By: Ismael Kasooha
KAGADI
Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja has ordered all extension staff in the country to move from offices and go to the fields to help farmers increase production, productivity and profitability.
Nabbanja and several other Ministers had pitched camp in the districts of Kagadi, Kibaale and Kakumiro to respond to the President’s policy proposals.
The six policy proposals are Production, multiplication, distribution, and certification of seeds and stocking materials, Disease control, Agricultural mechanisation and irrigation and Farmer education and mobilisation in addition to Partnerships with big land owners and Interventions in the fisheries sector.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja joined by other Ministers while visiting a model farmer in Kibaale District
After visiting several farmers in Kagadi District, Nabbanja said that extension staff must move to the field immediately to respond to the concerns raised by farmers.
“Farmers are still stuck in low value crops such as maize and beans yet the president wants farmers to do commercial agriculture and dealing in high value crops such as tomatoes, onions, cabbages and other vegetables,” said Nabbanja.
She was not happy with the way an irrigation scheme that was established by government was being used to grow beans and maize yet the intention was to help farmers produce high value crops.
“I’m not happy with the way the shs.1.2bn irrigation scheme is being used by Swezen Wamala because such an intervention is supposed to help a farmer produce all year round and high value crops,” said Nabbanja.
Bwino Kyakulaga, the State Minister for Agriculture, asked the youths to engage in agriculture because it pays instantly.
“You, the youth, there is no venture that can pay you instantly like agriculture. What is happening in most parts of the country is alarming because the youth no longer want to engage in agriculture,” cautioned Kyakulaga.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja with other ministers visiting the farm of Innocent Byaruhanga in Igayaza
Henry Musasizi, the State Minister for Finance, asked the people of Kagadi to embrace government programmes aimed at increasing household incomes.
“The government has played its role of providing an enabling environment for you to flourish and even availed funds for the poor such as the Parish Development Model but still some people do not want to embrace such programmes,” said Musasizi.
Aisha Ssekindi, the State Minister for Water said that the government had begun providing water for production to farmers on top of availing funds for maintenance of water sources.
“The government has decided to now provide water for both domestic use and for production. All this is aimed at addressing the challenges of over reliance on mother nature,” said Ssekindi.
The Premier and Ministers visited farmers who appealed to the government to address some of the few challenges they are facing to make a breakthrough.
Some of the challenges are lack of feeds for fish, water for irrigation, diseases and pests among others.
A team of Government officials pay a visit to St. Kirigwaijjo SS farm in Kibaale District
Meanwhile, the government has concluded a three-day farmer education, mobilisation, value addition and service delivery campaign agricultural expo in the Districts of Kagadi, Kibaale and Kakumiro where farmers asked for support to access water for production but also help them in value addition.
The model farmers who included Innocent Byaruhanga from Kakumiro District, Omukweda Turyamureba from Kagadi and Nathan Bamwine a fish farmer said that they would have been benefiting more from agriculture if the government had helped them to access water for production.
The farmers appealed to the government to provide them with machinery for value addition as the President’s call to increase their production, productivity and profitability.
Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, the State Minister for agriculture says that after the agricultural expo the Ministry will now resort to assessing individual farmers and groups needs so that they can help them in their quest to add value and increase production.
The Prime M
Ministers Fred Kyakulaga Bwino for Agriculture and Aisha Ssekindi for Water advising Innocent Byaruhanga a coffee farmer in Kakumiro District
inister Robinah Nabbanja however challenged the local farmers in all districts to make use of the model farmers at their disposal to learn the best farming practices so that they can increase production, productivity and profitability.
Various exhibitors at the agricultural expo explained the services they have offered to the public aimed at helping them improve on production.
The State Minister for Transport and Member of Parliament Bugangaizi West Constituency, Fred Byamukama, cautioned the public against damaging the road infrastructure that the government has invested billions of money in by vandalizing them to sell scrap.
Byamukama said that the government has put in place roads to help farmers access markets for their produce but the roads are being destroyed by unpatriotic individuals.
The Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said that they had decided to use the whole government approach in service delivery in all the agricultural expos in the country to serve the people.
Rev. Fr. Charles Asaba, the Headmaster Kirigwaijjo SS handing over a cabbage to the Prime Minister
In all the three districts over 25 motorcycles were given out to extension staff to help them reach out to the farmers and offer technical advice.
The Office of the Prime Minister Under the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU), in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and other line government agencies organized the agricultural expo on the advice of H.E the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
The agri-business expo brings together small-holder farmers, large-scale farmers, farmer associations, agricultural researchers, and agri-business companies to exchange ideas on how best to improve production, productivity and profitability.
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