KIKUUBE, July 11, 2026 — Farmers in Kikuube district, western Uganda have a reason to smile after receiving climate-smart agricultural inputs worth Shs 400 million aimed at boosting production and improving their resilience to climate change.
The inputs, procured with funding from the World Bank under the Uganda Climate Smart Agriculture Transformation Project, included tarpaulins, fertilisers, motorised sprayer pumps, gumboots, personal protective equipment [PPE], insecticides and wheelbarrows.
The initiative targets 94 farmer groups in Kikuube and is intended to increase agricultural productivity, enhance climate resilience and support value addition among smallholder farmers.
Speaking during the handover ceremony that took place recently, Kikuube district LCV Chairperson Paddy Kisembo described the distribution of the inputs as a timely and critical intervention to help farmers cope with unpredictable weather patterns.
“Climate change has become a serious issue. Sometimes farmers expect rain, but it does not come. These inputs will help prepare our farmers to cope with different seasons,” Kisembo said.
He commended the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, for supporting farmers, noting that although Kikuube’s population largely depends on agriculture, many residents still engage in subsistence farming.
Kikuube District Production Officer and Project Focal Person Ntume Barnabas said beneficiaries qualified for the support after contributing 20 percent of the total cost as co-funding.
He explained that the contribution demonstrates farmers’ commitment and ownership of the inputs provided.
Ntume encouraged farmers operating individually to join existing groups or form new ones so that they can also benefit from similar agricultural support programmes.
Kikuube Resident District Commissioner Angalia Godwin Kasigwa urged beneficiaries to use the inputs for their intended purpose and warned against misuse.
Kasigwa expressed concern over the mismanagement of government-supplied agricultural and other public resources, citing a recent incident where mosquito nets distributed in Buhuka Parish, along the shores of Lake Albert, were reportedly turned into fishing nets.
Isingoma Brain, a beneficiary from Ruguse village in Bugambe Subcounty and a member of Tulihamu Kisita Credit Coffee Farmers group, thanked the Government for the support, saying many farmers cannot afford to purchase such inputs.
He said the tarpaulins would particularly help improve post-harvest handling practices, explaining that farmers had previously been drying maize and coffee on bare ground.
“With the provision of tarpaulins, this challenge will come to an end,” Isingoma said.
He, however, called for increased awareness and sensitisation of farmers across the district to enable more people to benefit from the project.
https://thecooperator.news/kikuube-farmers-ask-govt-to-subsidise-prices-of-agricultural-inputs/
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