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NAADS enriches Kabarole farmers
By Bizimungu Kisakye
OVER 10.000 households in Kabarole district have benefited from the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) in the past five years. NAADS has successfully carried out its activities in eight sub-counties out of the 14 sub-counties that form the district.
Priority enterprises that include banana, apiary, garlic, vanilla, passion fruits and goats have been selected. NAADS activities in the district have taken a deliberate effort to promote banana production for food security and income generation.
Twenty-nine banana advisory service contracts over the past four years have been established and other 30 multiplication production sites set up.
Joseph Okwir, a pioneer beneficiary says he has made a fortune out of his one and half acres of banana plantation that is purely commercial.
Another farmer, Kabarama, a member of Kitojo Kweterena Banana growers in Ruteete sub-county joined NAADS in 2003.With the advisory services of NAADS he has rehabilitated his six-acre plantation which enabled him construct a four-bedroom permanent house.
NAADS has empowered its farmers in the district and they have become assertive of their needs.
They have contributed to the improved services by the service providers through close supervision and monitoring of services.
The district and NAADS have engaged the service providers in fighting the banana bacterial wilt.
Farmers have also reaped attractive sums of money from garlic, honey and passion fruits.
Venny Kasamba, joined Kinyankende United Group in 2003 and her group is under NAADS. She trained in garlic in 2004. She got 10kg from the first harvest. In addition to her own seeds, she planted one and half acres of garlic and harvested 10 sacks of 100kg each. He has since bought three female goats and a zero-grazing cow and also been able to pay his children’s school fees.
NAADS has further engaged over 2000 farmers in vanilla production from the sub- counties of Kisomoro, Ruteete, Kichwamba, Bukuuku, Hakibaale and Muguusu.
Leo Rusoke of PC&E Consultants, the lead agency that provides advisory services to vanilla farmers, says farmers who joined the programme in the first and second years will soon benefit from the harvests.
Pakarasio Balisanga of Kihondo bee-keepers group in Bwanika says his area has capacity to provide 300kg of honey per season.
He says NAADS has provided them with advisory services and given them beehives.
NAADS has an approach that reflects a shift from the traditional extension which was largely top-down to farmer-led extension intended to improve on efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. Under this arrangement, farmers groups through a guided process select up to three priority enterprises, identify their advisory-related needs which are then translated into terms of reference at sub-county levels.
In an effort to strengthen capacity of farmer groups, micro-finance outreach programmes under the ministry of Finance through the financial extension workers have mobilised the NAADS groups form village banks.
In one sub-county, Ruteete, the extension worker has mobilised farmers largely through co-operation with the sub-county leadership. Six banks have been formed in each parish of the sub-county. |
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