Small farmers should be enabled to plant trees and food in agroforestry systems on their land.
Deforestation in Uganda is drastic, the country lost more than half of the forested area between 1990 and 2015, with very serious consequences for the rural population. In addition, the population is growing very quickly and most Ugandans still cook traditionally with wood. This means that the demand for wood for cooking, but also for other areas of life, will continue to increase.
The Schöck-Familien-Stiftung supports the operation of a tree nursery in Kirewa, eastern Uganda, in order to independently produce high-quality seedlings and to support smallholders in reforestation.
Small farmers interested in reforestation are trained in planting and caring for trees and creating agroforestry areas (a mixture of trees and interplanted food) and are then provided with seedlings from the tree nursery.
The smallholders make their living from subsistence farming and have so far had little or no opportunity to earn money with their crops. The insecure and crisis-prone livelihoods of smallholders are threatened by intensified, prolonged or unpredictable periods of drought. By planting trees between the agricultural products, they create another source of income in the medium term, but improve the microclimate in the fields in the short term through better moisture storage. In addition, the trees prevent erosion of the fertile soil and have a soil-improving effect through nitrogen storage. In this way, the trees also stabilize and improve the yield of the cover crops.
Various native tree species are used, some of which can be used as construction timber and some as firewood. In this way, the farmers improve their economic situation and the pressure on existing forests decreases, since the wood requirements can increasingly be met from the afforested areas.
Project sponsor: Fairventures Worldwide FVW gGmbH
Project partner: Fairventures country office Uganda
Project sponsor: Zeitlupe gUG – Society for the Preservation of Perishing Cultural Assets
Project No.: 150-21si