Over the past twenty years, TIST Farmers have listed various reasons for joining the TIST Program, such as leadership opportunities, carbon payments, and combatting climate change just to name a few.

For Oyet Patrick of Uganda, however, the reason is very simple – to encourage more farmers to keep growing trees!

Farmers living in Northern Uganda have spent much of their lives witnessing the consequences of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency. Twenty years of conflict has resulted in the reckless cutting down of trees and degradation of the environment. The land they call home has become barren in front of their eyes.

While the past has motivated many farmers in the region to plant trees, Oyet Patrick is also focused on the future – his children. Planting fruit trees in his compound provides him the cash he needs to afford school fees, get access to medical services, and even buy clothes for his children. Having observed the value of training first-hand, he is constantly striving to improve and expand the training of new farmers in line with TIST Best Practices.

He emphasizes to new farmers how the TIST Program is unique with its philosophy rooted in agroforestry and growing trees rather than just planting them!

Oyet Patrick’s goal is to “make trainings so that other members join TIST Uganda so that we [get] more farmers in our community to plant trees.”