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Youth and children affairs state minister Balaam Barugahara has urged Masindi district farmers to abandon cane growing.

Barugahara says the move, coupled with embracing high-value crops, will ensure that the residents move out of poverty.

Apparently, residents of Masindi are uprooting food crops including banana plantations, coffee and fruit trees to grow sugarcane.

Balaam made the call on Thursday, April 12, 2024, while speaking to over 200 women entrepreneurs at Kabalega Resort in Masindi town during the Grow project information-sharing session.

The women entrepreneurs are involved in apiary and dairy farming. The event was organised by the gender ministry, Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) Grow Enterprises for Women Project and the World Bank.

The women, who were drawn from the entire Masindi, are set to benefit from a project dubbed Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) whereby they will be equipped with different skills in apiary and dairy farming.

"After organising my thanksgiving and having a big multitude in Masindi, President [Yoweri] Museveni invited me to Kisozi and asked me to transform the residents of Masindi from poverty to the money economy. I'm now looking for five acres to establish a demonstration farm where residents of Masindi will be able to learn the best agronomic practices. I want to teach them how to invest in high-paying enterprises. Move out of sugarcane growing and go for high-value crops which can benefit you even if you have a small piece of land," he said.

Barugahara asked the people to grow crops like coffee, fruits and to invest in livestock farming.

He called upon the women to strategise such that they are able to benefit from the $217 million which is meant to benefit an estimated 1.6 million people in 46 districts.

GROW project with support from the Government is set to establish an integrated programme of customised services that will empower women entrepreneurs to grow and transition their enterprises from micro to small and from small to medium as well as improve their productivity.

According to Balaam, the project has four components: Support for women empowerment and enterprise development services, access to finance for women entrepreneurs, and enabling infrastructural and programme management support.

"Women from different enterprise groups can access money to develop their enterprises. I am urging them to use it well to help them improve their household income. When you access this money don't use it for luxurious things. But invest it wisely," he advised.

Ever Katusiime, an environment specialist designate who represented gender ministry permanent secretary Aggrey Kibenge David, said the project is mainly focusing on dairy farmers and also bee keepers, adding that they're training women entrepreneurs how to produce quality products and also add value to them.

Annet Kyomuhendo, the regional manager Dairy Development Authority (DDA) for Bunyoro region, called on the Government to establish a modern milk processing plant in Bunyoro arguing that the region produces much milk but lacks equipment to add value to it .

Masindi District Woman Member of Parliament Florence Asiimwe challenged fellow women to embrace the project saying that a lot of money has been injected into it for their own benefit.

Masindi LC5 chairperson Cosmas Byaruhanga said women in Uganda are facing many challenges including men abandoning all the responsibilities to women.