Agriculture Skills Training

The Impact

The new location is near the Mudja Displaced camps and based on the one hectare of rented land in 2023. A total of 40 participants took part in the program in 2023, including 10 women who worked with the program youth to provide practical skill transfer and growing knowledge. An additional benefit of the women and youth working side-by-side is that it creates an atmosphere that fosters trust, understanding and mutual respect. The program lead is a volunteer agronomist who provides technical training on how to utilize limited growing space and about high yielding crops that are fast growing and have a high nutritional value.

Full Cycle Agriculture Education

Other topics cover practical skills such as paying attention to the depth at which seeds should be planted, water usage, composting, crop rotation, seed collection, and when to harvest.. The main crops for this program are sweet potatoes and russet potatoes because they are:

1. A staple in the diet.
2. Relatively sturdy crop.
3. High yielding production.
4. Possible to harvest more than once in a year.

With each harvest, a percentage of the crop goes to the camps and a percentage becomes potato seed for the next planting. An important takeaway for the participants is sense of community. The camaraderie and shared experiences creates a sense of belonging and positivity about the future.

Our Newest Program

Our agriculture program has taken on greater importance since ongoing civil unrest has led to more people fleeing to the camps and their rapid expansion. The land that was supposed to be used for agriculture became a housing camp, which meant that a new location had to be secured for farming, and the additional expense of land rental cost added to our budget. Additionally, products such as herbicides became expensive and very difficult to source, leading to the decision to shift to organic farming.

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