The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) officially launched the Climate Agricultural Transformation Project (CSATP) in Kween district on Monday, December 16, 2024 at the district headquarters in Binyiny Town Council.
All the 19 Sub- counties in Kween district will benefit from the project. This publication has since learnt that Kween district was selected because of it’s sensitivity to climate shocks like land and mud slides, floods, prolonged dry spells, flash floods, etc.
Kween district LCV Geofrey Chelogoi a.k.a champion of the poor appreciated MAAIF for choosing Kween and expressed optimism for the successful implementation of the project over the next four years calling upon all stakeholders to own up the project that will eventually lead to the economic transformation they want to see in Kween.
Speaking to the stakeholders during the launch, Dr. Deogracious Namisano Wonekha, a representative from the MAAIF to Elgon region said the 6 year project aims to address the concern of productivity, market access and resilience in the major value chains for crops, livestock, beneficial insects and horticulture in Kween district.
He said “this is the only project that encompasses all the value chains. Kween chose enterprises like diary, coffee, beneficial insects(Apiary and black soldier farming), and bananas were taken as a sustainable land commodity and also horticulture”
He also warned on the reluctance of extension workers in Kween especially now that a new project has been launched and asked the CAO and LCV to ensure that the extension workers are committed to the successful implementation of the CSATP in Kween.
The Ministry will support the entire project from the production to the post harvesting stage. This will cover provision of quality seeds, harvesting, storage, value addition and marketing and the farmer groups will contribute 20% to the project while the MAAIF will cover the remaining 80%.
However, to benefit from the climate smart agricultural transformation project, one must belong to a registered farmer group that must have an active enterprise to qualify for funding. The 20% co-funding according to Dr. Wonekha is intended to promote ownership by the farmers hence ensuring sustainability.
5 sub-counties will benefit from diary farming, 10 from coffee production, 5 from apiary(bee) farming and 5 from horticulture, i.e. Irish potatoes and vegetables across Tuikat, Kwosir, Benet, Kitawoi, Kaseko, Kapmurkut, Kwanyi, Kapkwata, Kaptoyoy, Moyok, Ngenge, Chepsukunya, Sundet, Giriki, Kaptum, Kaproron, and Binyiny Sub-counties and Town councils.
RTD ASP Hope Atuhaire, RDC Kween has asked the representatives from the sub- counties to organize their members into groups according to the enterprises selected enterprises across the 19 sub-counties in Kween.
The project, funded by the World Bank, will be implemented in 69 districts across 13 sub-regions in Uganda to increase productivity, market access, and resilience for selected value chains. The UCSATP is expected to have a significant impact on the agricultural sector in Uganda, improving the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and their families.
