Abstract:

Some of the refugees from neighbouring Sudan have for many years now been settled at Imvepi refugee camp and other areas. The overall management of these settlements are headquartered at Rhino camp 70 km east of Abi ARDC. On arrival the refugees are allocated 0.2 hectares of land per head for farming so that they can produce some of the food by themselves and hence reduce over dependence on management for food items. The Camp is funded by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) through the German Development Service (ded). The management of Rhino Camped called on Scientists from Abi ARDC to carry out soil sampling and analysis for Imvepi refugee settlement with the objective of obtaining a better understanding of the current soil fertility status. The information obtained would in turn be useful in improving on the soil management practices by the refugees so that they could enhance crop yields and be able to improve on their socio-economic well being. Consequently a team of Researchers was sent from Abi to Imvepi to carry out blocking and soil sampling. The soils samples were then dried at Abi ARDC and taken to Makerere University for routine analysis. The results of the laboratory analysis form the main focus of this report. Some recommendations regarding better management of Imvepi soils have also been made based on the results of this study. The report further highlights the secondary information that was collected from farmers and synthesized using a simplified check list. The team is grateful to the Management of both Imvepi and Rhino Camp settlements for their cooperation and funding this work. Specifically we are grateful to both Mr. Adolf Gerstel and Mr. Joel Okwir. The team worked closely with Mr. Tomijo an Agricultural Officer based at Imvepi settlement during the blocking and sampling phases. Our thanks go to him. The team is further grateful to the staff of Makerere University soils laboratory for carrying out the routine analysis of the soil samples.