Museveni rallies Masaka farmers on value addition

He said he will accord them all the necessary support, including giving them a canter truck to help them in their farming activities, such as transporting their yields from the gardens to the marketplace.

On arrival, the President was warmly received at the farm by the former Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, and a team of Kyesiiga Green Village Farming Centre led by Kabito James, where he was shown a number of agricultural products, including coffee plantations, pineapple plantations, nursery beds, and a solar irrigation power plant that pumps water to the tank used for watering the agricultural farm.

While addressing the farmers, President Museveni commended them for being obedient and transforming their lives through embracing government development programmes like the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UDCA) and Operation Wealth Creation (OWC).

He went ahead and told the farmers to add value to their produce so that they could benefit more from their sweat.

Representing the farmers, Kabito told the President that they have 20 acres of coffee plantations, 40 acres of pineapple plantations, two and a half acres of passion fruits, and half an acre of nursery beds.

Concerning profits, Kabito informed President Museveni that they used to earn sh9m per year from 450 coffee plantations using the old method of farming, and with the newly invented method of farming, they earn sh23m per year on one acre of land with 1300 coffee plantations.

He explained that in each acre, they insert 450–1300 coffee seedlings. He added that the new method can help increase the quantity of coffee in Uganda. On the side of pineapples, they have 40 acres and yield sh2m per year.

The model farmer Kabito also expressed gratitude to the president for the visit. He noted that they earn a living through modern farming, and their vision is to transform the community from subsistence farming to commercial farming. He added that in the bid to attain their vision, they first train their seedling customers, sensitise the community on mindset change, and also employ 20 workers.

He appreciated the President for initiating developmental programmes like the Uganda Coffee Development Authority and Operation Wealth Creation, which supplied him with 1000 coffee seedlings and 20,000 pineapple seedlings, which have transformed his life and the community.

He concluded by informing the President of the hardships they encounter while cultivating their produce and transporting it to the market.

He opened up that they normally use 50% to 60% of the proceeds in transporting their produce, and therefore it’s worthwhile appreciating him for saving them the burden by vowing to get them a canter truck.