Uganda remains among the poorest countries in the world, ranking 162nd out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index. Agriculture, the backbone of the economy, is heavily dependent on the consistency of weather conditions which are becoming less predictable as a result of climate change.
Since 2016, over 1 million refugees from South Sudan have fled the conflict to Uganda, with an additional 60,000 arriving from DRC in 2018. While Uganda has attracted much praise from the international community for its integration model, refugees are still struggling to fulfil their basic needs.
REVIVE: Regenerative Earthworks and Agriculture in Vulnerable Ecosystems
ACTED recently began the implementation of the Regenerative Earthworks and Agriculture in Vulnerable Ecosystems (REVIVE) strategy in Karamoja, a historically marginalised region. This approach creates vital job opportunities to help families meet their immediate needs, while repairing the ecosystem by improving natural resource management. In July 2018, ACTED inaugurated a demonstration centre in Nakapiripirit district to encourage further dissemination of adapted techniques, such as agro-ecological practices and earthworks for water and soil management.
ACTED also launched the first pilot of REPARLE (Renewable Energy Powering Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Enhancement). The project reflects ACTED’s shift towards ‘3Zero’ programming, the goal of which is to implement humanitarian and development projects which promote zero exclusion, zero carbon and zero poverty. Through this intervention, rural farmers are given greater access to REPARLE sites where they can access value-addition services including: grain storage, cleaning, milling, and packaging. Such sites will eventually become off-grid green power generation centers, producing electricity for both the facilities and surrounding communities.
Improving food security for newly arrived refugees in Kyaka II
Due to multiple ongoing conflicts and a subsequent loss of humanitarian access, populations living in the troubled eastern provinces of DRC have experienced recurring rounds of sudden and large-scale displacement into Uganda. Between December 2017 and January 2018, over 10,000 new refugees arrived from DRC, settling in two settlements: Kyangwali and Kyaya II.
ACTED provided these new arrivals with unconditional cash transfers to allow the purchase of basic food and non-food items, combining this with assets distributions to promote livelihoods opportunities. ACTED oversees the work of camp residents and members of the local community in an effort to create tree nurseries, which contribute to reforestation efforts of the sites.