President Yoweri Museveni has told the speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among to stop discouraging locals from adopting the implementation of the four-acre model farming initiative within Northern Uganda.
The speaker told the President who officiated the regional parliamentary sitting in Gulu City Thursday that the four-acre model may not be vital for Northern Uganda since the region has abundant land.
The four-acre model farming initiative was rolled out by President Museveni and seeks to boost household income through the utilization of small pieces of land for agriculture.
Under the Initiative, the President encourages households to embrace the growing of coffee, fruits, food crops, zero grazing of dairy cattle, poultry, piggery, and fish farming on four acres.
Among however observed that instead of the government encouraging locals to embrace the initiative, it should provide funding for the mechanization of agriculture, create a market for products, and identify specific cash crops that suit the region.
She presented to the President several pressing concerns affecting Northern Uganda which were submitted by legislators from the region on Wednesday.
They included concerns about the post-war recovery of Northern Uganda, high levels of poverty, ever-growing youth unemployment, underutilization of large chunks of arable land, environmental degradation, and limited transport infrastructure. Others included reliance on subsistence agriculture, cattle rustling, lack of health facilities, and limited schools.
In his address to the house, President Museveni was however quick to point to the speaker to desist from ‘confusing’ people in Northern Uganda about the implementation of the four- acre model strategy.
He says the four-acre model is applicable in Northern Uganda and was designed as a rescue operation for Northern Uganda which has fragmented land. The President notes that if properly used, a farmer can make millions of shillings from just four acres without necessarily relying on traditional crops like cotton.
Museveni says the parliament shouldn’t use the regional sitting to divert an initiative to improve household incomes arguing that crops like coffee grow very well in this part of the region.
Responding to the demands tabled by the legislators, the President notes that the government cannot address all the concerns at once.
He instead emphasized that the government is looking at first solving the challenges of household incomes in the region and will systematically address the concerns raised by the legislators.
Museveni however asked the people of Northern Uganda to get over the “hangover” of the past wars and focus on development citing many other parts of the country that underwent similar wars.
State Minister for Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Kenneth Omona on Wednesday in his presentation noted that the region’s reliance on subsistence agriculture remains a hindrance to the development of commercial agriculture.
He also highlighted that Northern Uganda with its vast land can support livestock production to boost the cattle economy of the region. He says the government is now moving ahead to start the total revamping of Aswa Ranch in Pader District with a recent loan acquired under the climate- smart funds.
Parliament today adopted the report of the sectoral committee on physical infrastructure on the state of transport infrastructure (roads, bridges, railways, and airfields) in northern Uganda.
The report was tabled on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday by Tony Awany, the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Physical Infrastructure which detailed the worrying state of infrastructure in Northern Uganda.
The committee Wednesday made key recommendations for the government to expedite repairs, maintenance, and completion of major infrastructural projects such as Karuma Bridge, Pakwach Bridge, floating vegetation on Pakwach Bridge, Masindi Port Bridge, Karuma-Olwiyo – Pakwach road, Rwekunye – Apac-Lira – Purnaga Acholi Bur Road, and Tororo-Mbale-Soroti-Lira Kamdini Road among others.
The house also today approved a motion moved by Dan Kimosho, the Kazo County legislator to pay tribute to President Museveni for his visionary leadership of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in safeguarding the peace and security of Northern Uganda.
The regional parliamentary sitting kicked off on Wednesday in Gulu city and it’s the first of its kind outside Kampala since 1962.
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