Grow Food for 100 Homes in Uganda (Wakiso area)

PROGRESS REPORT FEBRUARY 2021

February 18th, 2021

Summary

In February 2021, progress on the farm has been mainly harvesting and weeding.  The harvest consisted of Irish and sweet potatoes, which was shared between 33 families in Mwerwerwe.

a)      Progress at the Farm

-  We harvested all the Irish potatoes which were grouped in two categories:  (a) feeding and  (b) seedlings for replanting. The total harvest was 900kgs ( 1984 lbs ) from an area of 2 acres, which shows progress with a better harvest from our last planting. We will plant beans in the same space after the soil replenishes itself and Irish potatoes will be planted again in a future season.

- The sweet potatoes were planted five (5) months ago on one acre and harvest started about 2 weeks ago.

Table summarising the progress at the farm: See Attachment

Challenges 

1. It has been noticed that some of the Irish and sweet potatoes can be affected by disease before harvest. The kind of disease is unique and seems to have no solution at this time but we are talking to the ministry of Agriculture to see if they have any information that can help to advise us on the way forward.  
2. We are at the stage where we will enroll new members to reinforce the team. The source of labour at the farm for weeding and harvesting is the parents of the beneficiaries and yet over time, the number in our cooperative has reduced (due to COVID restrictions), causing the lower than expected productivity. We have bridged the gap by spending a little extra on hired labor and look forward to being able to welcome new cooperative members shortly. 

Links:

• http://www.lahu-usa.org

• Farming_progress_February_2021.pdf (PDF)