Kazo: 180 farmers to benefit from Micro-Scale Irrigation Program
Kazo district Local Government has today at compassion hall Kazo town council Kazo district launched the UGIFT small-scale irrigation program in the district, as part of the government efforts towards improving agricultural productivity through provision of water for irrigation in the district.
Kazo district is among the 95 districts under the second phase that are piloting this program in the country.
The program which is coordinated by Department of Agricultural Infrastructure Mechanization and Water for Agricultural Production (DAIMWAP) under Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries is funded by the Government of Uganda with support from the World Bank and implemented by the Production and Marketing department at the District level.
Asiimwe JohnBaptist , the District Production Officer, has said that Kazo being one of the districts affected by the drought, this program is aiming at supporting individual subsistence farmers to get water, wherever it is, to reach the gardens which will enable them to practice modern agriculture and improve their farm productivity.
Asiimwe added that irrigation will help farmers to grow crops all year round with or without rain because they will be planting and watering their crops even during the dry season whereby in the long run they will have plenty of food for both eating and selling to generate more income.
Tumwijukye Innocent , the district senior agriculture engineer also clarified that, the cost of the equipment will depend on the procimity of the water source to the land for irrigation, terrain of the land, soil suitability, evidence as to whether the farmer has access to the land for at least 12 months, eligibility to contribute to the cost of the irrigation equipment, and willingness to grow and sell high value crops like horticulture crops, coffee and that the size of the land to be irrigated must not exceed 2.5 acres.
Asection of district leaders who attended the launch led by the LC V chairperson, Rev Samuel Mugisha Katugunda and the district speaker, Dan Bwamunyonga praised the programme saying this will help the district to overcome the problem of depending on rain.
In his closing remarks, the Resident District Commissioner-Al-Hajji Mawiya Lule, appreciated the government for the project noting that the farmers in Kazo district will benefit more if they get clear information and urged other leaders to take the information clearly.
This micro-scale irrigation program will help farmers to buy irrigation equipment at a low cost. The Government of Uganda will share the cost of the equipment with the farmers whereby it will pay between 25% and 75% of the total cost of the irrigation equipment depending on the farm situation and the type of irrigation equipment chosen by the farmer.
