Minister Nabakooba launches fertiliser distribution to Mityana farmers
Minister Nabakooba launches fertiliser distribution to Mityana farmers
By Mayengo Godfrey Communication Officer Mityana DLG
The Mityana District Woman MP has launched the distribution of 4,000 bags of fertiliser to coffee farmers under the Parish Development Model to boost yields and household incomes.
Mityana District Woman MP Judith Nabakooba has launched the distribution of 4,000 bags of fertiliser to coffee farmers under the Parish Development Model (PDM), urging beneficiaries to use the farm inputs to improve yields and household incomes.
The 400-tonne consignment was launched in Zigoti Town Council as the government seeks to boost agricultural production and help smallholder farmers transition from subsistence to commercial farming.
“I encourage these farmers to use these fertilisers so well to improve their yields. The fertilisers are not for sale,” Ms Nabakooba said.
Minister Judith Nabakooba monitoring the coffee fertilizers before handing them to the beneficiaries escorted by the Mityana district Chairperson Hon Luzige Joseph.
Coffee, predominantly Robusta, is one of Mityana’s main cash crops, supporting household incomes across the district. However, farmers continue to face challenges, including limited access to farm inputs, pests and prolonged dry spells that affect yields and bean quality.
Ms Nabakooba said the intervention was intended to support smallholder farmers under the PDM programme, which seeks to increase household incomes through commercial agriculture.
She acknowledged that the consignment would not meet all farmers’ needs, noting that some parishes could receive only 40 bags.
“Take good care of the fertilisers. We know it’s not enough because, according to the intended beneficiaries, each parish may receive only 40 bags,” she said.
Ms Nabakooba added that officials would later visit coffee gardens to assess the impact of the intervention. She also urged young people to embrace farming and mobilise their peers to participate in commercial agriculture.
The beneficiaries had undergone three months of training on how to use the Shs1 million allocated to households under the PDM to improve their incomes.
Mityana District production officer Daniel Sseremba said the district had initially been excluded from the beneficiary list but was later included following Ms Nabakooba’s intervention.
“We were not included on the first list of beneficiaries, but after the minister talking to the President, we were added on the second list,” he said.
Mr Sseremba added that distribution would strictly follow the approved list of PDM beneficiaries who have coffee gardens.
Mityana District chairperson Joseph Luzige said the new district leadership would work to improve service delivery and development in the area.
Hajji Sakka Ssekamatte, the Kakindu Sub-county secretary for production, who represented the farmers, thanked Ms Nabakooba for supporting agricultural production and pledged to encourage beneficiaries to use the fertiliser appropriately.
Uganda’s fertiliser use remains low, at an estimated two to three kilogrammes per hectare, compared with the continental average of 22 kilogrammes and the Abuja target of 50 kilogrammes per hectare.
Mityana RDC Mukiibi Joseph Drake thanked the minister for hourning the invitation and for llobbying for the PDM coffee farmers and urged the coffee farmers to use well the fertilizers as they have been trained on how to use them.