Kisoro residents tipped on OWC programme

The Kisoro district Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) program  Commander Lt.Col.Deo Kayita has said the programme has helped many people in the district. He said although a section of the people have either sold the animals or misused the inputs supplied to them, many more have benefitted.

"The lifestyles of the people who receive inputs have greatly improved. Those received cows have manure as well as milk," he said.

Kayita said in September, October and November last year, people from different sub-counties received in puts such as 20 million tea seedlings, 200,000 coffee seedlings, 400 bags of Irish potatoes and over 17,000 passion fruit seedlings from the Operation Wealth Creation programme.

"Farmers should form cooperative societies so that they benefit from different Government programs such as women entrepreneurship funds and Youth Livelihood funds," he stated.

"We are expecting the next distribution of inputs in March and a number of farmers have applied for the inputs," he said.

The Nyakinama Sub-county LC3 chairman Charles Kamuhanda said some people get disappointed when they don't get: "How do you distribute two cows or 20 bags of Irish potato to the whole sub-county?"

"Instead of buying cows, that money should be used to buy goats. Some inputs are distributed in late months of the year yet in Kisoro in most cases, they are harvesting months," he stated.

The Kisoro District Chief Administrative Officer, Wilson Tibugyenda said they will conduct community sensitization sessions and dialogues to educate the people on the best projects to take.

John Tindikahwa, one of the beneficiaries, said people still think the programme is for NRM supporters only and therefore, those who do not belong to NRM party do not come for the inputs