GULU CITY, February 26, 2025 – The WALK Creative Arts Foundation is set to receive 2.5 million coffee seedlings from Operation Wealth Creation [OWC] to be distributed to creative artists in Northern Uganda, aiming to encourage them to venture into commercial farming.
Speaking to this reporter recently, Sylvia Damalie Owori, a director at the OWC Secretariat, said, “We are planning to support all creative artists under the WALK Creative Arts Foundation with 2.5 million coffee seedlings this year, in an effort to help them become coffee farmers.”
Owori further explained that, in addition to providing the coffee seedlings, OWC plans to train the artists in environmental preservation and in intercropping coffee with bananas.
She urged locals in the Acholi Subregion to embrace the Parish Development Model [PDM], a government programme aimed at helping the active poor in Uganda combat poverty.
She disclosed that the Acholi Subregion has so far received Shs 129 billion under the PDM, with beneficiaries investing in enterprises such as coffee farming, piggery, poultry keeping, and beekeeping, among several others.
Owori also revealed that OWC would partner with cultural leaders to prioritise coffee growing in Acholi, stating that the region currently has around 193 registered coffee farmers.
To address the impacts of climate change, particularly drought, she revealed that the government, through the Ministry of Water, would allocate Shs 14 billion for the construction of irrigation schemes to enable the farmers irrigate their gardens.
She appealed to creative artists in Northern Uganda to unite and take advantage of government programmes designed to enhance the livelihoods of Ugandans.
Solomon Aboda, also known by his stage name Badman Solo and Interim Chairperson of the WALK Creative Arts Foundation, urged his fellow artists in Acholi and the rest of Northern Uganda to embrace commercial agriculture, particularly coffee growing. He argued that such an endeavour would not only provide them with additional income but also serve as a form of retirement savings.
Aboda added that WALK Creative Arts Foundation would organise a financial literacy training for the artists, to help them manage their finances more effectively and adopt a culture of saving.
He noted that many artists in Gulu and other parts of Acholi had fallen behind as others in the region benefited from government programmes such as Emyooga. He attributed this to the lack of financial literacy among many artists.
“Our focus should be on commercial farming, where we grow coffee and other crops, improve the value chain, and export,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the leadership of Gulu University Guild is also advocating for and taking a leading role in encouraging farmers in Northern Uganda to grow coffee.
Michelle Mich Nassa, a leader at Gulu University Guild, told this reporter that the Acholi Subregion lags behind other regions in coffee production. She revealed that the university would take the lead in promoting coffee growing.
She added that promoting coffee growing in the Acholi Subregion would help address the challenge of school fees. The university management, in collaboration with the Students’ Guild, plans to train over 100 coffee farmers in Amuru District and donate coffee seedlings to them after the training.
https://thecooperator.news/coffee-worth-shs-229mln-stolen-while-in-transit-to-kampala/
Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country-wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news
Views: 0
-
-
-
-
