Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE) to promote farming and conservation.
The MoU was signed by the Kingdom Prime Minister Owek, Andrew Byakutaga, and Robert Kiromba, the UNFFE western region representative, on Friday at kingdom chamber hall in Hoima town.
According to the Kiromba, the Federation will work with district farmers associations (DFAs) to implement different projects under the partnership, including mobilizing, organizing, empowering, and coordinating farmers in the areas of environmental sustainability, agribusiness, animal husbandry, and fisheries.
He says that they will also lobby for funding, connect the local farmers to government and markets, and establish demonstration farms where farmers can acquire skills and knowledge for modern farming.
In a bid to mitigate the effects of climate change, the three-year partnership will see the planting of over 1 million indigenous trees in Bunyoro.
We have started with climate change, but we shall also go into value addition. Through the DFAs, we shall provide tree seedlings which will be supplied to the farmers,” Kiromba said.”
He added that under this partnership UNFFE will also promote irrigation to ensure that the farmers are not entirely dependent on the rain cycle for production.
“We want to help the local farmer to embrace commercial farming instead of subsistence farming, so we are looking at providing quality Agro-inputs, promoting solar-powered irrigation, providing milk coolers, tractors, maize huller, and ploughing machine” he explained.
According to the MoU, the kingdom will mobilize farmers and provide land when it is required.
Premier Byakutaga expressed excitement over the partnership, saying it will promote commercial farming and conservation.
“The kingdom contacted UNFFE and requested to partner with them to promote farming and conservation,” he said, adding that this is in line with the Kingdom’s strategic plan for building and enhancing strategic partnerships whose overall objective is to improve on the quality of life of the people.
Byakutaga hopes the partnership will enhance coffee production in the region in order to create wealth and improve the livelihoods of families.
“UNFFE has experts whom we hope will equip our farmers with skills of growing and handling coffee. They will also teach our fishermen proper fishing practices which will reduce illegal fishing that has resulted in the depletion of fish in Lake Albert,” he said.
Monica Kabatoro, the Chairperson of Hoima district Farmers’ Association commended the kingdom for the initiative saying that partnership will help to link their farmers to the National Farmers’ Association and to markets.
“This partnership is good because it is going to help us to voice our issues at the national level, which has not been easy,” she said.
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