Background:
In Palorinya Refugee Settlement, access to livelihood opportunities (crop and livestock production) is limited mainly by land related challenges, i.e., infertile lands or land being fertile but too small (30m2) to support adequate crop and livestock production for larger households. To address these challenges, we undertook production of nutrient rich vegetables in kitchen gardens/backyard gardens and poultry production using locally available materials in only the 30m2. We registered increased production and access to nutrient rich, increased livelihood opportunities from sale of livestock and livestock products amongst our beneficiaries.
Goals of the Good Practice:
Over time, due to the failure of several poultry related ventures, the common mindset amongst farmers is that chicken can’t be profitably reared due to diseases in the settlement environment. Hence our objective was to change this negative energy within farmers and to mentor two model farmers from each zone of Palorinya Settlement as centres for dissemination of knowledge across the settlement.
What we did/are doing:
Using our poultry demonstration sites, deliberate trainings are conducted by the Community Based Facilitators on poultry management to farmer groups in the nearby. Some farmers take interest and make visits to our model farmers to learn how they are managing their chicken, given some have already lost their poultry flocks to disease.
Outcomes and achievements:
The beneficiaries have since developed love and trust in our programming as they managed to get 100% survival rates which was never the case with programs on poultry rearing previously ran in the same location.
Female birds are producing eggs daily for feeding their families, some have managed to sell mature male birds for between UGX. 35,000 – UGX. 40,000. Income from sales of birds has since been used to buy local hens for breeding purposes and excess money used for feeding family, feeding birds, treating birds and some saved in VSLAs.
A free-range system is being practiced ensuring the males improve breeds of chicken in the community in the longer run.
By MADRWA Lee Louis Ogwalulu (Agriculture Officer- PALM Corps, Palorinya Program)