AGRICULTURE

Kasese district produces several food and cash crops and livestock products. Over 85 percent of

A very good harvest; tomatoes at a market.

the people in the district depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Among the food crops produced in the area are finger millet, cassava, maize, ground nuts, sorghum, potatoes and matooke. The district also practices horticulture farming that includes fruits like passion fruits and vegetables.

Most of the agricultural products are either sold to the local markets in the region or exported to Kampala and other districts in the country.

However most of the farming activity is done on subsistence nature although the district together, through the government’s Program for the Modernisation of Agriculture (for example AAMP and NAADS) is trying to boost productivity.

The district has also introduced new crops to improve on the standards of the farmers. They include hybrid hot pepper, mangoes, Pineapples,vanilla, apples and pears.

Another new type of farming in the district is fish farming. Fish farming is being encouraged in the district due to the high demand on both local and external markets.

The district plans to increase on the number of demonstration farms and information centres at sub county levels for the purposes of sensitising the farmers on modern farming techniques.

Livestock farming:

Herding cattle in Kasese.

Kasese district practices livestock farming to supplement crop husbandry. The district has been encouraging farmers to cross-breed their traditional breeds with exotic dairy cows which are more productive. The district has a staff of 11 veterinary officers and 10 animal dips.

National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), 2005/06 to date

Under NAADS, enterprises being promoted following the zoning of the district are: piggery, poultry, goat keeping, cattle, coffee, horticulture, maize, cassava and sweet potatoes.

Specific interventions have included:

Farmer institutional development

·A total of 1400 groups have been identified/ formed and registered at sub-county level.

·All 24 subcounties and Town councils have sub county farmers’ forum. A District farmers Forum is in place.

·      All the subcounties and Town councils have procurement committees.

·All the parishes  in the District have parish coordination committees.

·All parishes have community based selection committees (CBSCs) which are currently handling procurements at the parish level. All sub-counties have sub-county procurement committees that handle sub-county level procurements.

·At least 4 community based facilitators (CBFs) have been identified per sub-county and supported with a bicycle each.

·6 higher level farmers associations (for coffee, maize, rice, poultry) have been formed, with the main objective of enhancing bulking of produce for better marketing. Capacity building for these institutions is ongoing, to have their capacity built.

·1 higher level farmer association engaged in coffee has grown into a cooperative society dealing with production and marketing of coffee. The association embarked on a savings and credit scheme with savings of 3M at the moment.

Advisory services

A total of 5,300 farmers have been trained in various agronomic practices, soil and water conservation, animal husbandry, apiary fish farming, post-harvest handling practices and marketing. A number of crosscutting issues such as environment, HIV/AIDS and gender were also integrated into the trainings.

Technology development

Inputs have been procured and distributed to farmers and technology development sites have been established. A detailed description of technology development achievements is as indicated below; 

Technology Development sites established from 2005/06 to 2006/07

FY 2005/6

FY 2006/07

13 treadle pumps were received from the NAADS secretariat and passed on to 7 sub counties. These are meant to demonstrate to the farmers’ small scale irrigation technology.

Inputs procured and distributed to farmers from FY 2007/08 - June 2010

Partnership establishment

Two partnerships - NASECO/NAADS in the maize enterprise development and Bukonzo Mixed Farmers Ltd/NAADS in the horticultural enterprises, have been implemented, with the renewal of Bukonzo Mixed Farmers Ltd.

Key achievements under the partnerships:

NASECO/NAADS on maize

·18 demonstrations were established.

· 250 farmers were reach-out in  advisory services provision

·200 farmers adopted good management practices of  maize production

·Post harvest handling practices were improved thus facilitating better marketing.

Bukonzo Mixed Farmers/NAADS partnership on Horticulture

•      The nursery at the nucleus farm was rehabilitated to a capacity of producing 50,000 seedlings per year.

•      6 farmers have emerged and grown into nursery operators.

•      2 mother gardens were established for mangoes, citrus and pineapples. These are located in the two counties of the district.

•      A second nursery has been established at the second mother garden, to decentralize the multiplication of the seedlings.

•      30 lead farmers were supported with mango, citrus and pineapple planting materials.

•      The lead farmers and the out growers who were supported by the District through provision of planting materials have been guided during the planting process and general management aspects.

•      Continued advisory services have been offered to the farmers on various aspects of orchard management, by the trainers of BMFL and researchers from NARO.

•      A system of linking district extension workers, NAADS Coordinators, CBOs, CBFs and BMFL workers was established.

•      A database was manually established at BMF. Information generated here is being passed on to the District, where an electronic data base is being established.

•      At least some farmers can ably identify diseases and carryout tree training and pruning. The CBFs visit the farmers regularly and make record of significant findings.

•      Strong skills amongst the CBFs to offer farmer-to-farmer extension services are being observed.

•      Harvests have been realized by the earlier beneficiaries mainly for pineapples. The average harvest for a farmer with 1 acre of pineapple currently stands at 8000 pineapples with each pineapple valued at 700/=.

•      The harvested pineapples are sold in local markets, BMFL however, sells the products in Kampala hotels, supermarkets and fruit processing factory at Britannia.

•      All fruit farming in the District is not using chemical fertilizers, but organic certification has not been carried out.

Support to youth farmers.

NAADS is implementing a youth empowerment strategy supported by State House:

v The NAADS secretariat has allocated 135,000,000 for the youth project in FY 2009/10. 46 youth groups’ were identified to be supported with farm inputs for Goat and Poultry enterprises.

v 230 indigenous goats and 23 Boer goats were supplied to 23 youth groups while the procurement of layer chicks is on-going.

v Also under the presidential pledges to the youth, 3 youths were identified and 2 of them have been supplied with 500 layers birds and 10 local goats.

Rural Financial Services Development

There are a total of 21 SACCOs in Kasese district that have been formed since the Presidential call for Prosperity For All (PFA).

16 out of the 21 SACCOs have got funding from government, covering 76.2% of the district.

Of the 2,375bn/= that the district has received from Micro Finance Support Centre (MSCL),

SACCOs have received 375m/=and 2m/= given to Nyakatonzi Cooperative Union, a farmers’ produce and marketing entity.

Financing under LGDP

v 210 bags of cassava cuttings, 4 bags of Irish potatoes and 100kgs of upland rice were procured and supplied to farmers as part of ensuring food security

v A total of 3,525 coffee seedlings and 518 passion fruit seedlings were supplied to various farmers in addition to supplying 710kg of garlic to various farmers in Kyabarungira.

v Fish fray were supplied to 2 fish ponds and 30 fish-nets were supplied to the communities on the lakes.

v 300 layers and 200 broilers were supplied to households in Rukoki Sub County.

v A total of 83 piglets, 46 Boer goats, and 147 local goats were supplied to households and the youth, women and PWD. In addition, three exotic cows were supplied to farmers in the mountain areas of Mahango.

v 9 sewing machines were supplied to PWDs (Persons With Disabilities).

v One 15-HP engine patrol boat was bought to control fishing on Lake Edward in Nyakiyumbu Sub County.

1.   Two Motorised irrigation pumps were procured in Munkunyu Sub County.

Area-Based Agriculture Modernisation Programme (AAMP)

Fisheries

1.   Two (2) fish slabs built at Kayanja landing site in Nyakiyumbu Sub County and at Kahendero in Muhokya Sub County.

2.   A market stall under construction in Kithoma Market in kitholhu Sub County.

3.   18 Fish cages delivered at Kayanja Landing site in Nyakiyumbu Sub County to begin fish farming.

Irrigation:

The irrigation scheme of Mubuku currently occupies a land area of 2,000 Hectares. This is divided into 990 hectares for gravity irrigation and 1010 hectares for diary development. Currently only 516 hectares (irrigated area) is under use. The other 474 hectares is dry, though it is reported to have been surveyed, graded, leveled and some irrigation structures put in place. The process of rehabilitating Mubuku Irrigation Scheme is on-going. A mini-Irrigation scheme will be constructed in Muhokya Sub county under the support of BTC/Kasese District Poverty Reduction Programme Besides Mubuku irrigation scheme, feasibility studies have also indicated that areas like Katojo in Nyakiyumbu S/C, Nyakatonzi and Kinyamaseke in Munkunyu S/C, Kiburara in Kisinga are all viable for irrigation farming. Nyamugasani, Kanyapara and possibly Lhubilha Rivers all have great potential to be used for irrigating these proposed areas.