Not long ago, Mr. Michael Alumai and his family would trek from Maaji refugee settlement in Adjumani to the neighbouring streams to fetch water for his thirsty cassava garden.
The cumbersome water expedition, which would start at dawn, was even more demanding during the dry season.
“Initially, the women in the group used to fetch water from the nearby stream for us to water which made us get losses in cassava growing because it wasn’t sustainable,” says Alumai, 38, who later formed a farming group in a bid to collect adequate water for their crops to thrive in the harsh weather.
But last year when Alumai heard about a social enterprise, known as Sun Culture, that was selling solar water pumps at subsidized costs for both the host communities and the refugees through a friend.
When he reached out, Alumai was surprised to learn that refugees had the chance to get a solar-powered water pump at even a “more favourable” cost.
The arrangement, Alumai discovered, was that Sun Culture would sell a basic solar pump at 1.6 million Uganda shillings for the refugees (with 60 percent discount ), whereas the host community would get one at two million Uganda shillings (50% discounted included). The Ayuda en Accion (AeA), a non-profit organization that partners with Sun Culture, would cover the discounts.
Fighting water stress with solar
Alumai’s group, which is called Atetapkwe Itego Youth Group, later settled for the refugee package since it is cheaper; after all, some of their members were refugees.
“We used our group savings to buy solar pumps,” Alumai narrates. “This was our way out”.
As climate change continues to batter communities globally, many farmers relying on rain agriculture struggle to grow crops due to extreme weather conditions such as long, unpredictable rainfall patterns, dry spells, or drought.
In Uganda, the northern region is one of the most climate-hit regions, and local rainfall patterns have been disrupted due to human-induced activities such as large tree cutting for commercial charcoal production.
Indeed, in 2022 Uganda launched a report titled “Sustainable Energy Response Plan for Refugees and Host Communities 2022-2025 (SERP),” which revealed that refugees and the host communities were in dire need of “universal access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy for socioeconomic transformation in an environmentally sustainable manner” amid the negative effects of climate change.
To address the issue, a two-year pilot project was launched in 2023 to enable both refugees and host communities to have access to solar water equipment for sustainable farming amid harsh climate shocks.
Since 2023, Ayuda en Accion (AeA) has been able to give out 163 solar water pumps through its partners — Tulima Solar and Sun Culture — in Adjumani, Obongi, and Lamwo districts.
Now Alumai’s farming group is able to grow all kinds of water-guzzling crops throughout the season, thanks to the solar-powered water pump that they acquired.
The group, Alumai says, is now prioritizing growing vegetables such as tomatoes and cabbages, adding that they earn between 3 and 4 million Uganda shillings per season. The group that started in 2021 currently has 10 members, 4 of them being refugees.
“We have also transitioned to vegetable growing which is more profitable and promising,” Alumai adds.
Reaping big from vegetable growing
In Yumbe District, which is 145 km away from the South Sudan border, Mr. Yassin Ayimani recounts how he used to make losses in his cassava garden due to the long dry spells. Since rainfall was his only way out, he would grow crops mostly during the wet season. Despite that, the rainfall cycle is too erratic and unpredictable, which is challenging.
When Ayimani heard about a non-profit, known as Welthugerhilfe, that was supporting refugee farming groups with solar-power pumps in Bidibidi Refugee settlement in 2021, he approached them.
With a group consisting of 30 members, now called Umaruku Farmer Field School, they received a solar water pump to ease access to water for their garden.
“The irrigation system is making us benefit a lot because the vegetables can be planted at any time and there is a ready market for them unlike cassava,” Ayimani says, adding that they connected the solar pump to their borehole to speed up water supply.
Now Ayimani’s group is able to reap big profits from growing and selling vegetables such as tomatoes and cabbages regardless of the season.
In the first harvest, for instance, Ayimani reveals the group was able to earn 6.5 million Uganda shillings from selling tomatoes and cabbages. In total, the group “has about Shs 14 million, including our money for savings,” Ayimani says with excitement, adding that the group offers loans to its members too.
In Madi Okollo district, Duku, a South Sudanese refugee from Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, was able to turn his life around after he took advantage of the solar pump support from Palm Corps, a non-governmental organisation. Palm Corps gave out solar pumps to 25 refugee groups in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Ma’di Okollo district and Maaji and Pagirinya refugee settlements in Adjumani between 2019 and 2022.
Since 2023, he has been supplying tomatoes to Arua Main Market, adding that he is also scrimping and saving money to buy a motorcycle so that he can be able to transport his farm proceeds with ease.
“When Palm Corps intervened, we were 50 who showed interest but others lost it,” Duku says. “However, the few of us continued to get knowledge, which has transformed our lives now. World Food Program only provides us with Posho, beans and cooking oil which is insufficient amidst other basic needs”.”
Currently, Abiriga says, solar usage for irrigation stands at only 1% in Madi Okollo, which to him is just a drop in the ocean when it comes to conserving the environment.
Ayuda En Accion’s Project Manager, David Okello, urges non-profit organisations to focus on supporting farmer groups in areas with high potential for growing vegetables since it is in high demand, especially during the dry season. He added the move would be crucial for sustaining such solar projects, especially when their humanitarian support projects phase out.
But Erasto Kivumbi Muwanga, the UNHCR Livelihood Officer in Adjumani, appealed to refugees to shift their attitudes from expecting free handouts to working for themselves.
Uganda is lauded for having an open-door policy where refugees are able to move freely, work and even own land.
This story was developed and published through a story grant funding from Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC) supported by the 11th Hour Project.
