Pallisa coffee farmers have welcomed a decision by Woman MP Catherine Achola to hold back 10,000 coffee and cocoa seedlings until the rains return, saying planting in the current dry spell would kill the young plants.
The seedlings were meant for farmers who had already prepared gardens in Boliso One and other sub counties, but Achola says she will not release them until the weather stabilises.
Achola made the announcement on Sunday at Odepai Catholic Church during a gathering that brought together all Christians in Kamuge zone.
She said she was on her way to Akalait village in Tororo for the burial of Mrs Edeet, Mrs Ekisa and Teddy Ibuyat, who served Pallisa, but decided to branch off when she saw the congregation.
I was on my way to Tororo for the burial of Mama Mrs Edeet, Mrs Ekisa and Teddy Ibuyat who have given Pallisa good service and are now part of us, but when I saw you I took a decision to branch and share with you the prayers, she said.
The function at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Odepai was organised to recognise ten catechists serving Kamuge zone under Pallisa Parish, Tororo Archdiocese. They are Dongo John, Opadoi John and Maikula Simon Peter of St John the Baptist Odepai, Amuju Simon and Okariebi Stephen of St Mulumba Okiria, Outa Boniface and Naula Getrida of St Mathew Bukedea, Odunuk David and Kariebi Mathias with their supervising catechist Otuba Simon Peter.
Parish Priest Rev Fr Francis Wakida thanked Christians for standing with the servants of the church.
I would like to thank Hon Achola in a special way for joining the Kamuge zone Christians though she was on her way to Akalait village in Tororo for the burial, Fr Wakida said.
William Ochom of Odepai parish in Boliso One said he welcomes the delay because rainfall is scarce.
In an exclusive interview, Ochom said the weather is unpredictable. We have dug holes and we are ready, but planting now would be a loss. I have seen the seedlings myself, this is not politics of failure to deliver seedlings but the reality is that people cannot water the seedlings if given.
Achola said she has secured 10,000 seedlings for willing farmers and will distribute them once conditions improve. In the meantime, agricultural extension workers will be deployed to train farmers in clusters on proper coffee and cocoa management.
She said the biggest challenge is mindset, with many farmers preferring quick-yielding crops over perennials that take two to five years to mature.
Achola, commonly known as Mama Coffee for her push for coffee growing, said the excuse that people do not have land to plant coffee is wrong, noting that the Bagishu live on small pieces of land but still grow coffee.
In reality according to experts, if a farmer plants 50 coffee trees the yield can sustain a family and have one learner educated from primary to university without hiccup, she said.
Berita Kagoye from Kamuge said farmers should embrace coffee as a perennial cash crop and those who can afford seedlings should supplement what the Woman MP will distribute.
At the same church function, Achola contributed 350,000 shillings for ten bags of cement and pledged to buy the choir uniform. She tasked Kamuge zonal chairperson Ocom to follow up on the pledge.
Meanwhile, Sam Opolot of Apetet village in Akisim Sub County asked government to lower the 25 percent farmer contribution required to acquire solar powered irrigation equipment under the Uganda Climate Smart Agricultural Transformation Project, saying most farmers own less than an acre and cannot raise it.
Responding to questions about the 2,100 chairs she supplied to 21 sub counties and a truck, Achola said those were for community service during functions, not direct income generation. She explained that the 300 million shillings meant for a vehicle was split to buy the chairs, the truck and her own car.
Poverty is not fought with chairs. It is fought through groups with clear objectives and a common enterprise that gives people their own money, she said.
She urged beneficiaries of Parish Development Model, Emyooga, Youth Livelihood and Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme to use the funds with focus.
She said a farmer who uses PDM money to buy 80 one-month-old chicks at 800,000 shillings and spends the rest on feeds can make 2.4 million shillings in three months while waiting for coffee and cocoa to grow.