LIRA CITY, January 7, 2025 — The limited success of enterprises chosen by beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model [PDM] in Lira City and Lira district has been attributed to the shortage of agricultural extension officers within the two local governments.
Both local leaders and the programme’s beneficiaries have highlighted that due to the lack of extension officers, many beneficiaries have not received the necessary technical guidance on managing the enterprises they selected. These enterprises include coffee, piggery, fish farming, poultry keeping, apiary, and fruit and banana farming, among others. Each PDM beneficiary receives one million shillings to invest in their chosen enterprise.
This issue was raised during a meeting held recently at Lira City Council Hall, where the Ministry of East African Community Affairs engaged local leaders, technical staff, and businesspeople from both Lira City, and Lira district.
Lillian Grace Ocare, the Deputy Clerk of Lira City, explained that more agricultural extension officers are essential to provide advisory services to beneficiaries of various enterprises under the PDM.
“We face a challenge of inadequate human resources. Lira district has one extension officer per subcounty, while Lira City has only two Community Development Officers, one agricultural officer per division, and one animal husbandry officer per division. This inadequate number of the said officers makes it difficult for us to ensure that farmers benefiting from the PDM receive adequate advisory services,” Ocare explained.
She also noted that managing the value addition component of the PDM remains a significant challenge. “The issue of value addition is still a major obstacle because it is meant to be one of the successes of the PDM,” Ocare added.
Sam Atul, the Mayor of Lira City, urged Ugandans to fully embrace the PDM, emphasising its importance in reducing household poverty.
Alex Opolo, the Community Development Officer for Awiodyek Subcounty in Lira district, linked the poor monitoring of the PDM to insufficient funding for extension officers. “There is inadequate monitoring of the PDM processes due to underfunding of the programme. Further, some beneficiaries have diverted the programme funds from their intended purposes,” Opolo stated.
When asked, several PDM beneficiaries confirmed that they have not seen any extension workers reach out to them for guidance on how to manage their projects.
Lucy Abalo, a resident of Obutuwelo Parish in Lira City West Division, questioned whether extension workers even exist, as she has never encountered one. “We have never seen any extension workers. I don’t even know if they exist. I just rely on the vaccination schedule I received from my suppliers to treat my birds,” Abalo said.
Alex Odongo, a resident of Opem Parish in Lira district, who raises both pigs and poultry, shared that his supervisors rarely contact him to provide technical advice or monitor the progress of his projects.
“I am struggling on my own. No supervisor or extension officer has visited my projects to assess my progress. Only the Parish Chief and the Community Development Officer visited me to check whether I used the money as intended,” Odongo said.
Odongo also mentioned that he now provides training to others who have chosen similar enterprises. “Although my place is small, it has become a kind of learning centre for some of my colleagues who have selected the same enterprises. I always train them when they visit,” Odongo added.
The PDM is a government-led initiative aimed at transforming subsistence households into participants in the cash economy, with the goal of lifting 17.5 million Ugandans in 3.5mln households out of poverty. It is part of the broader government development strategy under the Third National Development Plan [NDPIII], with the parish serving as the lowest unit for planning, budgeting, and the delivery of socio-economic interventions.
https://thecooperator.news/lack-of-ids-affecting-access-to-pdm-funds-in-lira-district/
Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country-wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news
Views: 0
