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Rural poverty in Uganda

Hidden from view, hidden from help

Millions of Uganda's farmers are scattered in remote locations throughout the country. They have little access to the services they need, such as roads to help transport their produce, technologies that could help them increase their production and reduce pest disease, and financing to help them expand their production. In addition, health care services are often inadequate or non-existent. In a country where HIV/AIDS is epidemic, the lack of health care is taking a severe toll on the labour force.

Who are Uganda's rural poor people?

More than 85 per cent of Uganda's population lives in rural areas. More than two thirds of the country's poor people are small farmers. Although efforts have been made to reduce rural poverty, urban areas have experienced a significantly greater reduction in poverty than the countryside. In the past decade, poverty has declined by a rate of 43 per cent in urban areas but of only 18 per cent in rural areas.

Ugandan women have much in common with other women throughout the African continent: they work longer hours than men, have much more limited access to resources, and exercise little or no control over what they produce. The result is that women are among the worst affected by poverty. In addition, women bear the greater burden of caring for the sick and the children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Their daily responsibilities leave them overstretched, and their ability to assure that food is on the table becomes severely compromised.

Where are Uganda's rural poor people?

The poorest regions of the country are the north (with 66 per cent of the population) and north-east (37 per cent), which are emerging from civil strife and are predominantly pastoral and agro-pastoral lands. It is here that many smallholders tend their fields, relying on farming systems that are highly seasonal and not sufficiently productive.

Why are Uganda's rural people poor?

Uganda's agricultural sector has the potential to be vibrant and diversified. The good weather and the current period of relative security and economic stability present an opportunity to drastically reduce rural poverty. Until now, however, poverty has persisted because of the following conditions:

• political change: successive periods of political change that Uganda has undergone in the past 30 years have seriously affected society as a whole, and poor rural people in particular. Insecurity persists in the north, and this continues to hinder development in the region.
• subsistence farming: the majority of poor smallholders are risk-averse and use farming approaches that are geared to satisfying the needs of their family. As many of them are isolated, they lack a business culture and are not exposed to other approaches that could enable them to produce more on the land they cultivate.
• lack of services: many rural poor people are unable to access the services necessary to help them increase their agricultural output. The technology, marketing, financial and other support services are often unattainable. Traditional methods of agriculture usually do not enable them to overcome poverty. Only about 10 per cent of the rural population – and 5 per cent of rural poor people – have access to savings and credit.
• crop, livestock and pest disease: the incidence of crop, livestock and pest disease is quite high, which often means pre- and post-harvest losses. Without the introduction of suitable technologies to minimize disease, smallholder farmers are extremely vulnerable, and are unwilling to invest in larger holdings because of their vulnerability.

While Uganda is at the forefront in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the threat of the epidemic remains acute throughout the country. Although the adult prevalence rate dropped from 30 per cent in 1986 to 5-6 per cent in 2003, the epidemic is still causing many problems. The many families that care for the ill and children orphaned by the disease are losing huge amounts of productive time and resources. The burden falls mainly on women.

The continued success of a women's NGO

In Uganda, about two million children – almost 20 per cent of all children – are orphans who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. The Uganda Women's Efforts to Save Orphans (UWESO), a grass-roots NGO, was originally established to assist children who had become orphans during Uganda's civil conflicts. When the impact of HIV/AIDS more than doubled the number of orphans, UWESO had to shift to a family approach. In 1995, the Belgian Survival Fund provided more than US$1.4 million through IFAD to create the UWESO Development Project (UDP). The goal was to intensify the assistance given to these young people and to help them and their adoptive families build more promising futures. This was done mainly with the help of microcredit.

Since the UDP started, it has issued about 11,500 small loans, 97 per cent of which have gone to women. Through these loans, foster parents of HIV/AIDS orphans have increased their incomes. They have seen the number of daily meals increase. They have improved their homes, and are also able to keep up with school fees and buy such "luxuries" as blankets, mattresses and clothing. Vocational training of orphans is being provided in schools, and includes bicycle and radio repair, carpentry and tailoring.

A second phase of UWESO was approved in August 2000, and the project serves as a model for other African countries.

Source: IFAD