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A group of farmers from Ayanyunga Micro Station, during an engagement with officials from implementing partners of the Dutch-funded “Power of Voices” project, at Ajere Village, Osoye Parish, Nyapea Sub-County, Zombo District last week. Photo by Mike Rwothomio.
A group of farmers from Ayanyunga Micro Station, during an engagement with officials from implementing partners of the Dutch-funded “Power of Voices” project, at Ajere Village, Osoye Parish, Nyapea Sub-County, Zombo District last week. Photo by Mike Rwothomio.
By Mike Rwothomio
Zombo
A large group of farmers from Nebbi, Zombo, and Arua districts in Uganda’s West Nile Sub Region are urging an extension of the “Power of Voices” project to enhance their farming output and improve their livelihoods.
Started in 2020 and due to end in December 2025, this project, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and backed by Oxfam, is carried out by partners including Uganda Agribusiness Alliance (UAA), Agency for Community Empowerment (AFCE), SEATIN Uganda, ESSAF Uganda, and CSBAG Uganda.
The five-year agricultural project, named Power of Voices (Fair for All), has trained thousands of farmers in Nebbi, Zombo, and Arua on modern farming techniques, focusing on coffee and vegetable crop production.
The vegetable crop initiative, led by UAA, connects key players in the farming supply chain to set shared goals, prioritize actions, and promote a sustainable and inclusive agribusiness sector in Uganda.
Gloria Beriu, a 21-year-old mother and lead farmer from Ajere village, Osoye Parish, Nyapea sub-county, shared her success after joining the Ayanyunga Micro-station.
“The project taught me how to grow vegetables with better techniques, increasing my crop yields. With onion and cabbage seeds they provided, my harvests have grown, earning me more income,” she said. “I’ve started building a permanent house with the money from my crops. We need more training to keep improving our lives.”
Beriu also requested support for irrigation tools and farm equipment, as crops often fail during the dry season, and farmers share limited tools like wheelbarrows.
Alphonse Okello, a lead farmer from Rada village, Osoye Parish, Nyapea sub-county, Zombo, praised the project for timely support and training.
“UAA taught us skills like proper crop spacing and provided seeds, fertilizers, and tools like wheelbarrows,” he said. “I started with one acre, but with my earnings, I bought four more acres and now farm on a larger scale.” Okello also called for an extension, highlighting marketing challenges. “Last season, I grew four basins of high-quality onions, but prices fell from 80,000 shillings to 25,000 shillings per basin, which was a big loss.”
Dominic Akenda, another lead farmer from Ajere village, praised UAA for improving vegetable crop quality and yields. “With money from selling onions and cabbages, I can pay my children’s school fees easily. This project is a blessing, and we ask funders to keep supporting us because we have more to learn,” he said.
UAA has boosted success by training lead farmers in good farming practices and safe pesticide use, educating buyers on sourcing safer vegetables, and fostering trust between farmers and buyers through discussions.
Addressing hundreds of farmers last week at Ayanyunga micro station in Osoye Parish , Nyapea Sub County, Zombo District, Mariam Okiror, Head of Program Development at UAA, promised continued efforts to increase onion and other crop production.
“As Uganda Agribusiness Alliance, we are interested in scaling up the efforts of the PVP project beyond, by working with you and a small foundation to scale up the onions and introduce another value chain that we shall agree here. We as Uganda Agribusiness Alliance believe in working with you” Ms Okiror explained
“This is a major project with multiple partners. If we manage funds well, we may secure more funding,” she added.
Muddy Oyikuru, a project officer at AFCE, one of the partners, said the goal is to “improve farmers’ lives through various support programs.”
The project supports coffee and vegetable farming, aiding six small farmer groups with 1,388 members (665 women and 723 men) in Erussi sub-county (Nebbi), Warr, Paidha, and Nyapea sub-counties (Zombo), and Logiri sub-county (Arua).
In Uganda, where over 70% of people rely on farming, this project has strengthened farmer groups and partnerships, promoting innovative, fair, and sustainable agriculture for success.