AID grant no. 649-0140-G-00-9024-00 to Save the Children Federation/USA for development of an agricultural settlement in the Qorioley District

Heavy equipment, funded through a grant from the UN High Commission for Refugees, will be used to clear the land at the project site, a heavily bushy area 5 km north of the Qorioley refugee camp. Each family will have its own plot of 3-4 ha, which for purposes of crop rotation will be divided into three equal sections. During the principal rainy season, maize will be intercropped with local beans on two of the sections, and cotton will be planted on the third. During the short rainy season, the sections with maize will be planted with sesame, and the cotton will remain on the third section, though it will be rotated to other sections in subsequent years. Extensionists will train the families in intercropping, crop rotation, use of improved varieties, nonchemical pest control, and grain and fodder storage. To assure the settlers of income in case of drought, a group of 50 families will be given a diesel maize sheller, while a second group of 50 will receive a diesel sesame oil press. These machines, which will provide a service in great demand in the area, will be operated by salaried employees of the groups, who will be trained by SCF. Related business assistance will be provided to the groups. Finally, each family will receive a donkey and a cart which can be used to carry food and water to their fields so they can remain there for several days at a time, to haul back firewood for use or sale in the camps, to transport harvest, and to generate non-farm income during dry years, e.g., by hauling fodder, water, building sticks, etc.