a also a small garden (1/3 acre) where students receive instruction from one of the school teachers. The activity at the garden is done with the understanding that most students will engage in agriculture in adulthood, so by getting involved in gardening they will gain vital agricultural knowledge
The vegetable garden is well maintained and is used for growing maize, sweet potatoes, eggplant, kale and cassava. The agricultural produce grown is intended to feed the students. There is also interest in establishing more profit oriented crops that can serve as income generation for the school. In addition, there is a plan to establish a livestock program at the school that will allow students to gain experience in this area as well.
The outbreak of Covid-19 has resulted in classes being discontinued and this has resulted in difficult economic times for the school and urgent need for donations.
Awoja catchment and irrigation schemes
The visit to Awoja is 90 km North from Mbale in the Soroti District which is a lowland area characterized by a large number of water sources. The visit included Riverside farm, a training center established in 2014 and farmers in the area.
The farm has 20 acres of land, which is divided to several plots. There are currently 14 farmers cultivating 0.5-1 acre plots and the rest by the farm itself. The farm has an irrigation system that includes drip and sprinklers as well as 4 greenhouses for production.
Oranges are a major crop in Awoja and there are even large commercial plantations that specialize in the crop. Oranges of several varieties are grown in the area, including: Valencia, Hamlin and Washington. A major challenge is the post harvest processing of the oranges and market connectivity.
