Causecast

by SARAH NELSON, Contributing Writer

After more than two decades of civil unrest and constant looming war, some Ugandans get the news that they can finally return home. Since the beginning of the war, in the mid-1980s, more than one million Ugandans have lived in displacement camps within their country’s border but forced away from their homes and impending war violence. While tensions remain between the Ugandan government and rebel forces, armed conflict came to a halt during the 2006 peace process.

The need to rebuild a sustainable economy has led the U.N. to take an active role in assisting with the move back into community life. The U.N. Farming and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has developed a way to not just return individuals home, but also give them a means of generating income. By educating young farmers, many of whom have spent their entire lives in displacement camps, the U.N. is pioneering an entirely new agricultural industry in Uganda. The plan is to cultivate a drought-resistant, highly nutritional long-grain rice called New Rice For Africa (NERICA) that yields 30 percent more rice than what is currently grown locally. It’s like super rice.

The process of rebuilding the agricultural sector began in 2008 and will continue in phases over the next two years. So far, eight districts have benefited from the program with nine more to come in the second phase. With an entire generation of Ugandans knowing no life other than that of the displacement camps, there is a huge need for re-entry training. Many households are made up of young families who have never had the opportunity, or need, to earn income on their own and have no knowledge of farming or sustaining crop cultivation. The project has set up Farmer Field Schools to provide a network enabling young farmers to learn basic skills for agricultural development and share their knowledge with others. The FAO estimates that upon completion, the NERICA project will result in more than two-thousand farmers trained and 72 Farmer Field Schools.

With a final peace agreement still at bay in Uganda, Causecast featured organization, Invisible Children, presses onward in keeping the situation in Uganda at the forefront for U.S. policy-makers. Invisible Children’s mission is to end the longest running war in Africa and bring the child soldiers of the rebel army home. They need your voice to make sure the need for peace in Uganda is heard by the global community! Be part of the movement. End the War.

Photo by The Advocacy Project, flickr.