Describe how your Permaculture addresses a social need, and how it benefits your target community
Almost 30% of
Ugandans households are considered to be food insecure and chronic under nutrition in
children is a critical issue. 30% of children under five years old are stunted.
On average agricultural households have 1.34 hectares and 61% cultivate less
than a hectare.
The almost total dependence on rain-fed agriculture coupled with inefficient
farming systems makes harvests way below their potential especially in drought
prone areas. Drought in one agricultural season in Northern Uganda in 2012 led
to a decline in food production of (94%) and income (81%). There
is need for urgent change in the farming systems to secure food security and
livelihoods of households.
The main cause
of food insecurity among smallholder farmers is low agricultural productivity
attributed to a number of factors: Use of extractive farming methods that focus
on production outputs without replenishing soil nutrients, reliance on rainfed
agriculture making farmers highly susceptible to drought, and breakdown in
knowledge on low input based farming systems that promote harmony with the
environment while fulfilling food and income needs.
My Polished
permaculture Eco system social Innovation seeks to inspire a movement to change
the smallholder farming system in East Africa to shift from traditional
interventions of introducing ‘superior inputs’ to adapting a sustainable
culture that looks at the holistic picture of how they live and relate to the
natural eco system. This will involve building regional networks of smallholder
farmers for learning and knowledge exchange on the sustainable culture. Extension
agents will be certified in permaculture ecosystems by Blue host institution,
Australia. A knowledge hub will be
developed for collection, dissemination of information on application of
permaculture principles. Loan products will be developed with Micro Finance
Institutions to finance integration of permaculture in existing farming systems
and a certification system will be develop to create a premium market for
smallholder farmers applying the smart farming principles.
The main
prescription for the food security challenge has been introduction and
provision of financing for ‘superior inputs’. Agencies such as; One Acre Fund,
Technoserve, are using this model. The mode has shown great success in
increasing productivity in the shortrun but has compounded the ‘extractive mind
set of the traditional farming system’ that assumes that soils will remain
productive as long as fertilizers are applied. Evidence shows that synthetic fertilizers
alter properties of the soil in the long run causing soil acidification and
giving rise to nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas causing climate change
that will harm future food production
By 2020 a
network of 5,000 farmers in East Africa will have practical experience on use
of permaculture principles for designing smart farming systems that use
available eco system resources to optimize productivity. Farmers Households
will be food secure, having at least 3 meals a day, and will be consuming at
least 6 different varieties of food to enhance nutrition. The Income from agro-based
products will have doubled.
Permaculture , will
measure its impact by tracking 4 indicators; the proportion of smallholder
farmers that are Certified, Ratio of extension agents to smallholder farmers,
No of smallholder farmers whose households are food secure; having 3 meals a
day, No of households that will have doubled their income by 2019.
Permaculture will
have a network of extension agents certified in permaculture eco system
principles reaching out to at least 2,000 smallholder farmers in 2 East Africa
Countries. A certification system will have been developed for farmers applying
smart farming systems to create a premium market and promote the culture of
sustainability.
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