The Government has kick started a strategic plan to accelerate wealth creation among households in Bukedi sub-region in eastern Uganda.
The strategy entails the introduction of high-value crops of cocoa and coffee in the sub-region that constitutes Tororo, Busia, Butaleja, Budaka, Kibuku, Butebo and Kibuku districts.
The development follows a poverty index report that catalogued the sub-region as one of the poorest in the country.
Per capita income of the sub-region stands at 43.7%. The GDP per capita per household is $135 (sh488,866) in a year, against the average national GDP per capita of $1,185 (sh4,291,157), according to the poverty index survey report.
Strategic plan set in motion
To achieve this, a coffee and cocoa seedling multiplication hub has been set up at Iki-Iki Agricultural Training Centre in Budaka, which opened on May 3, this year.
So far, the hub has 2.5 million seedlings ready for disbursement to farmers.
However, the hub has the potential of producing10 million seedlings a year.
During its commissioning, the science, technology and innovation minister Monica Musenero explained that the hub is part of the dividends from a government strategic plan initiated in 2022.
The plan is aimed at alleviating poverty affecting the sub-region.
Musenero said traditionally, Bukedi grew cotton, adding: “However, when prices plummeted on the international market, households in the sub-region turned to seasonal crops that are vulnerable to bad weather and fetch little.”
She noted that matters have been made worse by climate change with two extremities of heavy rains and dry spells.
“Dry spells have caused farmer’s crops to wither and on the other hand prolonged rains deny the crops to fruit, hence little or no yields realised at the end of the day.’’
Thus, establishment of the coffee and cocoa seedling hub is intended to improve the livelihoods of peasant farmers in the sub-region.
“When farmers access seedlings of high value cash crops and cultivate them, they will be able to transition from a subsistence economy to a money one,” noted Musenero.
She explained that the aggregate household output is bound to bring prosperity when the farming community sells off their produce.
Think tank
The Government for a long time not only appreciated the fate of the peasant community, but has prioritised the sub-region when rolling out economic empowerment, a case in point being the sub-region hosting the official launching of Parish Development Model at Kibuku Primary School in Kibuku in 2022.
President Yoweri Museveni asked the ICT ministry to constitute a think tank for the sub-region, which has since been done.
It was named ‘Bukedi Development Consortium’ and is chaired by Dr James Kisaale.
The think tank has come up with recommendations aimed at helping the sub-region come out of abject poverty.
“The consortium has since floated implementation of four enterprises, that include coffee and cocoa growing, aquaculture (fish farming) and indigenous poultry that could quickly enable the peasant community to come out of poverty,” Kisaale said.
To effectively implement the strategy, the consortium brings on board respective sector experts.
Dr Geoffrey Arinaitwe, the director of National Coffee Resource Research Institute, observed that the institute has done soil analysis in the sub-region.
The team leader of the productivity acceleration bureau, science, technology and innovation at the Office of the President, Dr Joshua Isiko, said among the tasks the bureau has executed is imparting best enterprise practices and strategies of turning the enterprise economically feasible to their households.
Cultivating coffee
According to Arinaitwe, the coffee varieties they are allotting to the sub-region take two years to mature with a farmer harvesting an average of 3kg per tree at the start.
“We anticipate a farmer to realise at least a tonne of coffee from an acre, which would go a long way to boost his/ her household income,” he observed.
For high productivity, farmers have been advised to cultivate 450 coffee trees per acre with a spacing of 3x3m between the crops.
Growing cocoa
According to Job Chemutai, a researcher at the National Coffee Resources Research Institute, it is recommended that transplanting is done in the evenings at the beginning of the rainy season.
If transplanting is done during the dry season, ensure that the seedlings receive adequate water for growth. The plantation should be kept weed-free to reduce competition for nutrients.
Intercropping with legumes, such as soybeans or beans can help in weed management, as these crops encourage regular weeding activities.
When fruiting, cocoa trees need to be pruned and shaped into a ‘wine glass’ form.
Subsequent pruning should be to remove unproductive branches. Pruning should be done every three months.
“Pruning should be done in the rainy season to avoid compromising the tree’s health in dry periods. Remove the branches that touch the ground,” Chemutai advised.
Maintaining the tree height at four metres is essential for easy harvesting.
Keeping chicken
In addition to growing coffee and cocoa, the farmers were also trained on raising indigenous chicken profi tably.
“If a farmer applies the information, they can realise 1,800 indigenous chicken in a year from a parent stock of five hens,” he said.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Musenero (third-right) and other officials during the launch of the cocoa and coffee seedlings at Iki-Iki Agricultural Training Centre in Budaka district.
