Seeds of success

Like most parents, Annette, from the Karamoja region of Uganda, wants to give her children opportunities in life she hasn’t had herself.

Annette attended school for just six years, but wants a different story for her three young children, aged eight, five and two and a half.

“I want my children to study to earn a good living so they don’t become poor and have to work in people’s gardens like me” she says.

Annette pictured with her three children, a daughter Alello Peace, aged eight, a son Joshua Opio, aged five and a daughter, Trinity Mercy Jang, aged two and a half.

Until recently, Annette made a living doing casual work on other people’s farms, earning just enough to support her children now, but not enough to pay for secondary school.

“Primary schools are not very expensive, but my problem will come when my children get older and go to higher institutions. Their fees will be higher and I will need more money.”

With support from Farm Africa and CARE International’s CASCADE project, funded by the Dutch Government, Annette’s hopes for her children are now within reach.

Annette with a handful of iron-rich bean seeds produced by the Lum-Orwenyo Farmers Group, which have been certified by the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture.

She’s a member of the Lum-Orwenyo Farmers Group, which is working with Farm Africa to grow and sell high-quality seeds for iron-rich beans.

This means not just higher incomes and better nutrition for the farmers in the group but also better availability of seeds for other farmers in the region wanting to grow this nutritious and profitable crop.

Members of the Lum-Orwenyo Farmers Group in Aridai, Lotuei Sub County, Karamoja.

After harvest, Farm Africa’s support in obtaining certification for the seeds has been crucial to opening up new markets and higher prices for the group.

When packaged attractively, certified iron-bean seeds can command prices up to twice as high as when the beans are sold as food.

Beyond boosting incomes, the CASCADE project also improves nutrition. Each of the farmers keep some of the iron-rich beans for home consumption. They also grow a variety of vegetables in kitchen gardens at their homes, which they use to prepare tasty and nutritious new recipes learnt from Farm Africa.

Annette, right, pictured with her neighbour Dorcas, using pumpkin, cow pea leaves and groundnuts to prepare a nutritious meal.

“Before we attended Farm Africa’s cooking demonstrations, we just used to eat beans, maize, sorghum and sweet potatoes,” explained Annette. Now, she’s added pumpkins, cow pea leaves, protein-rich groundnut paste, and leafy green vegetables like sakuma wiki and malakwang (a type of hibiscus) to the family’s diet.

Her children are thriving on the new foods. “I feel very healthy now and my children are more healthy too. We have all put on weight since eating these different foods.”

Annette pictured in the sunflower plot outside her home in Aridai, Karamoja.

Annette has been able to grow more crops at home using a loan taken from the savings group set up with Farm Africa’s support. She added: “I am cultivating beans, maize, sunflowers and sesame. I am going to sell some to pay back the loan and will keep the rest for home consumption.”

The combination of better farming practices, higher incomes and healthier meals has set Annette’s family on a new path. As well as schooling, their future plans include rearing animals and improving their simple thatched roof house.