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Research and Consultation

The need for the project was identified by BCCT through Comic Relief-funded research, completed in 2006. The resultant report “Impact of Conflict and HIV on Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Northern Uganda”, by the African Refugee Community Health and Research Organisation (ARCHRO) was supported by one of BCCT’s original partners, the Gulu Women's Empowerment Network (GWENET) and other local organisations.

The research involved consulting Internally Displaced People (IDP) across eight camps, (containing 186,000 IDPs), Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), schoolteachers and political leaders. The report estimated that over 300,000 OVCs aged 15 or under had lost one or both parents through HIV/Aids and the impact of war.

Key findings from the Research Project  

• Owing to the impact of conflict, the local community were unable to cultivate land;

• 50% of OVCs were adolescent, and they are now young adults, who determine societal future– economically, socially, culturally;

• OVCs were unable to learn to be productive as agricultural skills were lost because children could not learn from observing their parents and others at work;

• Illiteracy was high and there was limited understanding of rights;

• There was a need for programmes promoting education, employment, food security and credit access;

• Farmers needed support to train others in crop production.  

The research informed successful applications to Sainsbury’s Headley Trust and others for funding for an 18-month Pilot Project in Agoro, creating Agoro International Vocational Institute (AIVI) on 36 acres allocated by village elders. The ongoing Pilot, started in September 2008, by BCCT, has been testing the viability of developing demonstration farms, co-locating training centres and local farmers. The Pilot informed development of the forthcoming full, three-year project and led to creation of an Elders’ Parliament by the local community.

BCCT’s consultation process included Government Ministers, Lamwo and Kitgum Council officers, senior local National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) officials and facilitators. A community survey, covering eight parishes, comprising 31 villages, funded by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), was conducted by GWENET, to inform a plan for community reintegration. Just under 300 young people were interviewed during August and September 2009.

Key findings from the Pilot Project 

• Demonstration is critical to teaching and training. This finding contributed to the development of a strategy to create demonstration farms, to provide models for the creation of sustainable livelihoods and supply chains;

• The culture of dependency is a major hurdle, and the strategy therefore places emphasis on co-located tenant farmers, model-farm leaders and a comprehensive Outreach Programme;

• Former IDPs need support to develop greater understanding of environmental, economic and rights issues;

• Skills development should begin in a participatory, informal way, followed by formal training;

• As survival and having enough food is of paramount importance to former IDPs, work and training without immediate demonstrable material benefits are not a priority for them. Therefore, the project needs to focus on 'results through seeing and doing'. 

Assessing Economic Sustainability

To develop a strategy to rebuild the agricultural base in Lamwo District and move beyond subsistence farming to produce yields for sale and distribution, an agronomist was recruited to assess the agricultural and relevant skills base, design crop rotations and recommend an agricultural strategy, following extensive consultation with local people, officials and experts.

A successful model was identified on Kenya’s Ugandan border, run by Appropriate Grassroots Interventions (AGRI). Their experience informed development of the strategy, using the least productive AGRI farms as a guide to set production targets and analyse the potential of the local and regional demand and supply chains.

AGRI were enlisted to assist AIVI to set up a demonstration ‘model’ farm for the Pilot Project and establish targets for yields and income, based partially on the performance of the farms in Kenya.

The financial modelling, drawing on the above factors, and extrapolating actual performance in the Pilot Project, shows that it will be possible for the demonstration farms to achieve gradually increasing yields, leading to a sustainable 60% gross margin by Year Three.

More about the project - Achievements and Photo Gallery