Written By | Joshua Nahamya
RIPA supporting people of Rubirizi with income generating activities
Search
Rubirizi
The Rural Initiative for Poverty Alleviation (RIPA) has stepped up efforts to transition Rubirizi farmers from subsistence agriculture to a money economy. During a training organized by RIPA, Tumusiime Vincent Bamugaya, the Director for Economic Monitoring and Research in the Office of the President and Director of RIPA, urged farmers to prioritize self-sustaining income-generating projects to support their families and improve livelihoods through livestock.
Vincent Tumusiime Bamugaya, Director and project Cordinator RIPA speaking about the economic support in Rubirizi district
The training aimed to equip beneficiary farmers with effective livestock management skills, gather feedback on the success and challenges of the goat and cow projects, and sensitize new applicants on RIPA’s Animal Banking initiatives. Mr. Bamugaya emphasized the importance of appreciating livestock breeding, production, and marketing business ventures as a foundation for other commercial undertakings.
RIPA, which operates under five key pillars—Production, Processing, and Marketing; Strategic Alliances; Enterprise Development; Micro Savings, Credit, and Insurance; and Research and Development—is committed to creating socially and economically empowered communities through participatory, household-based interventions.
RIPA donating heifers for household income imrprovement in Rubirizi
Addressing low cattle density and poverty data base
Christopher Akampurira, RIPA's Head of Strategy, Business, and Marketing, highlighted the severe need for intervention in Rubirizi, noting that the district has a high population density but reportedly less than 500 heads of cattle in total.
RIPA aims to bridge this gap by promoting zero-grazing dairy farming and value chain production, targeting 500 households over five years. Akampurira cited worrying national statistics: 33% of Ugandan households remain in subsistence agriculture, and the rural poverty rate continues to negatively impact overall development efforts, with 76% of the population living in rural areas and 73% of the workforce employed in agriculture.
Some of the beneficieries in Rubirizi over RIPA support
Project goals and success
Vincent Tumusiime Bamugaya, the Project Coordinator for RIPA, highlighted the organization's mission to propel communities out of poverty through its vision of “Sustainable Alleviation of Poverty in Rural Communities in Uganda.”
RIPA’s strategic plan focuses on enhancing value addition, strengthening the private sector's capacity to create jobs, and consolidating productive infrastructure. The project’s goals include increasing production through provision of inputs, application of best practices, and improved feeds management.
She confirmed that over 70 families in Rubirizi are set to benefit from the zero-grazing dairy and goat projects, building on the success of last year when 100 families benefited from goats and 30 from dairy projects. Furthermore, RIPA is promoting environmentally friendly solutions like climate-smart agriculture.
The project outcomes target the promotion of youth agribusiness projects, aiming to create and support 11 youth groups and train youth in entrepreneurship and vocational skills. The initiative is projected to impact 10,000 people and create at least 500 jobs for previously unemployed youth by 2026.
One of the locals that benefited from RIPA livestock boost
Support for religious leaders
In another development, RIPA continues to donate cattle to religious leaders in the district as a token of appreciation for their tireless community service. The organization handed over four cattle to several religious leaders, including the Parish Priest of Rugazi, the Archdeacon of Ndekye, and the County Sheik of Rubirizi.
Sheik Manisuri Suwatu, Head of the Muslim community in Rubirizi, thanked RIPA for empowering religious leaders to alleviate poverty, noting the cattle will provide milk for sale, helping to cover school fees and enabling future value addition.
The founders, Lion Tumusiime Vincent Bamugaya and his wife Lion Kwesiga Rosebel, emphasized that RIPA is committed to working with faith leaders to spread its message of poverty alleviation and empower communities toward sustainable development.
Torch Media Africa
