BY INNOCENT KIIZA
Alice Muhindo, a 42-year-old resident of Kasese District in southwestern Uganda, vividly recalls the horror of the Nyamwamba River floods on September 7, 2024. “I stayed hungry for three days,” she says, her gaze fixed on the memory.
Alice, who has a form of dwarfism that classifies her as a Person with a Disability (PWD), lives alone in a one-room rental house. Her primary source of livelihood is working as a sign language interpreter at Kasese Youth Polytechnic. In September, she was forced out of her house due to flooding. A neighbor hosted her for two nights.
“Whenever I hear that the Nyamwamba has burst its banks, I get traumatized,” she says, reflecting on the many times she has had to endure similar suffering. On one terrifying occasion, Alice was trapped in her house as water poured in.
But Alice is not only defined by her challenges. She is an innovative small-scale farmer striving to achieve food security in the face of the climate crisis.
The devastating floods that struck Kasese, Uganda, in September killed Masika Teopista, a 40-year-old nurse at Canope Medical Centre, and Bright Mumbere, a 28-year-old employee at a washing bay in Delta, Kasese Municipality.
The floods also displaced numerous residents, destroyed homes, and caused extensive damage to infrastructure, including a children’s home, as well as to crops on farms. Alice was fortunate that some youths helped divert the flowing water away from her home.
“I kept thinking about the others who lost their lives,” she says, “and how easily I could have been one of them.”
This experience has taken a significant toll on Alice’s physical and emotional health. Her story is a poignant reminder of the broader challenges faced by the people of Kasese, a district that has endured over 13 years of recurring deadly floods and mudslides.
Alice began experiencing the full impact of food insecurity three years ago when persistent floods and unpredictable weather patterns damaged her crops and eroded her farmland.
“Before all these disruptions, I had two acres where I grew maize and beans. I would harvest about 10 bags of maize and five bags of beans every year,” she adds.
She recalls with a distant look: “It was enough to sustain me throughout the year, and I could even sell the surplus to earn some income. Life was much easier back then.”
Alice has been battling the effects of climate change on her livelihood for over three years, enduring reduced yields and struggling to sustain herself due to shorter food supply periods.
Rogers Masereka, a 37-year-old farmer and father of five in Mubuku, Kasese, has embraced agroforestry to boost his yields. On one acre, where he previously harvested four sacks of groundnuts, he now gets 10, thanks to improved practices. Rogers, too, advocates agroforestry as a sustainable solution to the climate impacts affecting food security.
Innovating for Resilience: Alice’s Agricultural Solutions
The turning point came when successive floods from the Nyamwamba River destroyed her farmland, reducing her arable land to just one acre. Her harvests dwindled to four bags of maize and two bags of beans annually, lasting only six months. Alice realized that unless she adapted, she would face worsening food insecurity.
This led her to embrace intercropping and reforestation, focusing on indigenous trees like Ficus natalensis and Dracaena, which stabilize the soil and protect crops.
“These trees are incredible,” she says. “Their deep roots hold the soil together, preventing erosion, while their umbrella-like branches shield crops from direct sunlight and raindrops.”
Alice explains that the leaves of Ficus natalensis and Dracaena trees decompose quickly, enriching the soil and providing natural fertilizer for her crops.
Despite her innovative methods, Alice faces significant challenges. Prolonged droughts have reduced her yields, and she has had to rely on other sources of income.
Broader Perspective: Insights from CGIAR’s Work
Both Masereka’s and Alice’s stories resonate with the core principles of CGIAR’s Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) program, which demonstrates how smallholder farmers can turn vulnerabilities into resilience.
A notable example is in Upper West Ghana, where a collective of elderly and disabled farmers formed a group to access government support. They established a dry-season garden, significantly improving their food security.
Alice’s and Masereka’s work aligns with insights shared by Dr. Eileen Nchanji, a gender specialist with CGIAR, who emphasizes co-designing and co-developing agricultural innovations.
Dr. Nchanji underscores that solutions must be rooted in the lived realities of farmers to ensure their adoption and long-term impact.
“When innovations or technologies fail to reflect the experiences of farmers, they risk being underutilized because their benefits are not evident to those who need them most,” she explains.
Dr. Nchanji elaborates on CGIAR’s Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) program, which focuses on enhancing resilience through the integration of research, innovation, and indigenous knowledge.
In Africa, the key objectives are to improve food security, build adaptive capacity among farmers, and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through sustainable practices. CCAFS emphasizes participatory approaches and partnerships to ensure that solutions are both relevant and scalable.
She highlighted that CGIAR prioritizes vulnerable populations, including women and farmers with disabilities, by designing gender-sensitive interventions and supporting smallholder farmers with accessible technologies.
By co-designing solutions with these groups, CGIAR ensures that innovations address their specific needs and realities.
In Uganda, Dr. Nchanji noted, CGIAR’s initiatives like agroforestry and climate-smart agriculture have reached tens of thousands of households.
For example, programs promoting drought-resistant crops and soil conservation practices have benefited over 20,000 smallholder farmers in Eastern and Western Uganda. Impact studies reveal that these programs have helped increase yields and improve resilience among communities.
Dr. Nchanji said agroforestry initiatives aligned with Alice’s farming practices. Indigenous trees such as Ficus natalensisand Dracaena contribute to flood control, soil stabilization, and enhanced biodiversity. These practices also improve food security by creating microclimates that support crop growth.
She further discussed CGIAR’s programs in Uganda and Kenya, such as the Climate-Smart Villages initiative, which promotes agroforestry, community-led resource management, and access to climate information.
Dr. Nchanji shared successful case studies from Rwanda and Ethiopia. In Rwanda, CGIAR partnered with local organizations to support farmers with disabilities by providing adaptive tools and agroecology training.
In Ethiopia, agroforestry practices in flood-prone areas helped rehabilitate degraded lands, improving productivity and resilience for vulnerable farmers. These examples illustrate how CGIAR-supported initiatives can transform the livelihoods of farmers in disaster-prone areas.
Innovative Technologies
Dr. Nchanji highlighted innovations like Picture-Based Insurance (PBI), which allows farmers to document their crops using smartphone photos analyzed to verify losses caused by adverse weather.
This system reduces the cost and complexity of insurance claims. Pilots in East Africa have shown promising results, with farmers reporting quicker payouts and a greater willingness to invest in climate-resilient practices.
“We are developing digital platforms for real-time climate advisory, drought-resistant crop varieties, and mobile-based financial services. These technologies are designed for accessibility, with partnerships ensuring affordability and integration into local systems,” Dr. Nchanji said.
Impact of CGIAR Programs
In Uganda’s Mount Elgon region, CGIAR’s soil and water conservation techniques have reduced erosion by 30% and increased maize yields by 50%. These interventions have bolstered resilience against landslides, a challenge similar to the flooding issues faced by Kasese.
Dr. Nchanji added that drought-resistant varieties introduced in Tanzania and Uganda have increased yields by up to 40% during dry spells. These crops are part of an integrated approach that includes water-efficient irrigation and soil health restoration.
Bridging Science and Traditional Knowledge
Alice’s agricultural practices align with the research and innovations championed by CGIAR. Through their Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) program, CGIAR has introduced adaptive farming practices tailored to vulnerable regions like Kasese.
CGIAR acknowledges the value of indigenous knowledge in enhancing the adoption of scientific solutions. Programs like agroforestry and integrated pest management combine local practices with research-based techniques, ensuring that interventions respect cultural contexts while improving sustainability.
CGIAR’s programs prioritize training, access to credit, and leadership opportunities for women, enabling them to lead community-based adaptation efforts.
CGIAR plans to expand agroforestry initiatives through regional hubs and increase the coverage of PBI by partnering with insurance providers and governments. The goal is to reach 10 million farmers across Africa within the next five years.
Collaboration with Local Farmers
When asked how local farmers like Alice can collaborate with CGIAR to implement these solutions effectively, Dr. Nchanji explained that farmers can engage through local agricultural extension services and community cooperatives linked to CGIAR programs.
Stakeholders can facilitate workshops, pilot projects, and feedback loops to refine and expand solutions.
Alice’s work illustrates how local farmers can integrate indigenous knowledge with scientific solutions. Alice uses traditional techniques to build natural flood defenses, such as planting native vegetation like bamboo along riverbanks to reduce water flow intensity.
Dr. Nchanji urged governments to integrate CGIAR’s solutions into national policies, allocate resources for climate-smart agriculture, and strengthen partnerships with NGOs.
She emphasized that communities can form cooperatives to access training, tools, and funding while advocating for inclusive policies.
Edwin Mumbere, Director of the Center for Citizens Conserving Environment and Management (CECIC), notes how these practices benefit the broader community.
“Alice is a role model for integrating indigenous knowledge with modern techniques. Her work exemplifies resilience and highlights the need to make such practices accessible to more farmers,” he says.
Inclusive Farming: Empowering the Most Vulnerable
Beyond her agricultural innovations, Alice advocates for inclusive climate action, particularly for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
She has become a voice for her community, emphasizing the need for infrastructure that supports everyone.
“When floods come, people with disabilities are often left behind,” Alice says, recalling harrowing experiences of inaccessible roads and narrow bridges.
The District Chair for Disaster Management, Pacao Mustafa Kikusa, acknowledges the gaps Alice highlights.
“We’ve seen how vulnerable groups, especially PWDs, face unique challenges during disasters,” he says.
In collaboration with organizations like the National Union of People with Disabilities (NUPID), efforts are underway to prioritize these groups in disaster response plans.
A Role Model for Change
“I want people to see that even those of us with disabilities can be part of the solution,” Alice says with unwavering determination.
This story was produced with support from CGIAR and MESHA.
