Over the last few years there has been a huge boom in small-scale farming initiatives within a multitude of NGOs around the world. In Kasese, Uganda, where I have spent the past year as a Global Health Corps (GHC) fellow, the story is no different. Many NGOs have started focusing specifically on small-scale farming programs as a means of increasing the agronomic knowledge and income of local farmers. While others, even organizations with little background in agriculture, are beginning to explore options to integrate programs into their larger agendas.

Small-scale farming is a valid intervention if it is implemented thoughtfully and appropriately. Lately, I’ve seen agreat deal of low resource initiatives that are not thoroughly researched, which can create farmer-dependency on NGO support, and do not utilize local knowledge. Working with farmers to improve techniques and introducing new seeds or crops to communities can be a wonderful means of ensuring both economic empowerment and improving family nutrition. However, witnessing these programs in action in my surrounding community, I have noticed various risks and areas for improvement.

Unfortunately, many of the organizations working directly with farmers in Kasese are small and have limited resources. While they have their beneficiaries best interests at heart, they sometimes do not have the capital to conduct background research, market analysis, or invest in the infrastructure needed for value-addition. Some Community Based Organizations (CBOs) ask their beneficiaries to start growing entirely new crops that they perceive as especially lucrative, such as garlic. However, they do not have the capacity to study the effects of saturating a tiny sub-county’s garlic market nor do theyhave the means to help farmers ship the garlic elsewhere. These practices have the potential to devastate families economically and can create an increased dependency between farmers and NGOs.

Most everyone living in Kasese district have small gardens for personal use and/or as a means of supplemental income. Through my experiences working with small NGOs and CBOs in Kasese, I have become concerned that some organizations discount local knowledge and farming practices. I have seen an NGO encouraging farmers to grow tomatoes in a semi-arid region of the district. This project might have had adverse effects on the community had a very vocal Program Manager, who happened to be from that sub-county, not stepped in and refused to implement the project. Farmers know their land and their environment best and it is time we recognize their expertise and use it to benefit program implementation.

Uganda is an ideal place to grow crops; with very fertile soil and two lucrative growing seasons, it has the potential to become an agricultural powerhouse. I worry that the increase and popularity of funding agricultural initiatives has encouraged far too many organizations to incorporate these programs haphazardly into their work. Despite this, I am confident that through thoughtful collaboration between farmers and NGOs, new innovations and thriving agricultural programs can become a reality for this district and Uganda as a whole.

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