Transforming Lives through Climate-Smart Agriculture and Peacebuilding: The Impact of ACROSS in Kauto Payam, Kapoeta East County.

For the past six years, ACROSS, with support from PMU, has empowered former warriors—once cattle raiders—to embrace alternative livelihoods, addressing the twin challenges of food insecurity and climate change. By introducing climate-smart agriculture, specifically the Zai Pit farming technique, ACROSS has provided a sustainable solution for farming in harsh weather conditions, transforming lives and livelihoods in the process.

The extreme impacts of climate change had exacerbated tensions among the warriors and their communities, fueling violence and deepening food insecurity. To address these root causes, ACROSS implemented a holistic approach: training the warriors in climate-smart agriculture, promoting gender equality, and fostering peaceful coexistence through community-led conflict mitigation initiatives. These efforts directly contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 (Climate Action) and 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), creating a ripple effect of positive change.

In Kauto Payam, Kapoeta East County former warriors have successfully cultivated onions through ACROSS’s innovative peacebuilding campaigns, the introduction of Zai Pits, and the provision of critical farm inputs. Today, these men have become the primary suppliers of onions to the bustling Nanyangacor market, a remarkable transformation from conflict to economic productivity.

The Toposa community celebrates ACROSS for this transformative impact, which has drastically reduced violence and raids, economically empowered families, and significantly improved livelihoods. The shift from conflict to cooperation stands as a testament to the power of targeted interventions, restoring hope and resilience in a community once defined by struggle.