District leaders in Katakwi in eastern Uganda have said they are frustrated by the uncertainty surrounding the future of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS).
A farmer Joseph Okiror from Magoro in Katakwi district addressing Members of Parliament on Friday. Photo by Francis Emorut
Katakwi agricultural officer James Epilo said NAADS programmes, that might be scrapped by government, had helped farmers and they were in a dilemma how to explain the change of course to them.
“The staff of NAADS is working with fear and frustration. They don’t know the fate of NAADS,” Epilo told members of parliament on the Parliamentary Forum on Agriculture, Food security and Population.
Epilo was backed by district NAADS coordinator John Olupot who said district leaders did not know whether or not to renew the contracts of the extension workers.
“The chief administrative officer (CAO) is at loss becasue soon there might be no agricultural extension workers operating in the villages unless NAADS secretariat makes a statement,” Olupot added.
The MPs are on a spot assessment of the food security situation in the district where NAADs is the leading recovery programme.
President Yoweri Museveni recently said that NAADS programme was being abused by officials running it. He accused them of squandering funds meant to help farmers and said that the programme may be terminated and money channeled to savings credit cooperative organizations society (SACCOS).
Olupot explained to the lawmakers that the district leaders renewed the contracts of the staff from March 31 for two months and are worried that with effect from May 30 there will be no extension workers working in the villages.
“If anything happens to NAADS there should be an alternative. Our worry is, what are the options for farmers?” he asked
The meeting between the MPs and the district leaders yesterday was organized by Action Aid Uganda. It aimed at averting food shortage in the district and finding ways on how to improve the livelihood of farmers.
Paul Ojuman the policy advocacy officer of Action Aid Uganda urged lawmakers to make agriculture the first priority as 80% of population depend agriculture.
He appealed for the increase of budget allocation for agriculture to 30% of the national budget contrary to 3.2% government is proposing this financial year.
Milton Muwuma, the team leader of Parliamentary Forum on Agriculture and Food security assured the district leaders and residents of Katakwi that his team will write a report to government urging it to look at the plight of farmers especially if the agricultural advisory body is scrapped .
The vice chairperson of Katakwi district Margaret Ikulot noted that the district has only one tractor to serve the population of over 160,000 people and yet it is expensive to hire it at sh100, 000.
She appealed to government to avail more tractors if farmers are to engage in commercial farming.
By Francis Emorut, The New Vision
