Minister Kwiycwiny urges PDM beneficiaries to embrace coffee growing

APAC – Grace Freedom Kwiycwiny, the Minister of State for Northern Uganda has urged beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model [PDM] in Lango Sub-region to embrace coffee growing, saying it will help them improve their livelihoods.

PDM is an extension of the whole-government approach to development as envisaged under the National Development Plan [NDPIII], with the parish as the lowest administrative and operational hub for delivering services closer to the people.

Government has allocated over a trillion shillings this financial year to bankroll the programme that is meant to get 39 percent of subsistence farmers out of poverty and move into the money economy at least in five years.

Under the programme, each parish will receive Shs 100 million each financial year as a revolving fund for households who have been organised in groups.

The beneficiaries of the funds are expected to engage in enterprises such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, cassava, tea, vegetable oils, maize, poultry, bananas, beans, avocado, and macadamia among others.

However, while launching the disbursement of the PDM funds in Apac Municipality on Monday, Kwiycwiny wondered why many of the PDM beneficiaries have not selected coffee.

“I saw many individuals applying for beans, maize and sunflower. I have also seen some applying for dairy farming but I have not seen anyone applying for coffee.  Actually, coffee will help you to earn between Shs 18mln to Shs 20mln a year but many of us cannot even make Shs10mln a year. Until we have specific cash crop like coffee, we shall remain poor forever,” she said.

She encouraged farmers to allot some of their land to coffee growing, saying the PDM, launched in February 2022, puts great emphasis on growing the cash crop demanded worldwide.

“PDM has come to reawaken us that we can produce and manufacture and we can add value and we can get money. I want to encourage you to grow coffee this is the only way we can move from subsistence to commercial agriculture and harness money,” she noted.

A total of 220 PDM beneficiaries received the fund during the launch, out of the 1,142 registered PDM beneficiaries in Apac Municipality. Daniel Odongo Opimo, Apac Municipal Commercial Officer says 409 enterprise groups in the 20 registered PDM SACCOs are lined up to benefit from the Shs 1.1bln disbursed to different SACCOs’ accounts.

“At the moment we have a total of  Shs 1.1bln deposited in the bank accounts of PDM SACCOs. More funding will be released and wired into the PDM SACCO’s account as planned by the government. As you might be aware, government is planning to disburse Shs 100mln to each parish every financial year,” he said.

George Abudul, Apac resident district commissioner asked the beneficiaries to put the money to good use. “I want to request you to make the best use of the money you have received today. We shall put our ears and eyes on the ground and whoever misuses the money shall be arrested,” he said.

https://thecooperator.news/apac-parish-chiefs-held-over-sabotaging-pdm/

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