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Women farmers champion sustainable agriculture
Susan Nakate picks mature vegetables from her demonstration garden. PHOTO/ ESTHER BRIDGET NAKALYA
What you need to know:
- Farmers have adapted techniques such as water retention to improve soil quality Christine Nalwami utilises water trenches and sloped pathways to direct running water into her plantation.
In Magongolo Village, Mityana District, a group of six women farmers are working tirelessly to revive the soil, reclaim indigenous seed varieties grown by their ancestors, and transfer knowledge of traditional farming practices to their community.
The Nutritional African Foods Initiative (NAFI), under the African Women's Collaborative for Healthy Food Systems, in partnership with East and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers (ESAFF-Uganda), is implementing a project aimed at documenting the nutritional value of eight selected crops: local mangoes, local bananas, amaranthus, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, bambara nuts, cowpeas, spider plant, and millet.
This initiative is led by six women farmers involved in an empirical study across six countries including Uganda, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Christine Nabwami, Susan Nakate, Florence Nakiwala, Hawa Ndagire, Daisy Nakiribira, and Joyce Nazziwa share a transformative journey filled with resilience and focus on improving crop yield through observing agro ecological farming practices, which they intend to preserve for future generations.
NAFI project
As women in agriculture, they incorporate indigenous knowledge into seed selection and storage, locally grow foods using traditional farming methods, and contribute to value addition to support the marketing of food crops. The women farmers influence the research by identifying the crops’ resilience to climate change and its impacts, as well as the preservation of crop nutrients through preparation methods that nourish their households.
Hailing from the central province, these women-led farmer groups share a common history regarding crops, influenced by cultural connotations and socially constructed norms. They have transitioned from foraging for wild amaranthus roots to challenging cultural beliefs that associate growing bambara nuts with famine. Through their efforts, they have improved the health of their homes and communities by reintroducing crops that nourish the population.
Capacity building
To build the capacity of each woman farmer, the collaborative provided smart phones and offered training on using smart phone cameras to document their farming experiences. This initiative has increased their commitment to contributing to healthy food systems and has enhanced their growth as seasonal farmers exposed to relevant farming materials online.
The women engaged in focus group discussions that focused on eight themes around topics on climate change, food production and security, land rights, and local support. They used the platform to share reflections, experiences, and recommendations, the interactive and in-depth nature of the discussions offered them timely solutions for critical decision-making.
They were also equipped with an understanding of land rights through lessons on nutritional components of plants, water retention techniques, and local solutions for making organic pesticides from fish and milk, and using sacks as planters to create kitchen gardens in areas where land access is limited.
Agricultural practices
Farmers have increasingly adapted techniques such as water retention to improve soil quality. Christine Nabwami utilises water trenches and sloped pathways to direct running water into her banana plantations. The water washes away valuable nutrients from the land, which then return to her garden to enrich the soil. Nabwami also gathers dry banana leaves and applies animal waste to nourish the soil.
Navigating challenges
The women face challenges, such as soil contamination due to chemical use, limited access to farmland, and insufficient knowledge of newly reintroduced crops in the area. “I cannot access land from my father-in-law because he uses chemicals to treat the soil,” says Joyce Nazziwa.
“Bambara nuts are not commonly grown here, and the community needs more awareness of their nutritional benefits to boost market sales,” she adds.
Despite these challenges, the farmers have succeeded in marketing their produce. The community prefers purchasing their chemical-free crops, although they still face pricing issues since buyers are often friends and neighbors who purchase from their homes.
Value addition
The medicinal properties of crops such as amaranthus have been used to address anemia. “At home, we usually boil these leafy vegetables and serve them to pregnant mothers, and the elderly to help increase blood levels,” says Nakate.
To preserve the nutritional and medicinal value of crops like bananas and leafy vegetables, the women steam them in banana leaves and mash them together for mealtime. For the leafy vegetables, they add a paste of groundnuts, which is mixed and heated, serving as a sauce for dishes such as sweet potatoes, millet bread, and bananas.
Daisy Nakiribira increases the shelf life of her produce by pounding leaves of cowpeas (locally called gyobyo) and packages the powder in airtight plastic containers, which she sells for Shs20,000 per kilogramme.
Looking ahead
The community in Mityana encourages the farmers in their efforts in contributing to healthy food systems through activities like seed sharing and dialogues.
Margaret Masudio, the NAFI lead and the chairperson of ESAFF women’s forum applauds the women’s commitment towards improving food systems.
BEST PRACTICES
Farmers have adapted techniques such as water retention to improve soil quality Christine Nalwami utilises water trenches and sloped pathways to direct running water into her plantation.
