Quarterly Progress Report January1– March 31, 2014: Assisting Returnees in Sila (ARIS)

The program aims to increase the resilience of vulnerable, rural populations in the region to shocks at both the community and household levels. During the quarter under review, January 1 to March 31, 2014, the program focused on training farmers' groups in gardening techniques and management of subsidized kits. A total of 101 farmers attended the training, which was conducted from January 7 to 9, 2014. Additionally, ten farmers' groups received vegetable market tools, and 1,500 households received seeds for dry-season agriculture. The distribution of vegetable seeds and equipment resulted in 9,370 people benefiting from the assistance, with 4,728 women and 4,644 men receiving seeds. The vegetable garden kits, including motor pump generators, shovels, hoes, rakes, local hoes, 12-liter waterspouts, and seeds, were given to an additional ten groups. These groups had larger plots and wanted to maximize their production potential. Agricultural training was also provided to the 7 market garden groups that received tools and seeds over the last quarter. The training focused on gardening techniques and management of subsidized kits. A survey conducted by the World Concern Development Organization (WCDO) field team indicated that the activity increased food security for an additional 2 months among beneficiaries. The program also focused on improving agricultural production and food security. The projected increase in the number of months of food self-sufficiency due to distributed seed systems/agricultural input for beneficiary households was 2.5 months, with 80% progress towards the target. The number of people benefiting from seed systems/agricultural input activities, by sex, was 1,224 women and 463 men, with 273.3% progress towards the target for females and 174.7% progress towards the target for males. In the livestock sub-sector, the number of animals benefiting from or affected by livestock activities was 25, with 100% progress towards the target. The number of people benefiting from livestock activities, by sex, was 0 women and 0 men, with 118% progress towards the target for females and 75.8% progress towards the target for males. The program also focused on economic recovery and market systems. Training was provided to ROSCA groups on the topic of recycling on loan, interest rate, and repayment terms, with 143 participants. Monitoring of activities showed that all ten groups received six rounds of training and gave out a total of 194 loans during the period. The average loan amount was $42.70, with an interest rate of 7% and a repayment period of 27 days. The program also focused on disaster risk reduction. Hazards assessments and community risk management plans were carried out in the remaining 22 villages, with a total participation of 1,692 people. The exercise showed that the most recurring disasters were fire and drought, and two main activities emerged in the community plans, namely the construction of community fireproof cereal storage containers and market garden agriculture.