KAREP IMPLEMENTATION TEAMS CONDUCT PROJECT MONITORING IN KOTIDO 

Over the past five years, the Kotido district in the Karamoja sub-region has faced increasing pressure from unpredictable weather, food insecurity, and limited access to sustainable livelihoods. 

Against this backdrop, in 2025 Oxfam in Uganda and Warrior Squad Foundation (WSF), with support from the KANE Family, launched the Karamoja Agro-Pastoral Resilience and Empowerment Project (KAREP)—a three-year initiative designed to transform livelihoods and strengthen climate resilience among smallholder farmers.

As the project neared its first year of implementation, Oxfam organised a joint monitoring visit and project review, bringing together partners and the Kotido district local government to reflect on progress, identify challenges, and address them.

KAREP targets 300 smallholder farming households, with a strong emphasis on women in the two Kotido subcounties of Kapeta and Napumpum. It promotes climate-smart agriculture (CSA), improved access to agricultural inputs, and stronger market linkages through collective approaches.

Among the key interventions of the project have been the establishment of Agro-Pastoral Farmer Field Schools (APFFS), integration of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), ecosystem restoration, and rehabilitation of water infrastructure through Cash-for-Work (CfW).

Among the key areas visited was Lotwakop-Kokoria Women’s Group in and NASDA APFFS/VSLA group IN Napumpum and Kapeta sub-counties, respectively. At Lotwakop-Kokoria, which hosts the community seedbank, teams learned that the group of 30 were trained in GALS, VSLA, and financial literacy, and manage grain storage and charge user fees to support operations. 

With six APFFS linked to the store, the facility supports collective marketing, enabling farmers to sell produce at significantly lower prices to middlemen. The group carries out cereal banking, where cereals are stored and collectively sold during periods of scarcity when market prices are favourable.

Implementation teams also visited the Nawokomwa Valley Tank, which was previously heavily silted, significantly reducing its water-holding capacity. Following rehabilitation efforts by WSF, the tank has been restored, with desilting progress currently at 97%. 

The work was carried out through a Cash-for-Work approach, engaging 213 community members. In addition to restoring water access for both livestock and households, the intervention has provided income to the community, with UGX 27 million disbursed in wages.

In Napumpum Sub-County, the team interacted with APFFS/VSLA groups actively engaged in savings and livelihood activities. Members have been trained in GALS, financial literacy, and group dynamics and have reported positive household-level changes, including improved cooperation, joint decision-making, and reduced gender-based violence.

The groups are maintaining regular savings practices using VSLA kits and have benefited from training cascaded through local trainers of trainers. 

The Joint Monitoring Visit and Project Review confirmed notable progress across key components, particularly in the revitalization of community structures, strengthening of APFFS and VSLA groups, rehabilitation of critical water infrastructure, and increased adoption of the GALS approach.

Participants were also able to jointly reflect on implementation performance under the first year of the project, and as a result, partners developed a refined Year Two work plan focusing on strengthening systems, improving coordination, and scaling successful interventions.