In order to combat poverty, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni visited model farmers in the Kalangala district and gave advice to Ugandans to follow their example.
As part of his investment and wealth creation tour with the slogan “Securing your future through wealth creation and shared prosperity,” the President visited the Kalangala district.
He claimed that the successful model farmers serve as role models who should be imitated. He disclosed that Mr. Ssesanga Deogratious and Ms. Thabisa Akirapa started out as poor individuals in the neighborhood and have since become wealthy.
“Ms. Thabisa used to reside in a home covered in grass thatch, but she now lives in a magnificent home. She looks after herself well; she owns four acres of oil palm trees and makes Shs. 7 million per acre in a year, for a total of Shs. 28 million from the four acres in a year. Mr. Ssesanga Deogratious, who has a dairy farm and a garden of 12 acres of oil palm trees, is another excellent farmer. Ssesanga makes between Shs6-7 million from each acre of its oil palm tree garden in a year, or Shs.84 million from 12 acres, according to the President.
The model farmers were praised by President Museveni for taking his counsel and adopting government development initiatives. He provided Ms. Akirapa an elf car to help her move her output (yields) to the market and fertilizer to the plot of oil palm trees.
In order to make it easier for other farmers in the parish to carry their fertilizers and outputs (yields) to the market for sale, he went ahead and made the commitment to do so.
The first person the President met was Ms. Akirapa, who lives in the Kalangala district’s Busanga village’s Mugoye sub-county. The role-model farmer gave the president a tour of her oil palm plantation while explaining how her magical garden came to be.
According to Ms. Akirapa, she began with a half-acre of oil palm trees and later expanded to a four-acre plot of land.
Initially, Ms. Akirapa was cultivating passion fruits, but the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust instructed her to cultivate oil palm trees, making her one of the wealthiest women in the Kalangala district, claims Mr. Balironda David Mukasa, the general manager of the organization.
Ms. Akirapa said that she received fertilizer and seedlings from the government. She said that her four acres of oil palm trees generate Shs. 28 million in revenue annually. She continued, “I’m a widow who used to live in a grass-thatched house, but I built myself a good house.” She has been able to take care of, feed, clothe, and educate her children. She has taken care of her grandchildren as well.
In addition to growing oil palm trees, Ms. Akirapa also has a garden where she feeds her family.
The President acknowledged that Ms. Akirapa was correct when she said that she required a vehicle to assist her in getting her fertilizers and outputs to the market.
Mr. Ssesanga, a resident of Kizira village in Mugoye sub-county of Kalangala district, was also visited by President Museveni. The role model farmer met him at the airport and gave him a warm welcome before showing him around his plantation.
Mr. Ssesanga revealed to the President during the visit that he started with four acres of oil palm trees in 2012. He claimed to have 12 acres of oil palm plants right now.
The exemplary farmer further revealed to H.E. Museveni that his 12 acres of oil palm plants generate Shs. 84 million in revenue annually. He continued by saying that he also has a dairy farm from which he receives 25 liters of milk each day and that he fertilizes his oil palm plantation with cow excrement.
Gen. Museveni received a cow as a token of gratitude from Mr. Ssesanga for the help he received from the President and the NRM government. The President expressed his gratitude and pledged to place the cow on the government farm and eventually offer it to those with low socioeconomic status.
