By Jovita Mirembe
Due to the limited fund basket and land that refugees can access presently , refugees have resorted to engaging in the farming businesss, the Chairperson Refugee Welfare council Kiryandongo Settlement has said.
Milly Nancy Lagu said that of late most of their funders have shifted to funding the current war between Palestine and Israel and had earlier been funding the war between Russia and Ukraine which has affected their fund basket hence living them to look for other avenues of survival.
‘We have now resorted to investing in farming on the small land we have been given especially growing vegetables because they grow with in a short time that we can eat to balance our diet and later sell off some to get money to sustain our lively hoods.
Growing vegetables, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes in broken plastic containers and polythene bags is what we are doing now to sustain our lively hoods as an additional of the little funds we are receiving from donors’ Lagu said
She further said that Refugees are also using the Optimum Land Use Model(OLUM) a technical strategy that optimizes small crop fields to reap the largest harvest.
Lagu said that here farmers are given training, farming tools, seeds, and constant guidance to ensure they can get the most out of their land.
She said this during the Stake holders workshop for trainers in refugees camps about financial literacy organized by World food programme and Bank of Uganda at Golden Tulip Hotel 22 November.
The Alex Ochan the head of Financial inclusion Division at Bank of Uganda, said that inclusion of persons living with disability (PWDs will be emphasized in refugees camps because they are also part of the population in those camps who need to know how to use the limited funds that are given to them by funders.
The workshop was attended by over 20 stake holders.