Mechanisation centres to aid agriculture productivity

58 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE|AGRICULTURE|MECHANISATION

As mechanisation of agriculture takes centre stage, the Government has opened up five agricultural mechanisation centres across the country. The $40 million (sh120b) programme has seen each of the five centres equipped with a unit of new agricultural machinery to promote commercial farming. Regional Agricultural mechanisation centres, elsewhere across the country include, Agwata,  Mbale, Kasese, Bushenyi and Buwama in Mpigi district.

According to Minister of State for Works and Transport, Henry Bagire, the new development is pursuing the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Development Programme (CAADP) conference held in 2003, Maputo in  Mozambique, that advocates for African governments investing in the sector so as to attain a target growth rate of 6% per annum.

The new development is based on the previous unpleasant performance evaluation reports. The 2008/09 sector performance evaluation had indicated that the agricultural sector in Uganda was growing at 2.6%, way below the 3.4% population growth rate.

A growth projection had indicated that a continued sector growth rate of 2.6%, was deplorable, as it pushed the number of the absolutely poor from 8.45 million (2005) to 10.15 million by 2015. Basing on the National Agricultural Sector Development Strategy and Investment plan (2010/11-2014/15), if more investments are made in agriculture, Uganda would reduce the number of the absolute poor by 2.9 million, from 10.15 million to 7.25.  

"Among key loopholes for stagnation of the sector had been a predominantly subsistence farming regime, where communities have continued to use hand hoes which in its entirety fetches very little," Bagire said.

Besides wider usage of traditional implements, the minister further elaborates that communities have depended on natural weather patterns that have lately become unreliable, due to climatic changes.

"The establishment of mechanisation centres  serves as a formidable intervention, in which the peasant community is set to transform from using traditional implements (hand-hoes) to using machinery like tractors. The machinery is also to be used to excavate and rehabilitate dams and valley tanks for farmers to access water for crop production and open village access routes that farmers use to ferry their produce to the market," he observes.

He said in areas of the country that are prone to calamities such as floods, it will no longer require authorities to seek technical help from the ministry headquarters as the case has previously been, but shall simply turn to these centres for a solution," he says. 



 CENTRES EQUIPPED 

Pius Wakabi Kasujja, the Permanent Secretary at the agriculture ministry says each of the centres has been furnished with a bull dozer, a motor grader, an excavator, a wheel loader, a dump truck, a vibrating roller, a water dozer, ploughing tractors and a full-fledged mobile workshop truck.

He stresses that the centres have been furnished with equipment kits to do a specified work that include excavation, construction and rehabilitation of valley tanks or dams. Others are construction of community aquaculture facilities, construction of irrigation canals and drainages, construction and maintenance of access roads, bush clearing, land grading and transportation of agricultural materials.

"I implore the community to keep a keen eye on this equipment and inform us when it is being misused. This vigilance will yield a firm immediate cause of action against the perpetrators in breach," he said.

The remedy was proposed as an idea intended to transform the primitive (subsistence) farming model to commercial agriculture which called for the Government to invest resources in acquiring farming equipment.  

Kasujja further explains that individuals, cooperatives, and entities with financial means can seek the services of the equipment at the centres to explore virgin farming opportunities. Others can open up irrigation scheme in areas that are resourceful, but not developed.

He, however, underscored the notion that peasants will source the services of the equipment for free. He observes that under this public private partnership, the Government is subsidising the cost of any service by 60% of the actual cost, while the service beneficiary would be obliged to pay only 40% of the actual cost of the service he or she requires from the centre.

"For instance, a peasant seeking for services to plough an acre of land shall be charged only sh40,000," he explains. Compared to private service providers, the services sourced at the centres is modest and affordable. The ministry has spelt out a list of services 
the centres would offer and a catalogue of price structure.



 CHARGES 

A peasant will be charged sh60,000 for every hour he  or she uses a bull dozer or earth mover, while services of the motor grader shall cost sh50,000 per hour. Services of an excavator for an hour will cost sh60,000. The services of a wheel loader shall cost sh50,000 per hour. A dump truck shall cost sh100,000 per day, while a vibrating roller shall cost sh250,000 per day.

The chairperson of the parliamentary committee on agriculture, Janet Akori says the establishment of mechanisation centres was premised on the poor performance of the agricultural sector against the population growth rate.

"Whereas the Government had scored on establishing pillars of agricultural advisory and research structures evidenced by setting up of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), the scaling up of production was low. Now, a household will be able to observe food security as well as have substantive surplus to earn them income," Akori, who is also the Abim woman MP says.

Eng. Boniface Okanya, the assistant commissioner in charge of engineering and mechanisation says the Government has committed $8m to furnish each of the centres with the necessary equipment.

"For a start, the Government is opening five mechanisation centres, but the target in the next five years is to establish 18 centres," Okanya, who is also the national project coordinator says.

Namalele Research Institute shall be the national agricultural mechanisation coordinating centre. "Our immediate priority concerning all the five mechanisation centres is for them to aid the rehabilitation of valley tanks and dams, open access road networks that connect peasants to markets for their produce and work on trunk roads," he says.

 GUIDELINES SET FOR USAGE 

According to engineer Kato Kayizzi, the acting commissioner, Agriculture Infrastructure, Mechanisation and Water for Agriculture Production (MAAIF), the government is aware of the challenges and abuses that have bedevilled the otherwise good exercise.

"We have guidelines that spell out the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders involved in the utilisation, management, supervision and motoring of the tractors and other implements." Kayizi further explained that the selection of the beneficiaries should be done clearly by making sure that they are able to manage the machine.  "The  set regulations clearly scrutinise the ability of the beneficiaries of the machines," he says. 



 KEY REGULATIONS 

• Beneficiary farmer organisation must be registered at least up to district level.

• Total operation acreage must be at least 50 acres.

• The group should have clearly operational modalities with a proper record of leadership.  

• The farmer group must have a minimum of 20 active members.

• The group should avail a competitive bankable business/tractor hire service plan.

• There should be evidence of conducting profitable ventures.

• Commitment to using only qualified personnel to operate the machine.

IF THE BENEFICIARY IS A NUCLEUS FARMER

• He has to be a model farmer in his area.

• Have at least 50 acres of land available for agricultural production.

• Commit to offer tractor hire services to surrounding community.

• Provide proof of past experience in managing similar assets.

IF IT IS A TRACTOR HIRE SERVICE PROVIDER

• Be legally registered as a tractor hire service business.

• Provide proof of experience in tractor hire service business.

• Must be a Ugandan national.

• Commit to offer tractor hire services to neighbouring communities.

 SKILLS FOR OPERATORS 

Other immediate priorities, is training the youth that will operate the machinery, considering the aspect of gender.  Over 600 youth have since been trained.

"One of the biggest challenges that has been affecting the usage of the tractors is lack of knowledge by the operators.  With this training, this is no longer a challenge,"  Med Mwiri, the marketing officer of Engsol, one of the distributors of the tractors, said.