There was one problem though. The group needed a helping hand to have their own rice huller, and construct a building to house it.  A rice huller is a value addition machine that separates the outer husks from pure rice grains. Hulled rice grain attracts better prices on the market than unhulled grain. 

Step up AFARD. The organisation bought a hurler for the group, and financed the constructing the building that houses the new hurler. On their part, the group provided local materials such as bricks, and sand for construction of the structure.
Provision of the rice huller, is part of the assistance AFARD is extending to the group, under the Strengthening Resilient Livelihoods Project (RELIP). The project is helping host communities and refugees in Yumbe district, to transition from subsistence farming to market production, with the support of AWO international/BMZ.

“When we formed this group, our main goal was to collectively fight poverty in our households, as a group. With this new hurler, our group will even be stronger,” remarks Rukia Ayikoru (on the left in photo), the chairperson of the group.

Further assistance extended to the group by AFARD includes animal traction technology, a variety of agro inputs ranging from cassava cuttings to vegetable seeds for kitchen gardens.

The animal traction, powered by two bulls, has been especially helpful in enabling expansion of acreage. In the last season, the group planted rice over nearly twenty acres, both as a group and as individual farmers.

The animal traction is also proving as a valuable source of income for the group. Members of the group pay sh40,000 per acre to access the technology to open up their individual gardens. Non-members pay twice the amount to have the animal traction on their farms. 

“Our plan is to increase the acreage of rice as a group to five acres, from the one acre,” says Adam Asuma (on the right in photo), a member of the group.