A significant number of people in Bukedea District has realised improved livelihoods through the agricultural projects supported by Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among.
Speaker Among has in her capacity as Bukedea Woman MP injected personal resources to encourage commercial agriculture in the district. Part of this has seen her purchase of tractors for farmers’ groups in the district as well as injecting cash in the buying of inputs and seed capital for various groups. This has enabled beneficiaries to realise a momentous shift in their gains.
“We have realised that once you plough your garden by tractor, it somehow remains moist for quite some time even when the sun hits. That is partly how I managed to get a better soy yield,” Pastor Charles Ongole, a resident of Kolir Village in Kareu Parish, Kolir Sub-county, said after recently harvesting seven bags of soybean from one acre piece of land.
Before Ms Among’s tractors arrived, Pastor Ongole was among the thousands of farmers in Bukedea who depended on the hand hoe and oxen for opening their land, which most of them would hire at a fee.
“Someone would accept to give you his oxen after they have finished ploughing their own gardens, this meant that I would always plant late in every season,” Mr Ongole said, noting that it was difficult under such conditions for him to have enough food in his household, let alone have surplus for sale.
“I was actually among the poorest people in this village,” he said.
However, the tractors delivered by Speaker Among have helped change his fortunes, with the father of five now having enough to eat and cash to spend through farming.
His joy is shared by hundreds of residents in the district.
Facilitating mechanised farming
Tractors are a high value necessity for subsistence farmers to shift to commercial farming, as one way to escape poverty. And in her quest to drive social-economic transformation among her people, Speaker Among has been bearing the cost to avail them to farmers in her district.
She started the move in 2020 by providing 10 walking tractors to farmers’ groups across the district and recently, she donated high power farm tractors.
The beneficiaries of these tractors are clustered in groups spread across the entire district where they are also easily equipped with knowledge on better agricultural practices.
In the past two and a half years, over 13,000 farmers have directly benefitted from this project, ensuring a steady food security in their households as well as being able to raise income from their improved crop harvest.
Ms Zipora Akol, Ms Among’s political assistant based in the district, says towards the end of last year as teachers celebrated their day, the Speaker gave them a tractor.
This tractor is run and managed by the teachers themselves and has led to the birth of Bukedea Teachers Farmers Association, which boasts of over 500 members.
The Speaker also recently gave out five more tractors; one for the Catholic faithful in Kachumbala Parish, one for Muslims and one for Church of Uganda Christians. Another tractor was delivered to the women in Kidongole Sub-county while the farmers in Kolir Sub-county also got one.
Accessing the tractors
For farmers to access the over 16 tractors put across the district, one has to get in touch with the leadership of the nearest associations manning them.
The associations usually charge a small fee for the machine maintenance and income for their group. The Muslims tractor, for example, charges as low as 70,000 Shillings per acre as compared to 150,000 Shillings charged by other private tractor owners. However, the best would be to join the nearest group and become a member so as to get more benefits ranging from savings to agricultural knowledge and inputs.
The tractors are also used for transporting harvest.
During peak times, the demand is too high and farmers have appealed for the Speaker to add them more tractors.
Tractor beneficiaries Speak out
Mr Simon Peter Oulo, the head teacher Bukedea Senior Secondary School who also doubles as the chairperson of Bukedea Teachers Farmers Association, said they received the tractor from Ms Among on October 5, 2022.
He said the machine has greatly transformed their lives as teachers attain food security, many of whom earlier lacked time to be in the garden to drive oxen as they had to be in class.
“As teachers, we no longer have to skip classes to drive oxen during farming season, thanks to the tractor recently donated to us by the Honorable Speaker,” Mr Oulo said.
Being chairperson and directly in charge of the tractor, the Bukedea S.S head teacher reveals that in the past few months, the tractor has been able to reach all the schools in the district, noting that its work has only been slowed down by the current lack of rains.
He adds that the tractor, which the association hires out at a small fee, has also been able to generate some income for the teachers.
“On behalf of the teachers, I want to thank the magnanimity of the Right Honorable Speaker, she has demonstrated true love to us and we are very grateful,” Mr Oulo said, adding that if time allows, “As teachers, we surely wish to meet with the Honorable Speaker to physically deliver our gratitude to her.”
Sheikh Shaban Opolot of Malera County, on behalf of the Muslim community, commended the Speaker for the tractor they received, saying it has helped Muslims realise improved livelihoods.
“The tractor remains accessible to all Muslims in the district, you just have to call,” Sheikh Opolot said, before requesting the Woman MP to add them another tractor under their SACCO.
The county Muslim leader meanwhile prayed for God’s protection for Speaker Among, saying her exemplary service deserves more blessings.
Other farming initiatives
Speaker Among has meanwhile facilitated a number of other projects in commercial agriculture. They are;
• She gave over 10,000 one month kroiler chicken to selected farmers groups in the district.
• She distributed Longe five maize seeds to farmers in Kidongole, Malera and Kolir sub-counties. Recently, women league councils also benefited from the longe five maize seeds.
• Ms Among gave improved pig breeds (large white) to selected farmers groups across the district.
• She also gave out hand hoes and gumboots given LCs and VHTs.
• The Speaker also delivered exotic goat breeds to farmers in Apopong Village in Kolir Sub-county through lobbying from State House.
Financial Assistance
Speaker Among last year injected 640 Million Shillings to 128 farmers’ enterprise groups in the three sub counties of Kolir, Kamutur and Aminit as a pilot project to provide seed capital for locals.
Each group got five million Shillings as revolving fund for farmers to engage in small scale businesses to support their farming.
The money particularly targeted women and youth.
“It is difficult to get instant results from the revolving fund but it has helped many to change their lives,” Mr Okurut J.J of Kamutur Village said.
“Hon. Among kick started this programme in these sub-counties as a pilot by selecting four groups from each parish; two for women and two for the youth. This should not be mistaken as Parish Development Model funds. Other sub-counties should be patient as they will also get,” Ms Akol, the Speaker’s political assistant, said.
She noted that they are currently mapping Kachumbala County to implement the same project before rolling it out to the entire district.
What local leaders say
Mr George William Atum, the former district councilor for Kachumbala County, said the tractors have come in handy to help people open their land and plant crops early during the current unpredictable weather conditions.
“With the current unpredictable rains, the earlier you plant, the better your yields. That is why Hon Speaker’s tractors have been very helpful as they help many open their land in time,” Mr Atum said.
He meanwhile prayed that as the Speaker brings in services like tractors and many others, the people of Bukedea put away their differences and come together to support Speaker because she is really doing a lot for the people.
“Let’s support and encourage our leaders that’s when they also get more energy to provide for us,” Mr Atum said.
Mr James Alutia, the district councilor for Kolir Sub-county, praises Speaker Among for spearheading projects targeting commercial agriculture, saying such is the only way people can be lifted out of poverty.
“A majority of our people are farmers and Hon Speaker is too wise to have chosen to directly help them improve their methods of work,” Mr Alutia said.
He said tractors, much as they are necessary in the modernisation of agriculture, remain too expensive for rural farmers a thing he commends Hon Among for such a big support.
“All we the people of Bukedea should say is thank you and keep praying for God to keep guiding and protecting her so that she delivers more,” Mr Alutia prayed.
By David Oduut
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