YUMBE — Farmers in refugee-hosting communities in Uganda’s West Nile sub-region are increasing rice yields and earnings despite prolonged drought, following the introduction of improved seed varieties and modern farming practices under a Japan-funded initiative.
The intervention, targeting refugees and host communities in Yumbe and Madi Okollo districts, is using climate-resilient agriculture to improve food security, strengthen women’s economic empowerment and reduce tensions linked to competition for natural resources.
Under the project, farmers are receiving training in improved rice production, quality seeds, and better post-harvest handling practices, with early results showing significant gains in productivity and household incomes.
One of the beneficiaries, Taban Rashid, a farmer from Pitia village in Kululu sub-county, Yumbe district, says his rice harvest has increased more than threefold since he adopted the recommended farming methods.
Rashid, who has received training through the project since 2025, said he previously relied on broadcasting, a method of scattering seeds across a field, which required more seed and made weeding labour-intensive.
“I would usually use 50 kilogrammes of seed to plant an acre, and weeding one acre would take me 15 days,” he said.
Before the training, he harvested about eight bags of rice per acre and earned approximately sh800,000. After adopting the improved practices, his harvest increased to 25 bags per acre, while his earnings rose to about sh2.5m.
Rashid also said training in post-harvest handling helped him understand that rice quality depends on practices from planting and harvesting to storage, rather than solely on the milling process.
“I used to blame the milling machine for breaking my rice. But with the knowledge I got from JICA, I came to learn that the quality is made in the garden, protected in the store, and the machinery only reveals the work you did from planting to storage,” he said.
The improved knowledge has also enabled Rashid to train other farmers, extending the benefits beyond the initial group of beneficiaries.
The gains come under the Project for the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Refugee Settlements and Host Communities, funded by the Government of Japan, with UN Women Uganda as the grant recipient and Peace Winds Japan as an implementing partner.
The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) is implementing the livelihood component, focusing on technical training, improved rice varieties and better agricultural practices.
During a joint monitoring mission to project sites in Yumbe and Madi Okollo districts, officials inspected demonstration gardens to assess implementation, progress and emerging challenges, including the prolonged dry spell affecting the region.
Natasha Butorac, the Women, Peace and Security Specialist at UN Women, said the initiative recognises the connection between climate change, competition over natural resources and conflict in refugee-hosting communities.
“Part of the aim of this intervention is to bring in drought-resilient and disease-resilient varieties of rice,” she said.
Butorac said improved agricultural productivity could increase household incomes and food security while easing economic pressures that may contribute to tensions between refugees and host communities.
She added that the intervention aligns with Uganda’s Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan, which recognises climate-related risks as an emerging threat to peace and security.
The project builds on lessons from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-supported Eco-PRiDe Rice project, which demonstrated the potential of improved rice production but required stronger participation by women.
“But by this project, I’m really happy to say that the vast majority of the farmers who are taking part are women,” Butorac said, noting that their participation is challenging stereotypes that women cannot effectively engage in agricultural production.
Improved seeds tested by prolonged drought
A key component of the intervention is the introduction of NERICA 4 rice, a variety known for its disease tolerance and some drought tolerance.
Despite the prolonged dry spell, demonstration gardens planted with the variety have shown encouraging results, according to NARO officials and participating farmers.
Dr Emmanuel Odama, a senior research officer at NARO, said the improved variety was helping farmers maintain crops under conditions that could severely affect conventional varieties.
“If we had local varieties of rice, we would not be able to see anything here,” he said, referring to the impact of the extended dry spell on the demonstration gardens.
Amaku Shaban, chairperson of the Dongoloto Farmers Group in Kululu sub-county, said farmers were also benefiting from training in line planting, which has replaced their previous practice of broadcasting seeds.
“We were doing broadcasting; now we sow in line, and they also brought us a new seed variety called NERICA 4. It is disease- and drought-resistant. If it was our ordinary variety, we wouldn’t have any crop to see,” Shaban said.
He said access to improved seed and practical agricultural knowledge had renewed farmers’ hopes of improving their livelihoods despite unfavourable weather.
Dr Moses Biruma, director of research at NARO Abi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Arua, said a needs assessment conducted before the project began identified rice growing as the preferred agricultural enterprise among the targeted farmers.
The intervention has therefore focused on addressing farmers’ needs through improved seed varieties, practical training and better production and post-harvest handling methods.
Farmer-to-farmer training strengthens adoption
To ensure farmers apply the skills they acquire, NARO is using the “Musomesa” field school approach, which combines group demonstrations with individual practice.
Under the model, participating farmers establish a “mother garden” for group demonstrations while setting up individual “baby gardens” where they replicate the recommended practices.
“While we are planting in the mother garden, individual farmers should be planting in their baby gardens concurrently. When we are planting in line, you should be planting in line,” Odama said.
He said the approach enables farmers to practise the techniques simultaneously rather than relying solely on demonstrations conducted at group level.
Participating farmers are required to have access to at least half an acre of land, a requirement that has also encouraged cooperation between refugees and members of host communities.
According to Odama, some host community members have offered portions of their land to refugees, enabling them to participate in the programme beyond the land access arrangements traditionally available through the Office of the Prime Minister.
He said the collaboration was strengthening mutual understanding and coexistence between the two groups.
NARO is monitoring the project’s performance against baseline data collected before implementation, using the adoption of recommended farming practices and changes in yields as key indicators of progress.
