President Yoweri Museveni has urged political and cultural leaders of Zombo District to spread the gospel of awakening-up the people in order to ensure wananchi are active in the struggle and efforts to promote household income.
The President was addressing a delegation of both political and cultural leaders from Zombo district that called on him yesterday at his country home of Rwakitura in Kiruhuura District. The 90-strong delegation that was led by the Women MP, Hon. Grace Kwiyucwiny, had prior to calling on the President, toured St. Jude Family Project that is managed by Mrs. Kizza in Masaka district and the home of Mr. Texas Nkusi in Nyabushozi County, Kiruhuura district.
Mr. Museveni called on the Zombo district leaders to help the people in the area to set up agro-based projects similar to the arrangement they had witnessed at Mrs. Kizza's farm in Masaka. He impressed upon the delegation in particular and the country at large that the onus is now geared towards national campaign to fight against household poverty.
He, therefore, strongly advised them to avoid temptations that lead to land fragmentation noting that the practice undermines efforts to consolidate and enhance production.
"Land fragmentation in Zombo in particular and Uganda at large must stop now", he said. He asked wananchi to engage in ago-production on consolidated land and only share out the financial dividends accruing from the ventures on land.
He advised those people that own 4 acres of land to allocate an acre to coffee production and said the NRM Government would provide them Arabica coffee seedlings. He also suggested to them to allocate a second acre to the cultivation of cassava and the third to the growing of fruits.
The President noted that Zombo district has the potential to grow apples adding that he is arranging them a trip to Kabale District to enable them acquire apple cultivation skills. He advised the delegation that people who have 4 acres could dedicate a fourth of their land to the cultivation of elephant grass to promote zero-grazing activities using exotic cattle that have high milk-yielding capacity.
Mr. Museveni told the Zombo delegation that the cultivation of oranges could easily enable wananchi to earn Shs.12 million per annum per acre. He reminded them that good infrastructure, such as roads and electricity, is useless without income to being generated by families. He called on the people of Zombo and of Uganda in general to use the infrastructure provided by government to generate household incomes.
He also pointed out that the Nyabushozi example shows how people can change from rearing traditional to exotic cattle. He pledged a donation of Shs.50 million to boost the SACCOs in Zombo District. He also pledged a donation of 30 Frisian cows and 30 goats to Zombo women groups.
A member of the delegation, Alex Kol of the Kebu community, reported that the tour that they had undertaken in Masaka and Kiruhuura districts had given them knowledge on using small pieces of land.
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