Winners: Scholar Farmers Improving Agriculture
In the Kibaale district of Uganda, small-scale farmers are revitalizing their trade and putting a fresh spin on traditional practices.
With the help of the Uganda Rural Development and Training Programme (URDT), local farmers play an active role in their independence, researching and implementing sustainable systems that increase crop production and enhance the quality of life.
From preserving seeds to using alternative energy, URDT is empowering a network of "scholar farmers" to confidently achieve their goals. For their 20-year commitment to improving the status of farmers in Uganda, URDT has earned a winning prize in our 2009 Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities collaborative competition.
"I am looking at ways technology can assist farmers and move the entire supply chain from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture," says CEO Mwalimu Musheshe. "The prize is going to help spread this work to an audience beyond Kibaale."
Congratulations to Mwalimu Musheshe and URDT on their amazing work! Learn more about the other winners, SRREOSHI and Agência Mandalla, as well as the finalists changing lives through agricultural innovations.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| [square-1:]Gates_URDT_thumb.jpg | 23.07 KB |
| Gates_URDT.jpg | 30.78 KB |
![[square-1:]Gates_URDT_thumb.jpg](http://cdn.changemakers.com/sites/default/files/Gates_URDT_thumb.jpg){kind=link}
Comments
Although we are living in the 21st century, enriched with technology rapid development. This serves as a challenge to the government centered education structure.
Scholars are exposed to learning and knowledge building opportunities beyond the what is available in schools. Teachers work under pressure rather than pleasure.
Students are over loaded with irrelevant academic work load in a bid to pass written examination. They learn under stress with no chance to identify their talents.
Every individual has over 100 inbuilt potentials; but these are ignored in bid to compete for unwarranted documentary qualifications.
Schools are not aware that they are living in the Decade of Education For Sustainable Development (DESD 2015-2014)
Communities are suffering the impact of drastic climate changes. The extreme weather changes, prolonged drought, flash floods, and adversened environment denudation.
Although rural communities are distressed by diverse climate change impact, and poor education performance, the region setup is ideal ,for climate change resolutions. Bio-diversity that supports life is more sustainable in the rural zones especially in forestation and reforestation ideology.
Cultural diversity, and appreciation cultural skills can also be promoted more effectively in the rural areas.
The social economic crisis that promote dependency life cycle; can be changed through sustainable potential development.
A CHANCE FOR CHANGE:
Semi Arid regions can be changed into productive zones through innovations. They have the best soil and viable land alleviations.
The 80% children who are categorized as education failure have untapped potential for self employment, in a resourceful environment.
Climate change distress has potential projects that can create a generation with sustainable quality life styles; to benefit present and future generation.
I believe it is the rural communities who can sample best projects for this decade of Education For Sustainable Development come 2014.
There is much more to do with the young generation above sport for advocacy.
Grace.
Focusing in immediate impact in quality of life is key to designing self-sustaining agricultural systems in rural areas. This is a great story of independence, which the rural population knows (all to well) is vital to their survival. Its wonderful to see the farmers updating their traditional practices, which should continue to change with the global trend we are seeing (especially in Africa) of the rise of secondary cities.
Congratulations on your impact in our world!
Post new comment