FEED ME AGAIN

Long description

Smallholder subsistence farmers in Kabuga Town Council, Kamwenge district depend on rain fed agriculture to grow beans as a staple food and cheaper source of protein with the surplus sold as source of income. Despite being seasonal crops with a gestation period of 3 months, in recent years, production of beans has been curtailed by adverse effects of Climate change with unreliable rainfall leading to poor harvests eventually leading to food insecurity and low household income.

FEED ME AGAIN project feeds people (food security) and their pockets (household income) by creating inclusive and resilient food systems able to recover from effects of climate change by recycling of readily available agricultural waste (bean husks, maize cobs and husks) to grow mushrooms as an alternative source of food and income. Depleted mushroom gardens are then crushed to make compost manure which is taken back to their gardens to boost soil fertility.

This project is implemented through an out-grower system where we train farmers in mushroom growing, give them seeds and equipment such as watering cans to start production. To ensure that farmers earn, we are buying mushrooms that they are willing to sell.

Mushrooms are highly nutritious (high in proteins, vitamins, antioxidants), have a short gestation period of 18 days, farming is not dependent on weather making production possible throughout the year, is not labour intensive, can be done alongside other activities, requires small spaces to carry out, requires low investment to start and have high return on investment.

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