CAO Warns to Fire Veterinary Officers Reluctant at Inspecting Four Acre Model Projects

The Mukono Chief Administrative Officer James Nkata says veterinary officers assigned to monitor the four-acre model project in Mukono district will be accountable for its failure.

Nkata said while handing over six Frisians cows purchased at shillings 4.5 million to veterinary officers at the district on behalf of the first six beneficiaries of the four-acre model project in Mukono. 

The project was introduced in district this year in to acts as an agricultural learning centre for farmers to eradicate household poverty through modern agriculture. 

It is implemented under Operation Wealth Creation focusing at dedicating each acre of land with a particular value of multiple agricultural activities including livestock, food crop, cash crop and household in every parish in the district.  

According to Nkata many important agricultural projects initiated by the government fail to progress due to lack of proper monitoring and inspection by the veterinary officers. He notes that much as they paid their salary on time and equipped to do the work, most of them attend to people after receiving bribes.

Mukono district has 90 parishes that make up 13 sub counties. Each sub county has two veterinary officers and six extension workers. According to Nkata each veterinary officer who fails to properly monitor the assigned farm will be charged with incompetence and negligence of duty.  


The District Production Officer Fred Mukulu says shillings 60 million was budgeted for to support each model by procuring Fresian cows, veterinary drugs, and farm inputs such as coffee, tomatoes, mangoes seedlings and fertilizers to improve soil fertility.


The Residents District Commissioner Fred Bamwiine appeals to the production officers do impromptu inspections on farms before alerting the veterinary officers and farmers about their visits and once they realise shoddy works council the program. 

Most of the Veterinary officers claim receiving less fuel from the district to cover their working areas. As a result, they ask farmers to contribute towards their movements for the inspections to take place.