The UK`s Department for International Development (Dfid) has given a financial boost of £1m (about Ushs.4billion) to 12 districts in North and Eastern Uganda to improve food and incomes among 1,600 farmers and Send a Cow Uganda (SACU), a local NGO with over 25 years experience in livelihoods improvement across the country will implement the three year grant.
According to the Send a Cow Executive Director, Esther Nalubwama Ssempebwa, the money will be used to help families intensify agricultural productivity through sustainable organic farming, livestock production, animal traction, start up seed, and promoting gender equality.
According to SACU, within the three years of the grant over 12,800 individuals in the distircts of Lira, Oyam, Alebtong, Nwoya, Gulu, Amuru, Soroti, Mbale, Manafwa, Bududa, Sironko and Tororo will have become food and income secure. SACU shall have built communities that are resilient to climate change and the retrogressive practices that hinder women, men, boys and girls from achieving their full potential.
A statement from the Dfid-UK office said that the programme under Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF) is focused on contributing to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals through tangible changes to poor people’s lives.
Irene Mwoyogwona: Beyond the Numbers – How Pride Bank's Award-Winning CFO Combines Profitability and Social ImpactElizabeth Okware, the Programme Funding Manager at Send a Cow Uganda said the funding fits well in the organization’s five year strategic plan (2013-2018) of securing livelihoods of 10,000 vulnerable farmer households through climate sensitive agriculture, economic empowerment, institutional development and gender mainstreaming.
Okware added that the project will involve training of smallholder farmers in sustainable crop value chains, savings and credit, climate smart technologies, gender equality and give them productive assets that include; cross-breed Friesian cows, indigenous cows, oxen and ox-ploughs and start up seed to boost their agricultural entrepreneurship.
The project was launched by the Minister of State for Northern Uganda Reconstruction, Rebecca Amuge Otengo at Ajuk Sub County, Dokolo District. She said she is happy that the project will not only boost agricultural productivity but also help in skilling Ugandans with the appropriate social-economic trainings.
“I like the Send a Cow programme because it has a long term approach which is in line with the Government of Uganda’s Peace, Recovery and Development Plan 2 (PRDP 2) for Northern Uganda. This is what the government wishes to see NGOs do as partners in development. I am happy that the Send a Cow programme emphasizes that communities should be owners of their own development
