Strengthening food security and resilient livelihoods for refugee and host community smallholder farmers through improved agronomic practices, savings and lending, financial literacy, and agricultural asset distribution in Rhino Camp.
Access to safe, reliable, and diverse sources of income is central to household food security and long-term resilience. For refugee households in Rhino Camp, dependence on humanitarian assistance — rations that are frequently cut due to funding shortfalls — means that any shock to the supply chain directly threatens food security. Building the productive capacity of households to grow their own food, manage their own savings, and diversify their income is not a development luxury. It is a protection imperative.
Under the Food Security and Resilient Livelihoods programme funded by DANIDA, YSAT supports smallholder farmers in strengthening their productive capacities and expanding income-generating opportunities. In 2024, the project reached 180 participants, including 150 refugees and 30 host community members. Farmers were equipped with practical knowledge in improved agronomic practices, savings and lending through Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), basic business management, and financial literacy.
These efforts were reinforced through the distribution of agricultural inputs and tools — enabling households to immediately apply their new knowledge in their own fields. To further enhance livelihood diversification, 60 female goats were distributed to refugee households, strengthening household assets and improving nutritional outcomes. The project's integration of VSLA methodology, financial literacy, and asset transfer creates a self-reinforcing cycle: better farming produces more income, more income feeds savings groups, and savings groups build the financial resilience that protects households when the next shock arrives.
289 farmers were trained in good agronomic practices and climate-resilient farming approaches. Training covered improved planting techniques, soil management, crop selection, and post-harvest handling — equipping farmers with the practical knowledge to improve yields and reduce losses. The curriculum was designed around the specific crops and growing conditions of Rhino Camp, ensuring that the skills learned could be immediately applied in participants' own fields.
Farmers were trained in Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) methodology alongside basic business management and financial literacy. VSLA groups create a community-based savings and lending system that gives households access to small loans without the barriers and costs of formal banking. Financial literacy training built participants' ability to manage income, plan expenditure, and reinvest productively — strengthening the long-term sustainability of the livelihoods gains made through agricultural support.
175 farmers were supported with assorted farming tools to enable them to immediately apply their new agronomic knowledge. Agricultural inputs were also distributed to households, reducing the capital barrier between training and production. The distribution approach prioritised households with the least access to productive assets, ensuring that the most vulnerable farmers received the support needed to benefit fully from the training they received.
60 female goats were distributed to refugee households to strengthen household assets and improve nutrition. Livestock ownership provides a form of savings that can be liquidated in times of need, generates income through offspring and milk, and contributes to household dietary diversity. The female goat distribution model — prioritising breeding animals — was designed to create sustainable, self-replicating asset growth within recipient households over time.
4 farmer groups were linked to a financial institution, creating a formal pathway from VSLA savings practices to access to institutional financial services. This linkage is significant for refugee households who are typically excluded from formal banking due to documentation barriers, lack of collateral, and perceived credit risk. Connecting groups rather than individuals lowers the entry threshold and enables collective access to services that would be unavailable to any single household acting alone.
Farmers trained in good agronomic practices, VSLA, business skills, and financial literacy
Farmers supported with assorted farming tools to improve production
Female goats distributed to refugee households for livelihood diversification
Farmer groups linked to a financial institution for formal savings access