NOSP to construct 2,500km of community roads in Lango, and Teso

LIRA, October 6, 2023 – The National Oil Seed Project [NOSP] through the International Fund for Agricultural Development [IFAD], and the Ministry of Local Government is set to rehabilitate and construct a total of 2,500 kilometres of community access roads in Lango and Teso sub-regions to ease the marketing of oil seeds and other agricultural produce.

Lira, Kole, Alebtong, Kwania, Dokolo districts among others in Lango Sub-region will benefit from the road project that will help farmers improve their household incomes.

Among the roads to be constructed and rehabilitated include; Owiny to Aculawic 10.3km and Ogwok to Te-oro Primary School 8Km and Center Abongomola to Nambieso HCIII via Itekobe 15km, all in Kwania District while in Lira District there are Apoka to Angolocom 13.3km, and Abongorwot to Ocamonyang to Okum via Adip road up to Adip swamp 12.9km among others.

Meanwhile, the oil seeds that are mainly grown through the cooperatives are soybeans, sunflower, simsim, and groundnuts.

Phionah Ninsiima, Value Chain Team Leader NOSP stressed the importance of linking farmers to the market, saying without good roads, delivering famers’ produce to the markets is difficult.

“The project has two components of oil seed production and marketing where the project targets to construct 2,500 kilometers  of community access roads such that when the farmer groups or the smallholders farmers in the rural areas produce their oil seeds, they are able to take it to the market easily,” she said.

Ninsiima said the construction of the community access roads will ease farmers’ access to finances to solve challenges of capital and avoid selling grains when it is still in the fields.

“We are targeting about 4,600 farmers organisations and we also hope that at the end of the day, they will be linked to financial services to address the issues of lack of capital,” she said.

Geoffrey Ongala, the Lira District Acting Engineer said  the construction of community access roads in will help oil seeds and other agricultural products to reach far markets in Uganda.

Denis Opio, the General Manager of Nyekorac Community Farmers’ Cooperative Limited in Lira district said the construction of community access roads will help farmers to sell their produce to traders from other districts in Uganda.

Badru Ochen, a farmer under Nyekorac Community Farmers’ Cooperative Limited in Ogur Sub-county said they sometimes find it hard to sell their produce in the market.

“Sometime we go to the market and fail to sell our produce because only a few buyers are available,” Ochen said.

John Christopher Okwang, the chairperson of Alito Joint Farmers’ Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited said they have always got challenges in advertising their produce in the media.

“We always do radio talk shows and newspaper advertisement, but we have a challenge because we do not have enough money. We hope  when the roads are completed will help us sell more,” Okwang said.

https://thecooperator.news/lira-cooperative-promoting-production-of-oil-seeds/

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