Solar & Tree Planting Project

The Nordic Folkecenter for renewable energy working in partnership with Joint Energy and Environment Projects (JEEP) has continued to support the implementation of the solar and tree planting project in the selected 7 districts of Uganda.

During this period, JEEP conducted a follow up on the tree nursery leaders and solar systems to continue encouraging nursery leaders by giving them on spot advice and further training and remind them of the project objectives to be attained and to follow up on the solar systems to assess how the systems are benefiting the schools, fix technical problems if any and advice on the management and use of the systems.

The exercise involved observations, interviews and discussions with farmers as a tool for relevant data collection and on spot correction of mistakes.

During this exercise, it was observed that tree nursery attendants had continued giving out tree seedlings to farmers. Some challenges were observed and farmers were advised accordingly. The most notable challenges were the long drought spells which affected the availability of water for the seedlings, some seedlings failing to germinate and lack of enough seedlings for all.

It was also observed that farmers had resorted to growing seedlings during the wet season because of the availability of water. However, farmers were advised to grow seedlings during the dry season so that they are ready to plant out when the rains come. Farmers were also advised to intensify watering of the gardens during the dry season to increase the germination rate of seedlings and also reduce the death rate of plants.

It was also observed that farmers had planted out the trees got from the nurseries. Below is a case from the follow up results from Mr. Agopa, a tree nursery leader from Tororo

From the follow results of Mr. Agopa, it was observed that from his follow ups, of all the seedlings he distributed to beneficiaries, 2,308 seedlings survived while 452 died in the garden. 2 farmers have so far planted woodlots of 500 trees each and he had 340 seedlings still in the nursery

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During the follow up, all the Thirteen (13) solar installations were visited. It was observed that most of the systems were working. However, most systems had experienced a problem with bulbs. These broke more often than expected. The problem was however resolved with the supplier and all broken bulbs have since then been replaced. It was also observed that the some of the bulbs and 1 switch at Alito SS had been broken by the students. After the follow up, the school management repaired the system and the system is working well.

JEEP entered into a networking partnership with a number of partners headed by WWF Uganda. This partnership seeks to address sustainable energy solutions in Kasese district. The champion district concept aims at establishing a replicable district model that is climate resilient and powered by efficient harnessing of renewable energy resources to meet all domestic, social and productive  energy  needs  for  human  development  is  estbalished  in  the  Albertine  Rift.  The initiative seeks  to  demonstrate  practical  solutions  in  the  developing  world  context  on  how  the  whole  world can  be  powered by  100%  renewable  energy  2050 – a  vision  set  by  the WWF  Energy  Report  (2010).

This initiative also responds to the « Sustianable Energy for All by 2030» an initiative declared by the United Nations Secretary General with 2012 as the launch-pad year. Current  state  of  energy  use in Uganda is  such  that  traditional  use  of  biomass  energy meets  93%  of energy demands of Ugandans. In this concept, JEEP will be in charge of mainly training and awareness in communities in energy saving stoves construction and other technologies.

Currently, WWF Uganda is fundraising for the project and has asked partners to do the same JEEP continued attending the Food Security and Agricultural Livelihood meetings (FSAL) organized by FAO Uganda every month. The meeting aims at sharing information among partners regarding food security and agriculture in FAO operational areas.

JEEP continued with its networking activities under PELUM. During this reporting period, JEEP participated in a number of meeting organized by PELUM. These include:

• Scrutiny of the Agriculture Sector Budget frame work paper. The meeting was attended by PELUM members (JEEP inclusive) and the Parliamentary committee on agriculture on Thursday, 10th /5/ 12 at the Parliament building.
• Biosafet and Biotechnology bill, the meeting aimed at developing a new section in the Bill to developed. The proposed sections included Public awareness notification, risk assessment and proper labeling of GMOs
• National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda ( NOGAMU) national meeting. The meeting aimed at deliberating on issues to increase incomes and improved livelihoods in Uganda through adoption of organic agriculture. JEEP was also elected on the national steering committee of NOGAMU