How mini irrigation scheme transformed lives of Koboko women

What had become a bleak situation for the people of Lobule Sub County, Koboko District, has transformed into a beacon of hope, thanks to the successful establishment and operationalization of an irrigation scheme over the past seven months.

Lobule Sub County, home to over 300,000 people, has seen a significant influx of Congolese refugees over the past five years, who have since been integrated into the local community. This growing population has placed immense pressure on the environment, leading to deforestation as trees were indiscriminately cut for firewood and land was cleared for cultivation.

Before the refugee influx, Lobule enjoyed regular rainfall, supporting two planting seasons: April to June and August to December. Farmers thrived, producing bumper harvests that supplied food to Koboko town, with some produce even exported to Yei in South Sudan. However, with changing weather patterns, the region now faces food shortages and depends on imports for survival.

Mr Sulaiman Banga, the Local Council Three (LC3) Chairman of Lobule Sub County, expressed concerns about the ongoing climate crisis. "For the past four years, we have experienced unusual weather patterns. Instead of producing food, we now depend on supplies from Koboko town, DR Congo, and South Sudan," Mr Banga lamented.

He added, "Our farmers planted maize in March, but it dried up before maturity. The rains finally came in July, but they were destructive, damaging crop gardens and access roads." Gloria Kanini, the Assistant Agricultural Officer for Lobule Sub County, highlighted the cultural barriers hindering women's involvement in production. "Cultural norms prevent women from owning land, and the increasing scarcity of water has worsened domestic violence," she said, noting that building resilience in the face of these challenges is difficult.

To address these issues, some women in Lobule, under the Angili Women’s Group, came together to form a savings and farmers group. Their efforts bore fruit in January this year when Koboko District officials connected them to the Rural Initiative for Community Empowerment (RICE) West Nile, a local civil society organization. 

Mr Patrick Amacha Dagu, the Project Officer at RICE West Nile, explained that after assessing the needs of Lobule, they quickly initiated a mini-irrigation scheme to support the women. "The women were ready to undertake vegetable farming during the dry season, so we focused on providing water and distributing it to the fields. This allowed them to grow vegetables in high demand in both Lobule and Koboko town," Dagu said.

Since the establishment of the irrigation scheme, the women have successfully grown and sold vegetables twice, earning significant revenue. Taisha Leila, a member of Angili Women, shared her excitement: "I earned over 800,000 shillings, which I had never seen before. We used the profit from the first season to buy seeds, till the land, and pay for planting."

Ms Rehmah Candiru, another member, mentioned that the group has reserved irrigation water for the next dry season. She expressed optimism about improving her family's livelihood by the end of the year.

The group’s chairperson, Ms Rukia Ajonye, revealed that some of their husbands have now joined them after witnessing the success of the initiative. Meanwhile, Rashid Agele, the landowner who offered his land to the Angili Women Farmers Group, explained that he used to grow tobacco but decided to switch to vegetable and tree planting after seeing the damage tobacco farming caused to the environment.

In a neighboring school, Tukaliri Primary School, both local and refugee pupils under their "Young Farmers" group are now engaged in food forest establishment to support their nutritional needs and conserve the environment, also with help from RICE West Nile.

Pax Sakari, the Executive Director of RICE West Nile, emphasized that the irrigation scheme is a women-led project aimed at tackling both livelihood challenges and environmental degradation. "We’ve spent over 600 million shillings on this project, with support from AWO International in Germany. However, the demand for similar projects is overwhelming, and we need the government to prioritize irrigation schemes to mitigate the effects of climate change."

The members of Angili Women Group have ambitious goals. In the next three years, they hope each member will own a semi-permanent three-room house, a motorcycle, and increased savings in their SACCO group, all thanks to the irrigation scheme.

Mr Ashraf Mambo, the LC5 Chairman of Koboko District Local Government, praised RICE West Nile’s intervention, saying it has significantly reduced the service delivery burden in the district. "We look forward to collaborating with more civil society organizations and development partners to improve service delivery and alleviate poverty in our communities."

Angili Women Farmers Group currently has over 40 members, with expectations for the number to double by the end of the year.