It’s extremely paradoxical in context that, some SACCOS saves money and later consumes it all at the end of year and does it the same way next time without future focus and use plan, it becomes a liability to an economic world.
In some most parts of Sebei sub-region, women SACCOs ironically are termed as money stores for families to rely upon during festive seasons repeatedly, later it becomes disheartening to realize that the same amount you collected since the beginning of the year has no interest accrued and yet the same money is used for domestic Christmas Celebration goods.
The commercial officer Kween district Chemutai Toskin encourages farmers to diversify their incomes, not only on farming but in doing businesses that give daily income.
While monitoring SACCOs within the district, he advised Kuputiem farmers cooperative SACCO in Kween district where he says,
“women groups should continue to save and learn to invest more, as parting and domestic thinking will never elevate you in any way in business which isn’t profitable”.
As farmers decry poor crop yields last year, other farmers have gone ahead to practice modern farming where irrigation is ongoing and now feeding more than a thousand households with much more profits during this dry season. The growing of cabbages, onions, tomatoes and Irish potatoes with the use of less costly sprinklers as an irrigation technique is what the farmers should adopt.
The dry season spells the need for irrigation, however many farmers have tapped away water leaving the middle and lower belts drier with very little water to sustain irrigation process.
The irrigation plant that the government pioneered late last year is now ongoing and was majorly targeted to supply water for rice farming irrigation project, animal husbandry and for industrial production. This, however, has left a vacuum to be filled as drought keeps extending towards the mountain areas leaving little water to be tapped.
This program, however, has led to the registration of more cooperative enterprises to manage the irrigation plant in Ngenge zone. Two cooperatives have registered to deal in rice growing, buying rice from smallholder farmers groups, processing and also collect rice husk in chunks to make animal feeds.
The cooperative that will be awarded the irrigation project is supposed to rationalize the water, cleaning the tanks, open water blockage and maintain steady water supply in the region.
However for this to materialize longer, the government has been urged by most district officers to support cooperatives and SACCOS, while mitigating the impending doom of climate change in replanting the lowered down Kapkwata forest and farmers should agree to plant more tress in the region.
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