Africa-Press – Uganda. Farmers have tasked the government to expedite the process of releasing funds meant for operationalization of the five regional mechanisation centres.
The farmers told a team of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, who were on an on-spot assessment of the five regional mechanisation centres last week, that they are in dire need of the former’s services.
The five regional centres are situated in Buwama to serve the central region, Agwata for northern region, Mbale for Eastern region and Sanga in Kiruhura District for Western Uganda. Namalere centre in Wakiso District will serve as a referral mechanisation centre for all the other five centres.
Mr Michael Odul, a farmer in Kiryandongo, said they have run out of patience since the centre in the area has been delayed to kick off.
“For example, I am a farmer for both maize and livestock, I need water for my animals and water for irrigating my crops such that I can produce throughout the year but nothing productive has come out of this centre,” Mr Odul said.
Mr Abdullah Rashid Nkinga, the mayor of Buwama Town Council in Mpigi District, said the operationalisation of the machines is long overdue.
“We had hoped for this facility to start soon, but to our dismay, it is taking too long to start. As a leader and a farmer dealing in maize, I opened up a huge chunk of land by slashing and expected machines to be available by this time and be hired at a low cost,” he told the ministry officials.
“As of now, there is only one farmer in Buwama Town Council who owns a tractor and when needed it is in high demand and the cost also is too high,” Mr Nkinga added.
Ms Rose Namubiru, a resident of Buwama Town Council, said she has been demoralised by the dormant mechanisation centre.
“I have been watching work on this centre progressing but when it came time to ask for the services, I was told they had not started. This demoralised me,” Ms Namubiru, who belongs to a group of maize farmers that own about 15 acres of farmland, said.
Mr Richard Nandala, a resident of Bungokho Village in Mbale, said if the regional mechanisation centre became operational, it would impact positively on their commercial farming activities. Other local leaders called for Parliament intervention so that funding for the agricultural mechanization centres can be given priority.
Records in the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that about 80 percent of Uganda’s land is arable but only 35 percent is being cultivated.
The government through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has approved Shs48b to construct and equip the five regional agricultural mechanisation centres to boost production and productivity.
Addressing journalists in Kampala at the weekend, the Commissioner for Agricultural Infrastructure, Mechanisation and Water for Agricultural Production, Eng Boniface Okanya, said the government was committed to implementing the project.
He revealed that Shs18b of the Shs48b will be for the five regional centres of Buwama, Agwata, Mbale, Sanga and Namalere.
Background
The agricultural mechanisation centres are meant to act as centres of excellence by providing access to mechanisation equipment such as tractors. The five centres are situated in Buwama to serve the central region, Agwata for northern region, Mbale for Eastern region and Sanga for western Uganda. Namalere centre in Wakiso will serve as a referral mechanisation centre for all the other five centres.
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