Kabale University and Makerere University, under the TORCH Project, have engaged farmers in Nyabyumba Village, Katenga Parish, Kamuganguzi Sub–County in Kabale District on practical ways to fight global warming – but farmers say the cost of green technologies remains a major barrier.
The engagement, held on Tuesday, 25th November, took place at the home of farmer advisor Charles Byarugaba in Nyabyumba Village. It focused on how rural households can adapt to and mitigate climate change through simple, affordable practices, while also raising concerns about the financial challenges that limit adoption.
Universities push climate action beyond the classroom
Associate Professor Businge Phelix Mbabazi, TORCH Project Coordinator at Kabale University, said that the visit was not only to teach farmer’s but also to learn from the community and identify areas where universities can offer support.
Dr Patrick Musinguzi, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Production at Makerere University’s School of Agricultural Sciences, said the TORCH Project invests heavily in training students to understand environmental changes, but emphasized that research must be linked to communities.
He explained that green growth focuses on the changes happening in the atmosphere due to greenhouse gases from human activities, which drive global warming. The goal, he said, is to help communities “live in harmony with the environment while improving livelihoods without destroying natural resources.”
The climate challenge: pollution, deforestation and poor energy use
During the discussion, scientists highlighted key environmental challenges facing rural communities:
- Heavy dependence on firewood and traditional stoves, which increases greenhouse gas emissions.
- Soil pollution from poor waste management, especially plastics and polythene bags.
- Soil erosion and land degradation due to limited tree cover and poor farming practices.
- Water scarcity during dry seasons because of limited rainwater harvesting.
Dr Musinguzi stressed that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by:
- Using biogas and clean energy-saving stoves,
- Planting more trees to absorb carbon,
- Protecting soils by recycling plastics and reducing the use of polythene bags.
He urged farmers to reuse polythene bags instead of buying new ones that eventually end up in the soil and water sources.
Proposed solutions: clean cooking, manure use and rainwater harvesting
The TORCH team promoted several climate-smart and low-cost practices, including:
- Clean cooking stoves: Farmers were encouraged to shift from traditional three-stone fires to modern energy-efficient stoves which use less firewood and emit fewer gases. Some farmers already use improved stoves that allow cooking on four saucepans using one firewood inlet, thereby conserving trees and protecting the environment.
- Biogas and solar cooking: The experts advised households with livestock to consider biogas as a clean cooking alternative, and to explore solar cookers where possible. They also discouraged the habit of leaving fires burning after cooking, saying it unnecessarily increases greenhouse gas emissions.
- Organic manure instead of artificial fertilizers: Farmers were encouraged to use animal manure to improve soil fertility and avoid excessive use of artificial fertilisers that can damage soils in the long term.
- Agroforestry and tree planting: Planting trees around gardens was recommended as a way to control soil erosion, act as live fences and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.
- Rainwater harvesting: To tackle water shortages during dry spells, farmers were urged to invest in rainwater harvesting using tanks and gutters so that rainwater flows directly into storage instead of causing erosion and flooding.
Farmers’ concerns: “Green solutions are still too expensive”
While farmers welcomed the training and agreed on the importance of protecting the environment, many raised concerns about affordability.
They noted that:
- Very few households can afford water tanks for rainwater harvesting.
- In the entire village and even the parish, no home uses gas for cooking because it is too expensive.
Farmers appealed for financial support, subsidies or credit facilities to help them acquire tanks, clean cooking stoves and other green technologies promoted by the project.
Local leadership hopeful but realistic
Host farmer advisor Charles Byarugaba expressed optimism that, with the support of the TORCH Project, Nyabyumba can have households using biogas within a year.
He said his income mainly comes from banana plantations, screen houses, climbing beans and fruits, and that he is eager to see his village develop by adopting the climate-smart practices shared during the visit.
Byarugaba said he would be very happy to see fellow farmers use these guidelines to become better, more environmentally responsible farmers.
About the TORCH Project
Kabale University launched the TORCH Project on July 30, 2025 as a major initiative towards clean energy, green growth and climate change mitigation in East Africa. The project aims to strengthen partnerships between universities and communities to move towards a zero-emission society.
Partner institutions include:
- Makerere University
- Busitema University
- Kyambogo University
- Kabale University
- University of Juba (South Sudan)
- BOKU University (Austria)
Civil society partners include Youth Go Green and Regenerate Africa.
The project is funded by OeAD-GmbH, under the Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education and Research for Development. It focuses on “living labs” where communities and universities test and scale green innovations such as biogas, solar energy, rainwater harvesting and efficient stoves to reduce pollution, cut household costs and create employment opportunities.
In Nyabyumba, the big issue now is how to turn these climate-smart ideas into reality for low-income farmers – and whether future project support can bridge the gap between awareness and actual adoption.
