Views: 2
In Luwero District, the Katikkiro of Buganda, Mr. Charles Peter Mayiga, urged residents to focus on development and stop lamenting about the past. He made these remarks during an agricultural exhibition ceremony in Bulemeezi County, where President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni extended support worth Shs413 million to the Buganda Kingdom’s poverty alleviation project, “Mwanyi Terimba.”.
The project aims to encourage coffee farming among the kingdom’s subjects. The president’s support was delivered by the State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye. Katikkiro Mayiga welcomed the financial support and promised continued cooperation. He appreciated the President’s appreciation of the kingdom’s efforts in coffee production and acknowledged the impact of the “Emwanyi Terimba” Program on the livelihoods of the people within the kingdom.
“Stop lamenting about the war that happened 38 years ago, but work to better their lives. The glory of the districts within Bulemeezi (county) will be reinstated by the residents of this area, and that can only happen through hard work, through initiatives, and through being courageous to carry out the tasks that can sustain livelihoods,” Mr. Mayiga said. “Most of the people living in Bulemeezi today did not witness the war, so the war is no longer an excuse for the people in this area not to live meaningful lives.”
He further urged farmers in Buganda to listen to the message from the Kabaka about working together through cooperatives to enhance productivity and yields. “We want to replicate what was done in the past so that those who are engaged in farming can realize better yields due to better productivity. When farmers get better yields, they will continue that activity since it gives them some money to take care of their families.”
President Museveni commended Katikkiro Mayiga for fighting poverty through coffee growing, aligning with the NRM wealth creation formula and manifesto. “I’m happy that the Buganda cultural institution has come out to partially support the NRM wealth creation formula that we put forward in 1995 and the NRM manifesto of 1996. We had actually started earlier in the 1960s as a student movement with our efforts to persuade the cattle keepers of the cattle corridor to abandon nomadism and also leave subsistence farming to engage in commercial agriculture with calculation (Ekibalo).”
According to the President, although their work that had aggressively started in 1966 had been interrupted by the wars, there was some limited transformation in the whole of the cattle corridor south of the Nile, which is now much more prosperous than ever before.
“Some continued mistakes notwithstanding, the cattle-keeping parts of Buganda have benefited from this transformation. These are Lyantonde, Rakai, Sembabule, Gomba, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Goma, and Buruuli. It was when these efforts were beginning to show success that I embarked on a countrywide tour to replicate the success in the cattle corridor,” President Museveni noted.
He added that in order to decide on what activity was high value or not, they looked at one acre and how much is earned in that acre per year. That’s when he identified the 7 activities of coffee, fruits (mangoes, oranges, pineapples, grapes, and apples), pasture for zero grazing of Friesian cows, food for family (Millet, Cassava, Banana, Irish, Potato), poultry and piggery in the backyard, and fish farming on the edges of the wetlands, not in the center.
The President further welcomed the Kingdom’s interest in coffee and the efforts the government had earlier embarked on through operation wealth creation that have already boosted the production of the cash crop from two million bags to nine million bags.
The ceremony was attended by a section of Members of Parliament from Buganda, among others. The event aimed to promote wealth creation efforts in Bulemeezi County and Buganda Kingdom. The exhibition showcased various agricultural products and technologies, and farmers had the opportunity to learn from experts and exhibitors.
The support from the President and the efforts of the Buganda Kingdom are expected to boost coffee production and improve the livelihoods of the people in the region. The event was a significant step towards promoting wealth creation and development in the area.