By Bondry Kilenga
Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) Karamoja Pastorate has gone beyond spiritual teaching to training small scale holder farmers on modern farming methods to address food insecurity and poverty in the Karamoja Sub-region.
The training is being conducted under the Karamoja Integrated Resilience Action Program (KIRAP), funded by Compassion International.
The program worth Shs 20 million, aims to address critical gaps in agricultural knowledge by providing farmers with skills in modern farming methods.
Earlier this week, the Church graduated the first cohort of 165 small scale holder farmers after three-months of training in modern farming practices.
Pastor Desmy Amadi, the overseer of PAG Kotido, said the trainees drawn from the villages of Narengmoru, Lokochil, Locodimeu, and Losogot In Kotido municipality gained knowledge and skills in agricultural value chain, including crop production, animal husbandry, agroforestry, horticulture, and entrepreneurship.
He explained that this is part of the broader Church’s commitment of empowering rural communities to produce enough to address the challenge of food insecurity and ensure economic stability among households.
Reflecting on the Church’s community empowerment journey, Pr. Amadi said ten youths also completed training in carpentry, electrical engineering, tailoring, and hairdressing, and were supported with startup kits to launch their own enterprises.
Pr. Amadi congratulated graduates for successfully making it to the last phase of the training and encouraged them to be ambassadors of change in their communities.
“We are here today to celebrate farmers who have completed three months of training on improving their livelihoods through diversification initiatives. We are encouraging them to establish small-scale agribusiness enterprises that will boost their income,” said Pr. Amadi.
For sustainability, he said that Pastorate will continue to partner with stakeholders who interact directly with farmers and conduct follow-up activities to gauge the program’s impact.
He also applauded Compassion International for the partnership, noting that it’s because of their support that the Church was able to train and graduate the first cohort of small holder farmers.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony, the beneficiaries commended church for the initiative, describing it as a game changer.
Maria Longoli, Rosemary Losike and John Longok said the training has opened their eyes to explore modern farming methods to not only ensure food security but also generate income.
They explained that the knowledge gained in organic and kitchen farming would help reduce costs on chemicals and ensure year-round income.
The Karamoja Integrated Resilience Action Program (KIRAP) is expected to transform rural livelihoods across the region, positioning farmers as key players in sustainable agriculture and climate-resilient farming practices.
