Over 10,000 households to receive seedlings in Soroti

Oct 05, 2016

“My appeal to the farmers is that they should embrace this initiative."

A total of 10,766 families in Soroti district will receive free fruit and legume seedlings from the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) under the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF).

OWC was launched in July 2013 by President Yoweri Museveni to create a system that facilitates effective national socio-economic transformation with a focus on raising household incomes.

The OWC is operating in all the 112 districts and operations are understood to go up to constituency level.

The OWC in charge of Soroti, Maj. Francis Osama said 6,897 households will get fruit seedlings and 3,484 for legume seedlings in a distribution which started in September and expected to end in December.

"My appeal to the farmers is that they should embrace this initiative in order to eradicate poverty in their households," he told New Vision.

Osama said so far there are testimonies in most of the villages that the livelihoods of people selling oranges have changed.

"It is out of agriculture that the rural community can come out of poverty," he said.

The District Production Officer, Dr. Patrick Eyudu said the ministry of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries is planning to recruit extension workers in every sub-county who will help farmers identify enterprises which are economically viable.

He appealed to the farmers in Teso to form groups and identify enterprises which will yield quick results in their communities.

"My appeal is to the leaders to mobilize the masses to engage in commercial agricultural activities to boost their household incomes," said Eyudu.

Uganda has surpassed the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty by 2015, and is on the track to achieve Vision 2040 poverty target of 5%.

Stella Apio, a resident of Asuret sub-county, commended government for distributing the seedlings in time. "I know my trees will survive because they have been brought in time," she said.

Melda Apeduno, a resident of Katine sub-county said: "In the villages people are competing to increase their household incomes because they feel, how can their neighbours become rich when they are not, yet they are all created equal."

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