Experts Root for Irrigation to Boost Food Security

Kampala: Stakeholders in various chains of agriculture and food security have called for harnessing of irrigation potentials to improve food security and incomes of smallholder farmers.

The team of water engineers, agriculturists, and researchers drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture, Parliamentary Forum on Climate Change and Non-Governmental Organisations say research has shown the significant for irrigation systems to increase sustainable water use.

The experts were speaking at a public dialogue organised by Food Rights Alliance to discuss the water for agriculture production. The symposium, organised under the theme, “Leveraging the water burden to offset the future water needs,” took place in Kampala on Friday.

Eng. Dominic Banaga Mucunguzi, the assistant commissioner for water for production at the Ministry of Agriculture, called for massive investment in irrigated agriculture by all stakeholders.

“There is a need to focus on water use efficiency, conservation and waste prevention,” Eng. Banaga said.
He said gravity smallholder schemes have the highest likelihood of success.

“Farmer-managed or jointly managed irrigation systems perform better than systems managed solely by a government agency,” said Banaga.

The experts say irrigation is economically feasible for smallholder families, it has multiple benefits and saves labour.

Dr. Joshua Wanyama, from the Makerere University Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, said that a multidisciplinary approach, coupled with better storage of water during the rainy season, is needed to boost food security.

“Often there is enough rainfall, but not enough storage. We need to scale up water buffer management,” said Dr. Wanyama.

It was, however, noted that government funding to the irrigation sector is still negligible and could greatly affect food production in the near future.

“Uganda has an irrigation master plan, but the funding to implement it is still lacking. Uganda has a budget of 5% towards irrigation yet countries like Egypt and Ethiopia spend over two-thirds of their budget for water production,” said Eng. Richard Cong, managing director of MARS Engineering and Services.

According to Eng. Cong, 34% of the water in Uganda has disappeared in the last 16 years while 80 percent of the country is in the rainfall deficit.

“It rains but the evaporation is so high, that is why we need irrigation,” said Eng. Cong.
The participants, however, noted that irrigation is not a cure-all for food insecurity but a great potential to drive towards achieving this development outcome.

“Before we focus more on irrigation, we need to ask ourselves why are the youth leaving agriculture for Boda Boda (commercial motorcycle)? Agricultural mechanisation is a myth, seeds are bad, fertilizers are bad. I spend Shs10 million on my farm and end up earning Shs2 million and you call me lazy?” asked Henry Kimera, the Food Rights Alliance board treasurer

He called on the government to set a minimum price for agricultural products.

The experts said clear land tenure systems and rights are a prerequisite to irrigation investments.

For many years, farmers have relied on rain-fed agriculture which, has become less reliable with the fluctuations in weather. Most regions in Uganda, especially northeastern, have been hard-hit by food shortages after much of the harvests failed due to prolonged drought.

In 2017, the government developed a 25-year master plan on irrigation that is being implemented across the country.

The plan envisages that to popularise irrigation, demand-driven demonstrations will be necessary and once farmers see that irrigation can be the difference between a good harvest and starvation, the uptake will increase.

Parliament recently approved a Euro 101.8 million loan to develop solar-powered irrigation and water supply system across the country.

The loan will be used to construct 920 water supply systems for irrigation.

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UCDA to Crackdown on Coffee Traders who Adulterate Coffee Beans

Kasese: Uganda Coffee Development Authority has sworn to intensify operations to crack down on traders and processors who adulterate coffee beans by mixing them with other substances, an action that reduces the quality of Uganda’s coffee.

“We are here to tell you that the quality of coffee has continued to deteriorate and you must change or else we are going to use a lot of force like what was used in the fishing industry to restore sanity,” the Executive Director Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), Dr. Emanuel Iyamulmye said.

Dr. Iyamulmye said coffee traders in the western districts of Kasese have failed to adhere to the coffee regulations with crafty traders mixing good quality coffee with stones and husks.

“We have taken up Kasese as our focus for coffee development, and quality must be up to standard,” he said.

The regulator gave the warning during an interface between farmers, coffee traders and middlemen, coffee cooperative unions and officials from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) at Kasese District Multipurpose Hall in Kasese town on Saturday.

At the meeting, coffee traders in the western district of Kasese confessed to putting poor quality coffee on the market.

“We know what we have been doing to compromise the quality of coffee at our stores and factories. It is not true that farmers are the ones who mix coffee with stones but we the traders, if we want to improve the quality, we better do what is right,” Gertrude Kyogabirwe, a coffee trader said.

Fred Bwambale, the chairperson of the coffee traders in the district noted that the major problem was on the side of processors whom he said provide a market for poor quality coffee.

“It is not true that farmers adulterate coffee but we coffee processors and traders who want more gains after giving farmers peanuts, are the root cause of these problems,” Bwambale said.

Coffee farmers in Kasese district have for long decried the rate at which the cash crop is being adulterated by unscrupulous buyers who prey on immature coffee.

The farmers said during the interface that they are discouraged when they see no price difference between those selling high-quality coffee and poor quality coffee.

Lt Col Barnabas Mughongo, the coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation in Kasese, who attended the meeting suggested stringent enforcement to adjust the mindset of the traders and processors.

“If adulterated coffee is found in a particular area, then the local council one leader (of the area) must be arrested like in the past,” Lt Col Mughongo said.

Rajab Olimi, the manager Great Lakes Coffee, said for the last 10 years, the quality of coffee in Kasese has been a big challenge. He called for technical expertise in the coffee processing and value chain to check the rot “before it is beyond redemption and drives farmers into abandoning the crop due to losses.”

Olimi said the coffee regulator should take part of the blame. “We have a lot of gaps where officials from UCDA themselves compromise the quality,” he said. “Quality analysis must be done and receipts issued to every vehicle that takes coffee out of the district.”

Kasese District is known for producing high-quality coffee beans but stakeholders say the quality is deteriorating fast.

UCDA announced it plans to improve coffee productivity and quality in Kasese by stumping the old coffee trees and planting more on the hilly areas.

In August, UCDC drafted a new bill that seeks to preserve the quality and boost coffee growing in the country.

Currently, coffee trade is governed under the Coffee Regulation 1994 and Coffee Development Authority statute 1991.

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Rwenzori Apple Farmers say Frustrated by Microfinance Support Centre

Kasese: Apple growers in the Rwenzori region have expressed disappointment with Micro-Finance Support Centre (MSC) for what they say is the funding agency’s failure to advance them funds on time for early planting despite a presidential directive to the effect.

The Executive Director of Kasese Apple Growers Organisation and Cooperative (KAGO), John Kimadi, told theCooperator from his office at Kizungu cell in Kasese Municipality that President Yoweri Museveni advised them to apply for the funds instead of “waiting for free things in their bid to improve the quality and quantity of the fruit grown.”

“We applied to MSC for funds but they have not responded to us even when we have submitted all the requirements. we wanted to use the money for buying seedlings but it is now getting late for the planting season Kimadi said.

The apple growers say the current planting season ends November, meaning their hope hangs by the thread.

MSC is a public agency mandated to manage micro-credit funds and offer business development services on behalf of the government. The agency says financing to agricultural cooperatives is a priority, of which KAGO is one.

Among its core responsibilities, MSC is expected to make it possible for the active poor to increase their household incomes through the extension of affordable financing to cooperatives and other organisations.

Kimadi said the Rwenzori apple farmers need fertilisers, pruning machines, pesticides, planting seeds, among others, adding that apple growing was a presidential initiative that should not be frustrated by anybody in the government.

“Apple farmers are now stranded with holes they dug after failing to access the loan they were processing from MSC,” he said.

The Rwenzori apple farmers, under their cooperative, KAGO, had applied for Shs2.1 billion to be dispensed in two phases – one for planting and the other for credit and savings.

Adonia Bazarwa, the field assistant at MSC, told theCooperator that out of 46 groups that applied for funding, only four [applications] had reached Kampala, eight were taken to the MSC regional office in Fort Portal and the rest did not meet the requirements.

“Micro-finance loan is paid in 12 months and every month, and I’m not the officer with the final decision on when the applicants can get the funds,’ he said.

Bazarwa noted that the major challenge was the inaccessibility of the group members and their delay to submit the required documents, adding that MSC was willing to release the funds for their development.

Meanwhile, Yelesi Kabugho, an apple farmer from Kilembe, decried theft of their fruits, saying that the government should come into their rescue before the situation gets out of hand like that of vanilla.

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Cooperatives’ Registrar Warns Banks Against Irregular dealings with Under-fire UCA Staff

The Registrar of cooperatives in the Ministry of Trade, Industry,

The initial letter written by UCA’s embattled General Secretary Asiimwe to Stanbic Bank.

and Cooperatives has warned commercial banks in which Uganda Cooperative Alliance(UCA) has accounts, to take extra effort to authenticate any documents pertaining change of account signatories, noting that any such changes must be accompanied by a resolution certified by his office.

In a letter dated 15th November 2019 addressed to the Managing Director ABSA (formerly Barclays Bank), the registrar Joseph William Kitandwe noted that his office had learned that some officials from UCA were “Attempting to change signatories to the Institution’s Bank Account(s) without certified resolutions from the Office of the Registrar of Cooperatives in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives,” noting that “pursuant to section (44) of the Cooperative Societies Act cap 112, all registered societies, Uganda Cooperative Alliance inclusive, are required to certify resolutions pertaining bank accounts.”

Background

The development follows a move by UCA’s board of directors to suspend the Institution’s finance manager and attempt to replace him as a signatory on all UCA’s bank accounts before the board resolution was certified by the Registrar of cooperatives as demanded by the law.

Sources at UCA told theCooperator that on the day the resolution suspending the finance manager was passed on November 11th 2019, UCA General Secretary Ivan Asiimwe submitted a copy of the same to the office of the registrar for certification, but the registrar instead wrote back to the Chairperson of the UCA Board seeking to understand the reasons for the Finance Manager’s suspension.

In the letter, a copy of which theCooperator has seen, the Registrar also inquired whether the board had been guided by UCA’s Human Resource manual as required by law, so as to avoid unnecessary court petitions against UCA in future.

But before the Chairperson of the UCA board could respond to the registrar’s letter, the General Secretary Asiimwe on Wednesday 13th November moved to register the yet-to-be certified resolution with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau(URSB), in a move seemingly designed to side-step the requirement for the Registrar’s certification and validate the document’s use in official UCA transactions.

UCA owns accounts in Stanbic Bank, ABSA Bank, Bank of Africa and Housing Finance Bank. In one such letter to Stanbic Bank seen by theCooperator, Asiimwe wrote to the manager of the bank’s Forest Mall branch, introducing Isabirye Richard Katairo, previously serving as UCA’s accountant, as the new signatory on the Institution’s account alongside himself, and attached the now registered board resolution as the document authorizing the change.

But in an interview with theCooperator, Tonny Tumukunde, a registrar at URSB argued that UCA’s document registration is just a normal procedure under the Registration of Documents Act 1922, and does not cure any defect in the given document or confer upon it validity that it otherwise did not have beyond what is provided for in the Act.

A law don who spoke to theCooperator on condition of anonymity agreed with Tumukunde, arguing that the 1992 Cooperatives Act is the principal law on all cooperatives’ matters and that the mere registration of a document under the Documents Act is inconsequential and confers no legality or validity to it.

When contacted for a comment, an official in the registrar’s office who declined to be identified to be able to speak candidly on the matter argued that Asiimwe’s attempt to utilize a document not certified by the registrar to transact official business of UCA just adds to the several cases of impropriety that the department has already registered with the police in relation to the General Secretary.

Section 80(1) of the Cooperatives Act 1992 stipulates that “It shall be an offense under this Act if a registered society or an officer or member of a registered society knowingly performs any act which requires the consent or approval of the registrar without having first obtained such consent or approval.”

Asiimwe and the Board Chairperson Johnas Tweyambe claimed to be in meetings when contacted for comments on the matter, and both were still unable to comment by press time.

The two themselves only remain in office by court order, having been asked to step aside by the Registrar on 24th October 2019, to pave way for smooth investigations into allegations of fraud, financial impropriety and abuse of office that have rocked the Cooperatives body for the most part of this year. But on 28th October 2019, they secured a High Court injunction halting the execution of the registrar’s directive, until the hearing of their main petition

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Government Launches New Fund to Support SACCOs Growth

A new fund to help support small businesses’ earning power and boost the financial standing of Saving and Credit Cooperatives Societies has been announced.

In a speech to the populace in the Greater Masaka region gathered in Masaka town, State Minister in charge of Microfinance, Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo, said that each SACCO will receive Shs30 million to boost its productivity and performance.

The fund forms part of the government’s strategy on socio-economic transformation program in which the government has committed itself to covert 68 percent of the country’s homesteads currently in subsistence economic activities to market-oriented production.

According to Kyeyune, the fund will be managed by the Finance ministry and shall be called “Emyooga
For the start, it shall target to fund at least 17 SACCOs from each of the 112 districts across the country with an additional group comprised of leaders of each district.

The target SACCOs and social enterprises are motorcycle commercial operators, commonly referred to as Boda Boda riders, women entrepreneurs, carpenters, saloon operators, taxi Operators, welders, restaurant owners, market vendors, persons with a disability, mechanics, produce dealers, performing artists, and fishmongers.

“The President directs that each of these groups mobilise themselves into Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies-SACCOs, at their parish levels, which will eventually be capitalised with 30 million shillings each,” Kyeyune announced.

Meanwhile, already 163 groups from the districts of Masaka, Lwengo, Kalungu, Bukomansimbi, Sembabule, Lyantonde, Kalangala, Rakai and Kyotera; comprised of people engaged in various enterprises have shown interests in benefiting from the fund.

Ritah Namuwenge, the chairperson of Youth Action for Social Political and Economic Development, one of the association that is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the funds, cautioned the communities against politicising the initiative, describing it as a broad-based scheme that targets all people regardless of the political party affiliation.

Emyooga fund adds to the list of several other poverty alleviation campaign government has been implementing. These include among others; Operational Wealth Creation-OWC, Youth Livelihood Program-YLP, Women Entrepreneurship Program-UWEP, and the Microfinance Savings and Credit Cooperatives Fund-SACCOs.

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Co-op Bank Records Ksh15.45 Billion Profit

The Co-operative Bank Group on Friday, November 15, reported a pre-tax profit of Ksh15.45 billion for the third quarter of 2019.

This was a significant improvement compared to Ksh14.64 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2018, a strong 6% growth despite the backdrop of what the bank describes as a challenging economic environment in the period.

Profit after tax was Ksh10.9 billion compared to Ksh10.3 billion in the same period, the previous year.

“The Group continues to leverage on the benefits of the “Soaring Eagle” Transformation Agenda that has re-tooled and equipped the business with added competitive edge as reflected in the sustained growth in market share across all market segments and Counties,” a statement signed by Group managing director and CEO, Gideon Muriuki, read.

A Co-operative Bank branch in Nairobi. The pre-tax profit rose from Ksh14.64 billion to Ksh15.45 billion in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. PHOTO: Simon Gichomo | KENYANS.CO.KE

It has also progressively deepened its celebrated financial inclusion model rooted in the over 15 million-member co-operative movement, that is the face of Kenya.

“The Group has continued with a strategy for continued deepening and dominance in our domain market segment leveraging on our successful penetration of the Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises and the Saccos, while reviewing opportunities to grow alternative income streams from other services like Bancassurance, and leasing business being done through Co-op Bank Fleet Africa Leasing Ltd, a strategic joint venture with Super Group of South Africa,” the statement further reads.

Some of the group’s key financial highlights included:

1. Profit and Loss

  • Total operating income grew by 9 per cent from Kshs 32.3 billion to Ksh 35.2 billion.
  • Total non-interest income increased by 33 per cent from Kshs 10.6 billion to Ksh 14.1 billion.
  • Interest income from government securities increased by 18 per cent from Ksh 6.9 billion to Ksh 8.2 billion.
  • Total operating expenses grew by 11 per cent from Ksh 17.8 billion to Ksh 17.8 billion on account higher loan loss provision.

Balance sheet

  • Total assets grew by Ksh 36.6 billion (+9 per cent) to Ksh 440.8 billion compared to Ksh 404.2 Billion in the same period last year.
  • Net loans and advances book grew by Ksh 14.7 billion (+6 per cent) from Ksh254.2 to Ksh 268.9 billion.
  • Investment in Government securities grew by Ksh11.4 billion (+13.7 per cent) to Kshs. 94.6 billion compared to Kshs. 83.2 billion in first three quarters of 2018.
  • Customer deposits grew by 9 per cent from Ksh 296 billion to Ksh 322.5billion
  • Borrowed funds from development partners grew by Ksh 3.7 billion (+14 per cent) to Kshs 29.7 billion from Ksh26 billion in the previous year.
  • Shareholders’ funds grew from Ksh 70.9 billion to Ksh 73.9 billion.
  • The bank closed the quarter on a sound capital base, with adjusted total capital against total risk-weighted assets standing at 15.8 per cent, which is 1.3 per cent above the statutory minimum of 14.5 per cent.
  1. Innovative Customer Delivery Platforms
  • Through our multi-channel strategy, the Bank has successfully moved 89 per cent of all customer transactions to alternative delivery channels that include mobile banking, an expanded 24-hour contact centre, 586 ATMs, internet banking and over 16,000 Co-op Kwa Jirani banking agents.
  • A successful Universal Banking model and the implementation of SalesForce Effectiveness has seen the Group serve 8.7 million Account-holders across all sectors.
  • Key focus on digital banking, with the all-telco Mco-op Cash Mobile Wallet continuing to play a pivotal role in the growth of non-funded income with over 4.7 Million customers registered and loans worth over Kshs 27.6 billion disbursed as at the close of quarter three 2019.
  • Over 56,800 customers have taken up the rolled out MSME packages that we launched in 2018 and 4000 have been trained on business management and planning. We have earmarked Kshs 15.2 billion for MSME lending and to date, we have disbursed Kshs 5.4 billion under the program.
  • Our unique model of retail banking services through Sacco FOSAs enabled us to provide wholesale financial services to over 464 FOSA outlets and issue over 1 millionSacco-Link cards.

READ ALSO : Former BoU chief Bagyenda given 24 hours to explain Coop Bank closure

Rwanda’s Cooperative Bank For 2020

  1. Subsidiaries
  • Co-operative Bank of South Sudan that is a unique Joint Venture (JV) partnership with Government of South Sudan (Co-op Bank 51 per cent and GOSS 49 per cent) made a Profit before tax of Ksh 174.7 Million in Q3 2019.
  • Co-op Consultancy & Insurance Agency contributed Ksh 511.1 million as at 30th September 2019.
  • Co-op Trust Investment Services has aggressively grown the funds under management to almostKsh 100 billion.
  1. Corporate Social Responsibility Programs

Co-op Bank Foundation has provided Scholarships to gifted but needy students from all regions of Kenya. The sponsorship includes; fully-paid secondary education, full fees for University education, Internships and career openings for beneficiaries. The foundation is fully-funded by the bank and has so far supported 7,032 students since the inception of the program. (Source / Kenyan.co. ke

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Ankole: Concerns Over Use of Rat Poison to Preserve Beans and Grains

The use of rat poison for beans and grain preservation has caught the attention of individuals, health workers, and government agencies to food quality and safety in the Ankole sub-region.

The population in the sub-region is worried that consuming the beans and grains preserved using the rat poison could lead to cumulative health burdens on them.

For long, cereal and grain farmers across the country have used rat poison and the application of red dry peppers as ways to preserve their products.

Mr. Herbert Aryaija, a dealer in cereals, in Mbarara Municipality, told theCooperator that the application of rat poison is effective in dealing with insects and rats and helps them check losses that result from prolonged storage.

He argues that the application process is safe since they wrap the poison in a piece of cloth before it is put in the cereals.

However, Ronald Rwabutwagu the LCV councilor for the Bushenyi Central Division who also doubles as a member of the District Production Committee said the authorities in the area have already received complaints from consumers about the practice.

Samuel Agaba, a resident Katete village, in Mbabara narrated that his family members fell sick after consuming beans laced with rat poison. “My family members developed a complication in the abdomen as well as itchy skins. We did not know that rat poison had been used to treat the beans until a doctor told us so,” said Agaba.

Bean weevils are common pests that attack beans. The weevils and other pests including rats also attack the grains while in-store. Farmers and traders say this leads to huge post-harvest losses. To mitigate this, the majority of farmers and grain traders employ various insect control measures, including the use of rat poison not minding the consequences of their actions.

Elly Muhwezi, the program coordinator for Uganda Citizens Alliance told theCooperartor that the practice is growing and requires immediate action from the authorities. He faults the authorities for failing to take action as the locals continue to feed on cereals that are unfit for human consumption.

The Ntungamo District Agricultural officer Esther Atwiine said her office has received information that grain and cereal traders were using rat poison to preserve beans and other cereals.

Ms. Atwiine said officials from her officer and agriculture extension workers have embarked on a move to sensitise the locals on the dangers of using rat poison to preserve cereals.

Authorities in the Ankole sub-region have called on the farmers and business community to instead use preservatives meant for human consumption.

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A New Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Launched in Masindi

A new coffee farmers’ cooperative society has been launched in Masindi district, to provide technical skills and find a market for farmers.

Bwijanga Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society will also provide modern agricultural services and financial assistance to its members at affordable prices.

The cooperative society is mainly focusing on coffee growing. So far, it has 100 members.

“As a cooperative, we believe that we shall now have bargaining power and we shall not embrace the services of middlemen,” said Benedicto Ssensaga, the chairperson of the cooperative society.

The coffee farmers point to the presence of middlemen as one of the biggest hurdles to getting reasonable prices for coffee and achieving quality. The middlemen offer low prices to farmers and mix dried berries with unripe and poorly dried berries.

According to Ssensaga, Bwijanga Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society long term plan is to own a processing plant, which will help them add value to their coffee.

While launching the cooperative society, the State Minister for Bunyoro Affairs Ernest Kiiza urged farmers to focus on commercial agriculture in order to improve their household income.

“The government is encouraging coffee farming because it has a high demand for the international market. The government target is to export 20 million bags of coffee annually in a few years to come, therefore, take advantage of this opportunity,” Kiiza said.

Bwijanga Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society was registered in August.

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Boda-Boda Cooperatives Call For More Training

Leaders of boda-boda cooperatives within Kampala and neighboring areas have called for routine training of cooperatives and their members in cooperative-best practices to enable the long-term survival of cooperative societies.

At the second meeting of Chairpersons of cooperatives held at Jeremy gardens in Kampala last month, Amir Sekulima, the Chairperson of the Kampala Boda- Boda Industry – an association of bodaboda operators across Kampala’s 5 divisions and the treasurer of Kampala Civic Centre boda-boda Transporters Cooperative(KCCBT), noted that KCCBT was offering its best to train other cooperatives about how cooperatives should be run, having themselves benefited from training by the Uhuru Institute for Social Development.

The Uhuru Institute for Social Development is a social enterprise that supports cooperatives across the country by offering regular training and offering other social support interventions like affordable loans.

Now, Amir says they’re determined to pass on the same knowledge acquired to other boda-bodas within Kampala, most of whom belong to cooperatives.

“We need to help cooperatives in bad shape to gain certain managerial skills like we did, so as to grow together,” he said. He noted that sustained growth by their cooperatives would foster the formation of a strong union capable of qualifying for government aid since the government prefers to deal with more organized unions.

Of particular concern, Amir noted that most bodaboda cooperatives don’t keep a record of their operations, which makes it almost impossible to track the progress of their cooperatives let alone following guidelines concerning the number of Executive members, and their specific roles as stipulated in the Cooperatives Act.

Testimonies from members of several cooperatives revealed that in most cooperatives, single members were micro-managing the affairs of their cooperatives, which goes against one of the key cooperative principles- democratic member control, and threatens their long-term survival.

It was also discovered that most members neither appreciated nor adhered to the formal structure of cooperatives, removing any incentive for accountability on the part of cooperatives’ leaders.

Amir told the chairpersons that a good cooperative must stand on the four pillars of Teaming, Democracy, Strategic Leadership and Accountable Empowerment if it is to be successful.

Consequently, members resolved to hold regular meetings to help one another grow as they aim towards forming a strong union.

The meeting was attended by at least 10 chairpersons of different boda-boda cooperatives from within Kampala and its neighborhood.

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Youth Urged To Embrace Cash Crop Growing

Youth in Masindi district have been advised to embrace cash crop growing as a faster and more efficient way of improving their household incomes.

The youth were on Saturday touring Sunrise Inspirational Farm – an over 20-acre enterprise of bananas, rice, poultry goat-rearing and horticulture belonging to a one Ramadhan Atuhura located in Kijumbura village, Pakanyi sub-county, about 20kms from Masindi town.

Atuhura is a member of Farmers Talk Uganda(FTU) – a loose association of over 140 farmers across the country formed two years ago. The farmers routinely visit each other’s farms to share knowledge and best practices on how to improve production, become better farmers and reach for bigger markets.

Speaking at Atuhura’s farm on Saturday, Charles Rwebembera, the chairperson of FTU, advised the visiting youths to interest themselves in crops and enterprises whose value has limited depreciation.

“If you decide to venture in crops like bananas for commercial production, make research and invest in improved varieties that will give you value for the money invested. Make sure your piece of land is optimally utilized because land is scarce,” Rwebembera said.

Frederick Isingoma, another FTU member dealing in coffee and banana farming called upon the youth to resist the allure of quick gains in farming, noting that the more sustainable returns lie in consistency. “Some youth opt for crops with quick yields such as maize but they also suffer from very low prices in return. A kilogram of coffee, on the other hand, is always above Shs.4000. And most of our parents supported us in school using proceeds from coffee,” he argued.

Isingoma advised farmers to apply modern farming methods such as applying manure to cash crops, so as to get better yields.

Stanley Wandera, a farmer and chairperson of Gukwatamanzi cooperative society one of the SACCOs in the district cautioned the youth against the undermining farming, and to get beyond the stereotypes associated with the trade:

“Some graduates have ancestral land which is lying idle in their villages but do not think of investing in agriculture, preferring instead to beg from their parents. You should avoid that mentality,” Wandera said.

Ronald Tumuhaise, one of the visiting youth, said most times many youths are discouraged because of the intensive time needed to invest in agriculture and some opt for enterprises that require less attention.

Meanwhile, Atuhura told his visitors that he was now turning to value addition: “I have mobilized and created a cluster of farmers who are now growing bananas. I sell to them suckers at a reduced price of Shs.1500 instead of Shs.2000 and also train them in good agronomic practices. I’m sure that those farmers will contribute towards my wine production with supplies as they also uplift themselves,” Atuhura said.

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