Amuru, Pader farmers reject agricultural inputs

Sep 24, 2016

The LC5 chief also charged that the seedlings are brought abruptly without informing the district leaders and farmers are called to pick them after filling forms which he termed as absurd.

PIC:  A worker off-loading seedlings from the truck distributed by Operations Wealth Creation seedlings at Ogom Sub County in Pader district. Photos by Francis Emorut

The smallholder farmers of Amuru and Pader districts have rejected the agricultural inputs distributed by Operations Wealth Creation (OWC) to alleviate poverty at households' level on grounds that they are given after the planting season has passed.

After the smallholder farmers  rejected the inputs such as citrus seedlings and maize seeds, they were piled at Amuru town council and at Ogom sub-county headquarters in Pader district.

 he muru 5 chairperson icheal akony has rejected perations ealth reation seedlings The Amuru LC5 chairperson Micheal Lakony has rejected Operations Wealth Creation seedlings

 
The other reason advanced by farmers is that they were not consulted whether they needed citrus seedlings which take three to five years before one harvests the fruits.

James Atta, a small holder farmer of Ogom Sub County in Pader district said he didn't pick the seedlings because it is past the planting season which starts in March and not in September.

"NAADS system worked better than OWC which is crowded by soldiers who don't have any agricultural knowledge," Lakony said.

Lakony was interfacing with journalists who are on the field tour in northern Uganda to assess the social service delivery and corruption related cases.

The LC5 chief also charged that the seedlings are brought abruptly without informing the district leaders and farmers are called to pick them after filling forms which he termed as absurd.

 he coordinator of perations ealth reation for ader district aj harles kumu jona left handing over seedlings to the gom sub county chief lice jok kello at the sub county headquarters The coordinator of Operations Wealth Creation for Pader district Maj. Charles Okumu Ojona (left) handing over seedlings to the Ogom sub county chief Alice Ajok Okello at the sub county headquarters.

 
"If we want the country to achieve the middle income status by 2020, then we need to decentralize agriculture sector and not to come up with a slogan Kisanja Hakuna Muchezo," he said.

"How do you supply seedlings in September, October when the dry season is setting in November and December?" he asked.

But the coordinator of OWC in Pader district, Maj. Charles Okumu Ojona would not buy the argument of the Amuru LC5 boss saying the procurement process is to blame which causes the supplier to distribute seedlings late.

"The procurement process takes long at the ministry of agriculture headquarters. The mangoes seedlings are drying and the community has refused to pick them but if it was beans, they would have come here faster," Ojona told New Vision at Ogom sub-county headquarters on Thursday.

 he perations ealth reation citrus seedlings which have been rejected by farmers are kept at muru town council The Operations Wealth Creation citrus seedlings which have been rejected by farmers are kept at Amuru town council.

 
The smallholder farmers also raised concerns among others  the selection criteria for the beneficiaries not being transparent, for both crops and animals, lack of training, insufficient seedlings and animals and weather conditions which don't favour the keeping of heifers and planting of citrus as the latter dry up and the former die.

Mary Auku, a farmer from Lamogi sub-county in Amuru district said that she rejected the seedlings because they were not supplied during the planting season/rain season.

Micheal Okot of Lamogi sub county in Amuru district appealed to government not to waste the tax payers money if the seedlings are going to dry.

On beneficiaries selection, the Ogom sub-county chief Alice Ajok Okello pointed out that it is the LC1s who are in charge of selecting and the system is transparent according to her.

he ader  anon eorge doko said the community need to change their mind set to always be positive  The Pader CAO, Canon George Adoko said the residents need to change their mind set to always be positive.

 
On non-consultation of farmers, the Pader CAO Canon George Adoko disagreed with the famers saying that it was agreed that northern Uganda should benefit from citrus farming.

He called for community attitude change not to criticize government all the time but to always be positive.

"I know that there are challenges, but they are manageable," Adoko said.

Prossy Lakerere of Telela west village in Pader district advised OWC to be mindful of the planting season.

ome of the smallholder farmers of ader district who rejected agricultural inputs Some of the smallholder farmers of Pader district who rejected agricultural inputs.

 

 ome of the smallholder farmers of muru district who rejected agricultural inputs Some of the smallholder farmers of Amuru district who rejected agricultural inputs.

 

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