Figure 1: The tractor hired to plow the field

The Agriculture Programme was officially started in July 2008 when 3 acres of land within the primary school was ploughed for the planting of maize. This land was donated to the Primary School from the community church and is now in the schools name.

The aims of the agriculture programme were to:

1. be able to provide every student at Namwendwa Primary with lunch from the produce and to introduce more variety to their meal;
2. to educate the children of the importance of nutrition and variety in their diet; and
3. to teach the students (through hands on practice) effective farming techniques.

Figure 2 Students observe tractor plowing the field.

Goals (a) and (c) have already been achieved, (although are ongoing), with the successful harvest of maize in December 2008, the students have already benefited from the increased variety in their lunch. The children were actively involved with maize growing (planting, weeding, picking and peeling the cobs) and observing (during ploughing and spraying). The education about nutrition - goal (b) - is beginning with the new school year, starting February 2009. As well as these three goals we have achieved much more - the Ugandan volunteers (Andrew and Moses) have been attending farming workshops to improve their skills; we now have a pineapple plantation of over 5000 plants, many other crops are being/have been grown (passionfruit, onions, dodo, sweet potatoes, egg plants, oranges, peas, beans and cassava). In addition to the food crops many trees have been planted around the school including trees for shade and hardwood trees with a view to selling the wood.

Why did we start the Ag Programme?

Figure 3 Weeding the maize

Previous to 2009, only 1 in 5 of the 1000+ students attending Namwendwa Primary School were provided with a meal at school. To be provided with lunch at any Ugandan Government Primary School each student must bring a contribution of maize and firewood at the start of the year. The maize was used to make porridge and the fire wood was used to cook it. Most families do not have this extra food to spare, so majority of students would go without lunch. In addition to this lack of food, there is also a problem with the nutritional value of the food. The staple diet of maize, matoke and sweet potatoes is very high in carbohydrates but lacking in essential protein and irons and there is very little variety of other foods available. 45% of children surveyed by CCF  (Christian Children's Fund) in 2005 were found to be suffering from malnutrition, meaning that almost every second child in the community was malnourished.

Figure 3 Peeling the maize cobs

The agriculture programme was designed such that enough maize could be grown at the school to provide all students with porridge (without them having to bring a contribution), and a range of other fruit and vegetables could be grown to add some variety to their lunches, such as beans and dodo (spinach like vegetable). In addition the children were to be taken out to the plot to assist with the ploughing and weeding and to learn the methods used in farming.

What has taken place so far?

Figure 5 Students line up for porridge at old kitchen

After the initial ploughing in July the plot was then ploughed for a second time in August, after which 2.5 acres of maize were planted and ½ an acre was planted with beans, onions, peas and dodo. After the harvest of peas, onions and dodo; sweet potatoes and eggplants were planted in their place. The land being used for the beans was then dug over by the students and planted with pineapple suckers and passionfruit (the latter growing on wooden tri frames constructed by local carpenters).

The maize was harvested in December 2008 and the Ugandan committee predict there will be enough for every child to have lunch until the next harvest, meaning we have achieved our primary goal. The beans, peas, onions and dodo were used in the students' lunches throughout last year to supplement their staple meal, and the egg plants, sweet potatoes and passionfruit have now been ready since February 2009.

Figure 6 New kitchen near completion

In addition to the agricultural plot, One Village also funded the building of a kitchen and store room. This facility was necessary as previously the cooking was done outside in the open air, meaning that if it rained (as it does frequently in Namwendwa), it was impossible to cook. Now that they are cooking for all of the students and teachers it is essential that they are not affected by the weather. And since we now have large quantities of maize to be stored, the need for a store room arose as they previously used a corner of a classroom. The kitchen facility funded by One Village and constructed by local people of Namwendwa (employed as labours) is a rectangular room, with bricks with holes in them for ventilation. The same cooking techniques of using the large charcoal stoves are still used. There is also an open space with a shelf in the kitchen where each students bowl is placed creating an easy system for each student to line up and collect their meal. The store room is simply a cement building adjacent to the kitchen.

Looking into the future

Figure 6 Planting the pineapple suckers

The pineapples will be ready in 2010 and are perhaps the most novel and exciting aspect of the agriculture programme as the Ugandan committee predict there will be surplus produce which they can then sell. This would be the first One Village income generating project and would ensure the sustainability of the agriculture programme.

It is our aim that the agricultural programme will become self sufficient with the introduction of a seed bank for future seasons and the consideration of income generating projects. There is also more land available to the school so research is currently being undertaken into what could be the most affective use of the land if we were to expand the programme. We are also looking at ways to impact the wider farming community through holding seminars and demonstrations at the Primary School. This is still is the research stages.

Our main goal for 2009 is to make water more accessible to the Primary School. Currently the closest bore hole is around 1km away meaning that whenever there is watering to be done, the students must carry 10L jerry cans full of water all this way. It also means that a “water man” must be hired to cart the schools water for the day and this is especially inefficient when sports days or other events are held at the school and over 2000 people attend. We are considering three options; a bore hole, a tap (from the main pipeline), and rainwater harvesting. All options have their pros and cons so we are in the process of evaluating the cost and sustainability of each and raising the money as no solution can be implemented for under around $8,000.

As 70% of people in Uganda rely on Agriculture (sustenance farming) for their lively hood, our agriculture programme has the potential to impact greatly on many lives.