Mbale RDC tips farmers on poverty eradication
Aug 29, 2014
Mbale Deputy Resident District Commissioner Pamela Watuwa has urged farmers to utilize the land as a factor of production to eradicate poverty.
By Patrick Jaramogi
Mbale Deputy Resident District Commissioner Pamela Watuwa has urged farmers to utilize the land as a factor of production to eradicate poverty.
Watuwa was speaking during regional farmers stakeholders meeting held at the Wash and Wills Hotel in Mbale.
The meeting organised by the Eastern Archdiocesan Development Network (EADAN) attracted over 200 farmers from the districts of Moroto, Soroti, Katakwi, Mbale, Tororo, Bugiri, Jinja, Iganga, Mayuge, Palisa, Budaka and Busia among others.
“We are left with no option but to till the land and get what we want,” she said.
Watuwa decried the low agricultural funding saying government was discussing with development partners to address this anomaly. She said land and labor are the only two factors of production still left and called for its full utilization.
John Febian Olweny the executive director EADEN said they were using strategic intervention to eradicate poverty and improve livelihoods in rural areas. “It is through this platform that you will be able to identify, prioritize small holder farmers’ issues and be able todialogue with decision makers for purposes of policy change,” said Olweny.
EADEN is one of the four organisations in a consortium implementing the Uganda Governance and Poverty Alleviation program supported by Caritas Denmark and Danida with the overall development goal of ensuring poverty reduction in rural areas.
“We need to sensitise our small holder farmers about the proposed Bio-safety and Bio-technology bill and its implications on them,” he said.
Ellady Muyambi and environmental scientist and Toxicologist who gave a synopsis of the current Bio-diversity and Biotechnology Bill 2012 urged the farmers to ensure that they get sensitized by their legislators before the Bill becomes law.
“We need the law, but a law that will not make us regret why we passed it. Let the contentious issues be sorted out prior to signing,” said Muyambi.
He highlighted the contentious issues such as aspects of labelling the GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism), risks and liability.
Betty Rose Aguti from Caritas Uganda urged farmers to support the law but not in its current form. “We are not saying we don’t need the law, in fact we need to regulate the GMOs already in our supermarkets,” she said.
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