AgrAbility for Africa

Following the easing of targeted sector lockdown restrictions due to COVID 19, the AgrAbility for Africa staff are beginning to renew farm visits to assess the impact to farmers. The re-connection is meant to guide intervention programs and activities to ensure effective project implementation by analyzing potential barriers and farmer needs caused by the pandemic. The situation has certainly had negative effects on the health, social, and economic aspects of their lives. It is essential to have clients be a part of the solution by actively engaging them in strategies that are geared towards improving their quality of life and boosting their productivity

Among the first farm visits was one to a thriving Lake Victoria waterfront mulberry farm owned by Mr. Arthur Blick ,Senior. Despite being confined to a wheelchair since 1983 following a bike racing accident, Mr. Blick has remained positive, and has recently started adding value to his mulberry fruit by producing wine. To date, he has been using his bare hands, but is looking at mechanizing the process in the future to accommodate increased fruit production and to meet certification requirements for his sweet and dry mulberry brands. Due to Africa's meteorological cycles, the crop has five agricultural cycles when grown in Uganda, as opposed to one or two agriculture cycles when farmed in Europe and other parts of the world.

Finding unconventional solutions and interventions has helped the AgrAbility for Africa staff create new ideas and solutions to enhance the quality of life of farmers, ranchers, and children in Uganda, and has helped farmers faced with disabilities rebuild and return to a fairly independent lifestyle that is more flexible and meaningful. That success is largely credited to collaborations and the ability to make complex tasks simple - benefits unlocked by scaling low-cost assistive technology solutions to farmers with disabilities. AgrAbility for Africa staff, realizing the benefits, have sought the expertise of Dr Therese Willkomm, "Assistive Technology MacGyver," of the Assistive Technology in New Hampshire program, to deepen their knowledge in creating and fabricating these solutions. As part of the process, AgrAbility for Africa has received donations of her publications Assistive Technology Solutions in Minutes, to support the skill and capacity development of their entire team, and to help in increasing client satisfaction. By ensuring quicker solutions to farmers' challenges, AgrAbility for Africa will help alleviate the problem faced by clients of having to wait too long for significant aid.

Submitted by Mutumba Faisal