ACHOLI REGION: The State Minister for Environment, Beatrice Atim Anywar, has called on the people in the Acholi Sub-region to invest in adding value to their farm products if they are to gain from the Parish Development Model-PWD.
Anywar says on many occasions, farm products in the region are sold without any value addition, thus leaving farmers at a loss since their products don’t fetch high prices and can’t be exported.
According to Anywar, with the rollout of the government’s initiative aimed at alleviating poverty, beneficiaries who have taken up agriculture must consider value addition in order to address household poverty.
Anywar made the remarks while speaking at a sensitization meeting for local leaders in Gulu City on the PDM programme on Monday. The government rolled out the PDM in February this year with the aim of helping locals from the parish level to increase their household incomes. Under the initiative, each parish will receive 100 million shillings to benefit selected groups to alleviate poverty.
Anywar also noted that they will ensure that the technical team on the PDM sensitises the beneficiaries to take up profitable agricultural enterprises, citing the growing of perennial crops like coffee and fish farming. She says that although annual crops locally grown in the region have been supporting farmers, their output hasn’t helped to uplift their social-economic status in the region.
Anywar also urged the local leaders in the region to support the PDM irrespective of their political affiliation so as to benefit their electorates. Gulu City Mayor, Alfred Owkonga, reiterated that investment in value addition and processing equipment is the only way farmers can get high financial returns from their farm products.
He said there is no way the beneficiaries will reap from the initiative if they don’t add value to their products, citing other past projects where unstable prices of crops left farmers in losses.
Gulu City Principal Commercial Officer, Nixon Komakech, however, notes that limited funding from the government has hindered their capacity to conduct orientation of beneficiaries on the nature of enterprises they chose.
He also says that they couldn’t sensitise the community-based organizations and lower local councillors on PDM, while leadership management training for the various Saccos was also not conducted.
Komakech recommended that the Ministry should ensure funding is channeled directly to the line department in the city or district to avoid delays in implementing activities of PDM.
Gulu City has received Shillings 157 million for the implementation of PDM in 32 Parishes, with each benefiting Sacco expected to receive Shillings 4.97 million. At least 390 enterprises have been registered, with 9,330 people expected to benefit from the initiative.
