Our Projects
Uganda
Last Autumn, with the assistance of funding from Irish Aid, Viva initiated a major project in Eastern Uganda. €82,500 has been committed over the next three years to the Koilei Amora Ican Animal Traction Project. One hundred and twenty eight families will be supported with the distribution of draft oxen, ploughs and carts. Farmers will also be given grass seeds, vegetable seeds, tools and appropriate training. The population of this area consists mainly of peasant farmers whose livelihood depends on farming with traditional methods. The families engage mostly in subsistence farming that unfortunately does not provide sufficient income or produce to maintain their large families. This has resulted in malnutrition (especially in children) and early school-leaving which leads to illiteracy, unemployment and early marriages. Using hand hoes it can take an average household up to 15 days to dig an acre of ground in preparation for crop planting. This obviously reduces the acreage under crops. The introduction of animal traction will therefore significantly boost crop production as farmers will be able to plough and plant large pieces of land in a short time. This will lead to increased yields and raise household incomes. The project will be supervised by our project partner Heifer Uganda.
