Empower 103 Households for their Livelihoods

Project ID: 32851

Project Title: Empower 103 households for their livelihoods

Cash Crop Farming; agricultural crops grown for the purpose of sale or to make profits, instead of subsistence or barter. It is also called commercial farming or cash cropping. In Yambio, only males grow few perennial crops in families. The females and wives do not plant perennial crops in fear of being divorced and sent away from the family and different people enjoy the crops. The fact that most traditional marriages are very unstable in Yambio and Western Equatoria State, is a major reason for married women to neglect planting cash crops in their family plots and generally women actually do not plant cash crops in the region.

Community Skills Development (CSD) works with pioneer women among communities in Yambio, to encourage and support women to own land and other properties, grow perennial and cash crops like coffee, oranges, lemons, avocado, Jack fruit, bananas, mangoes, pineapples, palm trees, cereals, cocoa and many others. Cash crops, if planted and well managed, the owners/farmers earn money in return for sustenance and to meet the family’s requirements.

More so, the community pattern of feeding in Yambio is very poor, not diversified and therefore, so many associated malnutrition consequences in children and adults; sores on legs, stunted growth and poor human development. More than 50% of households in Yambio generally experience severe acute malnutrition which is often associated with high mortality in young infants and it has effects on children as a whole; Mental retardation, stunted growth, poor immune system, micronutrient deficiency, GI tract infections, anaemia and inevitably – death. Any support to help the poor community in Yambio to grow both food and cash crops for themselves will surely help the human race there to survive. Largely, it is a struggle.

Community Skills Development supports the 103 households of single mothers by the provision of extension services, help to diversify cropping and vegetables species with tomatoes, egg plants, Okra, and educate on harsh climate mitigation measures. Irrigation method has been taken up and practiced. CSD is adding the task to support women to grow cash crops as well.

Part of the story

Community Skills Development majorly supports impoverished women in Western Equatoria State where Yambio is the headquarters of that State. The total number of our target population is 17,000 Households in Western Equatoria state for various services. CSD has the record for supporting farmers with agricultural tools and seeds, feeding malnourished children, sponsoring orphans and training women in tailoring skills. When needy women hear about community skills development, they come to express their interest to join the groups and I may say, we are doing our best but resources always stretched.

I must indicate that our fundraising efforts with supporters/ the donors has not met the target and flavor to clearly meet the need. The Government is highly incapacitated to support service delivery programs to the communities; health, livelihoods, or transport network etc. The hope remains with NGOs and CBOs for humanitarian support.

While the empowerment project is targeting three different groups constituting the 103 households, our dream is to empower vulnerable women groups to farm, to create small business via hair dressing and tailoring. We are well above 1/3 on the success but how we wish to achieve at least 2/3 of the target.

We remain grateful and thanking you very much.