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She says her livelihood has improved greatly because she can now pay her children’s school fees in better boarding schools, cater for basic needs, and afford food for her family.
Mary Goreti Alwayo, a BRAC loans officer turned farmer, has no regret following her resignation from a formal job as she is now reaping big from Climate Smart Agriculture. Alwayo, 34, a mother of four, is a resident of Akoou Village, Awonagiro Parish, Amolatar district, who is now harvesting simsim, cabbages, and ngobe (boyo) while her onions and yams are still maturing in the garden.
In March 2024, Alwayo embarked on a 4-acre piece of land for farming. She says she planted simsim and millet, but they all dried in the garden due to too much sunshine.
It was not until August that her quest for solar irrigation quashed the harsh climate conditions, a project introduced to farmers within the district under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Alwayo says her land was inspected, and then the district agricultural officer recommended her for the irrigation program.
In the entire Amolatar District, Alwayo is the only woman among 11 men who are carrying out irrigation farming.
Her colleague, Vicky Ayado, in Kongoro parish, Acii subcounty, has currently packed her irrigation equipment in the house because her land is submerged by the recent flooding in the district.
According to the 2024 National Housing and Population Census, the total population of Amolatar district is 188,589. Men constitute 94,039, while women 94,550, and 39,181 households. Out of the households, only 12 homes have embraced irrigation (1 woman and 11 men) while the rest depend on rain-fed agriculture.
To acquire the irrigation equipment, Alwayo needed to cough up about UGX.5 million, which was 25 % of the total cost, while the government covered the remaining 75%.
Because she had only one million shillings, she acquired an Agriculture Credit Facility loan from Centenary Rural Development Bank. The money was deposited into the account of the company delivering the irrigation equipment.
However, before the irrigation equipment arrived, she fetched water in jerricans and sprinkled her plants. Alwayo spends about one million shillings in preparing the garden, weeding, spraying, and harvesting.
In the recent harvest, Alwayo is expecting to raise about UGX.2 million from the sale of simsim, beans, and cabbages. She says her produce is consumed locally, where her brother goes to Ochero market and mobilises buyers to purchase from home. Additionally, she packs vegetables like cabbage and ngobe (known as boyo in Lango) on bicycles and takes them to daily rural markets.
Her source of labour is her brother, her four children, and sometimes community members as casual labourers. This means that the community is also now benefiting from her project. To date, Alwayo services her loan quarterly and pays two million four hundred and thirty-three thousand shillings (UGX.2,433,000).
However, she secures loans from UWESO and three other savings groups to service her loans and also manage farm work. The loan ran until 03/03/2025.
Asked about her husband, she intimated that he only advises how the work should be done because he is away at school. I asked Alwayo about her rights regarding land ownership and selling of her produce, and she insisted that she asks for permission from her husband before selling even just a cup, much as he does not help so much, he is still the head of her family.
Despite the challenges, Alwayo says she does not regret taking on climate-smart agriculture because she is not only reaping big but also creating time for her family. She says her livelihood has improved greatly because she can now pay her children’s school fees in better boarding schools, cater for basic needs, and afford food for her family.
Another challenge is a lack of oxen for ploughing the garden. She normally relies on neighbours who are always unreliable. Some will promise and never deliver the oxen, or deliver so late.
Alwayo goes ahead to state that the solar pump does not function well, especially on unsunny days and in early morning hours. She is thinking about getting a generator that can save the situation.
Yet again, stray animals and deliberate tethering of animals in the gardens by stubborn community members undermine her farm activities. When she raises the issue with the animal owners, they respond with prejudice, mocking that a woman has no voice and authority in a village where she has only been married. She notes that the animals have always destroyed her plants in the nursery bed and the gardens without compensation.
Despite these challenges, Alwayo has scored relative success in climate-smart agriculture, attributing it to perseverance, proper planning, and honesty with her husband, who greenlights everything she does before she embarks on it.
Other community members have spoken positively of Alwayo’s farming venture, as it is also benefiting them.
Agnes, a mother of two, says she generates some income from Alwayo after offering her services.
‘’….I am Agnes. I have come to help Goreti with winnowing her simsim, and she is going to pay me 10,000. I will use the money to buy clothes for my children and some food…’’ Agness said.
Allan Mafabi, a neighbour to Margret, says his family is now able to afford some food because he buys some cabbages from Alwayo’s garden.
‘’…we are also learning a lot from her farming, and I think I will join in the irrigation farming next year…’’ Allan said.
Tom Okullu, a member of the village, is also a farmer and works for Alwayo as a casual labourer says he is also learning better farming methods.
‘’…now this time no rain, we can get water from her pipe, and pour it into our gardens, my family is happy…’’
Alwayo has also earned praise from Mbabaali Sophania, the senior Agricultural Engineer in Amolatar district, who acknowledged that the majority of women in Amolatar have not embraced irrigation farming because negative cultural norms have held them back.
The UGIFT Program is supported by the World Bank through the Ministry of Agriculture to support farmers in acquiring irrigation facilities under a cofunding arrangement.
To bring more women on board, Mbabaali says they have always encouraged male farmers to ensure that women are present during farm visits. A lot of training and emphasis on gender issues is emphasised during sensitisation.
Furthermore, resource sharing is also encouraged because a larger percentage of the work is done by women, while men only wait to sell the produce.
This story was produced with support from InfoNile in partnership with Palladium under the Climate Smart Jobs.
