Farming Momentum
BDP Agricultural Extension Officer Ivan Twinamatsiko
It is early in the month of September and that means planting season is well underway. As you walk through the well-dispersed homes of the rural villages here, a buzz of activity is happening everywhere with neatly arranged rows being created for seeds and cuttings. As you duck under the huge leaves of banana plants, you see families hard at work wielding hoes and other implements to prepare the soil for planting their small plots with millet, cassava, short beans, maize, and ground nuts.
There is nothing out of the ordinary happening here. People in developing regions such as the Bwindi area of southwestern Uganda are well-practiced in this annual ritual, all except for the Batwa that is. The Batwa still have much to learn because unlike others they started farming only recently, having been evicted from their rainforest homes barely a generation ago. But they are learning fast.
The Batwa Development Program’s (BDP) agricultural effort among the Batwa began with fits and starts over fifteen years ago. In the beginning, the fundamental challenge was how best to encourage and train an entire hunter-gatherer people group who had never farmed before. It was a cultural conundrum for sure, but perseverance prevailed.
The innovative work of John Bosco Tusingwire, the former BDP Agricultural Officer who died unexpectedly in 2022, went a long way in establishing an organic cultural literacy program among the Batwa and other groups. John was a hands-on, passionate practitioner and advocate who selected and encouraged those Batwa who demonstrated early on a commitment to working their land. They became the pioneering partners with John, encouraging other Batwa families.
This year, Ivan Twinamatsiko has taken over the reins as the Agricultural Extension Officer, and the program is building significant momentum. Today over 180 Batwa families are registered with the program and receive an allotment of seeds, training in organic techniques such as composting, utilization of organic pesticides, and other advice and best practices.
Ivan received his diploma in Agribusiness Management from Great Lakes University in 2013, and in 2014 became the head gardener for the Bwindi Community Hospital. Subsequently, he held supervisory and agricultural extension roles with two other organizations before returning to work with the Batwa last year.
Ivan understands the Batwa and how they work and think. This has enabled him to make even further headway in empowering the Batwa to grow their own crops. Building upon the work that John Bosco began, Ivan is establishing garden workshops. These workshops consist of demonstration gardens in Batwa settlements with an emphasis on modern farming practices. These gardens are established and worked by the Batwa, with the aim of promoting and encouraging growing best practices. Ongoing and replicable practices have been the aim from the beginning, and now with the Batwa starting to train their own, our prayers are that prosperous farming and high yields become the norm across the entire Batwa community living throughout the Bwindi region.
Learn more about the Batwa Development Program.
