In Yumbe, Ayao's rice survived the dry spell that would have wiped out the old crop

Ayao Yo, 34, grows rice on a shared demonstration farm in Yumbe District, Uganda, alongside neighbours from refugee and host communities. The group switched to NERICA 4, a rice variety bred to resist drought and disease, and learned to plant in lines instead of scattering seed — cutting the seed they need per acre from 50 kilograms to about 20 to 25, while harvesting more. When a long dry spell hit this year, the new crop kept growing. 'If we had planted our ordinary variety, we wouldn't have any crop to see,' Ayao says. She now grows the same rice in her own garden and helps run her farmers' savings group.

SDG 2 · Zero hunger — Mechanism: institutional program