ALEBTONG, February 5, 2024 – The Alebtong district LCV Chairman, David Kennedy Odongo has appealed to government to allocate more funds to the Parish Development Model [PDM], saying it will boost agricultural production and productivity in the country.
Receiving 14 walking tractors offered by the Ministry of Agriculture Animal, Industry and Fisheries [MAAIF] days ago, Odongo said the Shs 100 million sent annually to each parish in Uganda under the PDM is not enough, given the high number of people that the programme intends to uplift from poverty.
The PDM, whose major aim is to move 3.5 million households from the subsistence to the money economy falls under the 3rd National Development Plan [NDPIII], which is a blueprint for Uganda’s development agenda. The PDM further aims at enhancing the quality of life for Ugandan households still reliant on subsistence farming.
According to government, the programme launched in February 2022, runs for five years, targeting 10,594 parishes in the country, with government earmarking over Shs 1 trillion every financial year for the programme.
Odongo said many farmers in his district are still stuck in subsistence farming, and that moving them to commercial farming needs more money than what government is providing under the PDM.
He continued that the use of hand hoes and other rudimental methods of production can deliver farmers in Alebtong district into commercial farming/production as desired the PDM.
“Most of the challenges our farmers are facing is that they have the land but the key challenges is that they don’t enough money to buy quality seeds, and other inputs, as well as machinery needed for commercial production. Much as government has made some efforts through the PDM, I know not every beneficiary has benefited,” he said.
On his part, Felix Odongo, the LCIII Chairperson of Apala Town Council in Alebtong district, appreciated government for availing each sub county in the district with a walking tractor.
He said most farmers have willingness to embrace commercial farming but are limited by the lack of money to purchase the machinery like tractors, and others.
Bena Acen, a councilor of Abako Sub-county lauded the government for the initiative of giving farmers the tractors, saying it has come at the right time when the many are embracing commercial farming to get out of poverty.
The Government Chief Whip, Denis Hamson Obua who is also the Ajuri County Member of Parliament, handed over the hand-held tractors.
He said government has kicked off the distribution of walking tractors in the 18 sub-regions of the country, starting with Lango, Acholi and West Nile sub-regions.
He stated that the tractors will bolster agricultural production through the PDM that government considers as a game changer that should economically transform rural households.
https://thecooperator.news/govt-offers-tractors-to-farmers-in-alebtong-district/
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