According to Anywar, with the rollout of the government’s initiative aimed at alleviating poverty, beneficiaries who have taken up agriculture must consider value addition in order to address household poverty.
State Minister for Environment Beatrce Atim Anywar addressing local leaders in Gulu City on Monday during sensitization on Parish Development Model-PDM.
The
State Minister for Environment, Beatrice Atim Anywar has called on the people in Acholi Sub-region to invest in adding value to their farm products if they are
to gain from the Parish Development model-PWD.
Anywar
says on many occasions, farm products in the region are sold without any value addition thus leaving farmers at losses since their products don’t fetch high
prices and can’t be exported.
According
to Anywar, with the rollout of the government’s initiative aimed at alleviating
poverty, beneficiaries who have taken up agriculture must consider value addition in order to address household poverty.
//Cue
in: “we are rice…
Cue
out:…maber cate kene.”//
Anywar
made the remarks while speaking at a sensitization meeting for local leaders in
Gulu City on the PDM program Monday. The government rolled out the PDM in February this year with aim of helping locals from the parish level to
increase their household incomes. Under the initiative, each Parish will
receive 100 million Shillings to benefit selected groups to
alleviate poverty.
Anywar
also noted that they will ensure that the technical team on the PDM sensitizes the beneficiaries to take up profitable agricultural enterprises citing the growing of perennial crops like coffee and fish farming. She
says that although annual crops locally grown in the region have been supporting farmers,
their output hasn’t helped to uplift their social-economic status in the
region.
//cue
in: “The technical team…
Cue
out:…for extensive farming.”//
Anywar
also urged the local leaders in the region to support the PDM irrespective of their political affiliation so as to benefit their electorates. Gulu
City Mayor, Alfred Owkonga reiterated that investment in value addition and processing equipment is the only way farmers can get high financial returns
from their farm products.
He
said there is no way the beneficiaries will reap from the initiative if they don’t
add value to their products citing other past projects where unstable prices
of crops left farmers in losses.
//cue
in: “I will not…
Cue
out:…will go higher.”//
Gulu
City Principal Commercial Officer, Nixon Komakech however notes that limited
funding from the government has hindered their capacity to conduct orientation
of beneficiaries on the nature of enterprises they chose.
He
also says that they couldn’t sensitize the Community based organizations, and lower
local councilors on PDM, while leadership management training for the various
Saccos was also not conducted.
Komakech
recommended that the Ministry should ensure funding is channeled directly to the
line department in the city or district to avoid delays in implementing activities
of PDM.
//cue
in: “we are recommending…
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out:…for implementing it.”//
Gulu
City has received Shillings 157 million for the implementation of
PDM in 32 Parishes with each benefiting Sacco expected to receive Shillings 4.97
Million. At least 390 enterprises have been registered with 9,330 people expected to benefit from the Initiative.
