Smallholder Farmer Advancement

Field of Hope is working to educate and encourage smallholder farmers in northern Uganda and southern India through agricultural and financial means.

Eighty-three percent of Uganda’s population live in rural areas, mostly in the Northern and Eastern regions, and 84% of those in these regions live in poverty (FAO, 2017; The World Bank, 2016). Farming is a way of life for 65.6% of the country, yet 25% of the population remains undernourished as of 2017 (FAO, 2017). With more agricultural knowledge and more financial stability, these households can begin to get back on their feet.

In India, agriculture employs almost half of their exceedingly abundant population. Still, though, the country’s agriculture industry struggles due to the lack of infrastructure, ineffective enforcement of property rights and lack of education. Major agricultural regions in India have faced several years of drought, adding to their burdens, and many of their agricultural technologies are outdated.

Field of Hope is dedicated to changing these circumstances.

Ugandan Women’s Program

The Women’s Program encourages extension and education regarding financial literacy and agricultural capacity to smallholder farmers, specifically women, to improve their practices and yields, and, therefore, their livelihoods.

Seventy-six percent of Ugandan farmers are women who typically have had little to no education in proper and successful farming practices or financial management. Field of Hope is providing basic agronomic training to women in multiple Northern Uganda districts. This training consists of proper agronomic practices and training in pest and disease control, harvest techniques, post-harvest handling, and storage practices. Trainings on animal health and home and business finances also occur. The women have formed cooperatives and are also participating in Village Savings and Loan Associations, where they have access to small loans at reduced interest rates to purchase inputs and equipment. At the end of the saving period, typically in February, women receive the money they have saved, plus the interest earned.

Community Outreach

Established with our partners in 2019 are community trainings, where local farmers are welcome to attend general agricultural trainings held in communities where our partners operate. Field of Hope trainers work with farmers on specific topics they have questions about or are challenged with in their gardens. Intertwined in the agroscience topics are lessons on finances, business, marketing, proper crop care and post-harvest storage.

Donate to Smallholder Farmer Advancement

Donations to our Smallholder Farmer Advancement pillar have the opportunity to bless exponentially. Not only will these funds translate into activities that bless the women and farmers, but they also positively impact their families (husbands, children, orphans, parents, and more!). Trainings in agriculture help the farmers become more efficient with their inputs and increase their yields. Financial training allows the farmers to best utilize their financial resources and practice saving for major expenditures, such as sending their children to school. Each women’s group receives a grant that supplements the short-term loans they can utilize, and this enables them to purchase post-harvesting equipment and develop their small businesses.

BLESSING CONVERSION


$50 = One training for a group of women
or community farmers

$250 = Resources for one demonstration garden
for a women’s group

$500 = Facilitates a universal leadership training
for all women’s group leaders

$1,000 = Funds a year of community outreach trainings

$1,500 = One grant for one women’s group