The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kiryandongo, Uganda | Patricia Akankwatsa | On a hot afternoon in Kiryandongo district, 17-year-old Afag Ali bends over a small demonstration garden, carefully pressing maize seeds into the soil. Her hands move with purpose, but her mind carries heavier burdens. Ali fled Sudan after conflict claimed her father’s life, leaving her as the second-born with the responsibility of caring for her elderly mother and four siblings.
“I just want to plant in our home and get money,” she says softly, pausing to brush soil from her palms.
“I want to go and sell in the market or in the town, so that my family can eat.”
Ali’s dream is simple, yet profound. It is not just about food; it is about dignity, purpose, and survival. Her voice, heavy with maturity far beyond her years, captures the essence of a larger story unfolding across Uganda: the effort to transform refugee lives through skills that pave the path to self-reliance.
Uganda is celebrated globally for its progressive refugee policy. Unlike many nations that wall off displaced people, Uganda grants refugees freedom of movement, the right to work, and access to health and education services. This openness has earned the country praise as a model of refugee-hosting.
But behind the praise lies a heavy reality. As of August 2025, Uganda is hosting 1.9 million refugees and asylum seekers, the largest number in Africa. Most come from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the crisis in Sudan has added new layers of complexity. By mid-2025, over 89,000 Sudanese refugees were registered across the country.
“The humanitarian system is overstretched,” admits Anne Nyambane, Refugee Response and Sustainable Energy Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Uganda.
“We cannot only rely on food aid. We must create opportunities that allow refugees to stand on their own feet.”
It is within this context that FAO, working with Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), has rolled out a project designed to move beyond short-term humanitarian relief. The goal; equipping Sudanese refugees with skills to become economically self-reliant.
“This is part of what we call the humanitarian-development nexus. The average refugee now spends about 20 years in displacement. You cannot keep people dependent for that long. Durable solutions must mean independence from aid.” Nyambane explains.
At the heart of the initiative is vocational training, tailored to the agricultural value chain. FAO commissioned a rapid assessment, which revealed a pressing gap: most refugees lacked practical skills to engage meaningfully with Uganda’s markets.
The Office of the Prime Minister saw the urgency too and directly requested FAO’s support. By aligning the project with Uganda’s National Development Plan IV (NDP IV) which prioritizes agro-industrialization the programme delivers what Nyambane calls a “triple dividend”: self- reliance for refugees, stronger host community relations, and long-term economic growth for Uganda.
The project is delivered by the Innovative Institute of Agriculture, Business and Capacity Building (IABC), a local vocational institute with campuses in Kigumba and Arua.
The courses offered are poultry production, agro-processing and value addition, crop production, and agricultural mechanization for a period of three months. They were chosen not by guesswork, but by consulting the refugees themselves.
“We wanted the trainees to feel ownership. That’s why we asked them first: what do you want to learn? What will help you earn a living?” says Kunihira Evarline, the Academic Registrar at IABC.
Language barriers were an early challenge, but organizers adapted quickly. Each class now has both an English-speaking trainer and an Arabic interpreter.
“It makes the sessions lively. The refugees feel included, and nothing is lost in translation,” Kunihira notes with a smile.
The training goes beyond technical know-how. The agro-processing course, for example. Before students learn how to make honey products or bake bread, they study customer attraction, profit and loss, and the basics of running a business.
“We want them to think as entrepreneurs. It’s not just about feeding your family; it’s about creating value, selling in the market, and building a future,” Kunihira says.
The choice of courses is also deeply strategic. Uganda’s poultry sector is projected to grow from 72,700 metric tons in 2023 to 78,200 metric tons in 2028, opening market space for new entrants.
Agro-processing, meanwhile, is a cornerstone of NDP IV, with government investments flowing into industrial parks and agro-industrial hubs.
For Ali this integration of agribusiness with farming skills is a revelation.
“Now I know how to grow food and also how to sell it. I want to start small, then grow bigger,” she says, eyes brightening
By teaching refugees how to add value to crops, the program ties directly into Uganda’s economic transformation agenda. The crop production and mechanization modules also fit perfectly with the Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (AVCP), which targets staple crops like maize and rice.
“There is a ready market here. Refugees are not just beneficiaries. They are potential economic actors in a $485 million refugee-hosting area market,” Nyambane stresses.
The programme also has a strong gender dimension. Studies show refugee women are increasingly active in agribusiness when given support. For Ali, who dreams of selling produce to sustain her family, the training is more than an economic lifeline. It is empowerment.
“Before, I felt like I had no power. Now, I believe I can take care of my mother and my brothers and sisters. I can stand on my own,” she admits
After the training, participants will receive certificates and potentially diplomas signaling both achievement and opportunity.
“The ultimate goal is a future where refugees are not passive recipients but active contributors. Where they don’t just survive, they belong, they build, they thrive,” Nyambane sums up the project’s vision.
