President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has said that the government will have to plan for massive production after the success of the Parish Development Model (PDM) in many parts of the country.
“The way we’re moving, we’re moving very well. The government now needs to plan for massive production of products such as the eggs, the pork, and the beef industry. I have already built a leather industry for you people to handle the skins of cows and goats. Here in Karamoja, cement factories are coming up, and they must eat your meat and the milk. We’re also going to work on the issue of dairy. In Bukedi, I saw people doing well with local chickens, turkeys and ducks, fish farming, and all these,” President Museveni said.
The President made the remarks in Nakapiripirit on Tuesday 3rd December, 2024 after visiting Lokong Emmanuel Losike, a piggery farmer in Kakomokwee Village, Loregae sub-county, Nakapiripirit District.
The President is in the Karamoja Sub-Region in continuation of his performance assessment tour of the PDM, a program that is intended to increase household incomes and improve the quality of life of Ugandans by transitioning subsistence-level households into the money economy.
He commended the Karamojong for abandoning cattle rustling to embrace peace and actively engage in a program intended to get them out of poverty.
“All this is now possible because of the peace. Because really, you’re badly advised that you can get rich through stealing. And you remember we had arguments about that. Some people were saying the government cannot disarm Uganda unless it disarms the Turkanas, the Somalis, and other enemies. I told you this is wrong reasoning. On the western side, we have a problem with guns from Congo, but Uganda is peaceful all the time despite all the chaos in the neighbourhood. So, I’m glad you’ve got the message of peace now,” the President added.
Mr. Lokong, who is among the first beneficiaries of Naturum-Loregae PDM SACCO, received one million shillings on July 13, 2023, and ventured into green beans, which didn’t yield well. He later started a piggery enterprise he named Tobongu-Lore, which means that “those who have run away from home should return because there is life at home compared to other places where you end up being street persons and scavenging on rubbish pits.”
“It encourages the youth who have involved themselves in cattle theft and raids to leave such a bad act and join farming for sustainability,” Mr Lokong said.
According to the President, the PDM plan was to assist people who don’t have any income to start earning, and he was happy to see that the people of Karamoja are now waking up to embrace the program, especially knowing that as real livestock keepers, fencing off where animals stay protects them against diseases.
“But in the first place, you were using the wrong strategy of stealing cows, not knowing whether it is sick or not. I’m a cattle owner. I had a friend in Kotido who gave me a cow many years ago, but I had to first check it because I didn’t want this cow to come and bring disease to my cows. So, you can see that you have been using the wrong science, but now you are waking up. And now when I go around, I can see how easy it is for you people to get out of poverty,” the President stated, adding that it was a deliberate move by the government to give Shs.100 million per parish to benefit 100 people each year, translating to Shs.500 million benefiting 500 households in five years.
“And after 24 months, the one who got first pays back one million plus something small, and that money remains in your fund here; it doesn’t go back to the government. In 5 years, in addition to Shs500 million, you’ll now have an extra Shs300 million recycled within the parish, and that means in 5 years you can handle 800 families using the fresh money and that which would have been recycled,” H.E. Museveni added.
The story of Emmanuel Lokong:
On 13th July 2023, Mr. Lokong received Shs. 1 million and hired 4 acres of land each at Shs. 70,000, which he used to start a green gram/bean business.
Explaining his expenditure to the President, Mr. Lokong highlighted that he used Shs. 280,000 to hire the 4 acres of land, and bought 50 kg of green gram seeds each at Shs. 3000 totalling Shs. 150,000, ploughing the land cost Shs. 200,000, and Shs. 200,000 for weeding and Shs. 120,000 for harvesting. Shs.50,000 was spent on transportation, and he expected to harvest around 2000 kg out of the four acres, which would give him five million shillings having sold at Shs.2500 per kilogram. However, the actual harvest was 1,400 kg, which gave him Shs. 1,700,000 having sold 1000 kilograms each at Shs. 1,700. The 400 kg were kept for seeds and home consumption.
Out of Shs.1,700,000, Mr Lokong used Shs.400,000 to buy five piglets each at Shs.80,000 and also purchased a piece of land measuring 100 by 40 meters at a cost of Shs.700,000. He used the balance of Shs. 600,000 to buy 20 iron sheets.
When the five piglets multiplied up to 25, Lokong sold five pigs each at Shs. 400,000 and used the money to buy more feed and construct a pigsty.
“I have 22 pigs, including 12 piglets, present, and if I sell the mature ones at Shs. 400,000 each, I can get Shs. 8,800,000,” Mr. Lokong told the President.
Lokong decried challenges such as African swine fever, high cost of feed, poor housing, lack of enough capital, and inadequate extension knowledge and expertise about the project.
“Although the project is so challenging, I will continue struggling until I achieve my goal of becoming more independent and changing the status of my area. Thank you, Your Excellency, for introducing the PDM program which has uplifted me from where I was to the level I am right now. I pray the PDM program continues so as to benefit other youths,” he added.
The life of Mr. Lokong, who is 33 years old, has changed since he started embracing the PDM, having struggled to sustain his family of six through a monthly income of Shs. 80,000 he earned from selling sand collected from water streams. He hopes to return to school to complete his diploma in Social Work and Social Administration that he had started at Makerere Business Training Center Moroto Branch, having completed a certificate in the same discipline at the same institution in 2023.
What do other people say?
According to Nakapiripirit District Veterinary Officer, Mr Simon Peter Arionga, livestock farming in Karamoja is among the profitable ventures. He said there are a total of 170,000 cattle farmers, 883 involved in goat rearing, whereas 322 people are into piggery, for which Mr Lokong is one of them whom he hailed for being visionary.
Ms. Loyok Anna Ruth, also a resident of Kakomokwee Village, says the piggery project is not only the best but also a less risky venture for the people of Karamoja, especially those who are starting livestock production compared to rearing other animals.
On the other hand, Ms Onyang Sarah, who is also a resident of the area, noted that the Parish Development Model would succeed, but the insecurity threatens the initiative where thieves would come to collect your harvest.
Earlier, President Museveni also visited Mr Alir Charles, a farmer in Abim district who deals in onions and carrots with an added focus on irrigation, and Amos Rhembuss, who is a goat farmer in Amudat district.
In a prior evaluation of the Parish Development Model program’s development in the Teso sub-region, the President expressed his admiration for its execution.
President Museveni has always emphasized wealth creation during his Parish Development Model tours by using the four-acre model, in which one acre is used for growing high-value crops like coffee, another for food for domestic use, a third acre for growing fruits, and a fourth acre for growing pasture for dairy cattle, then in the backyard a farmer rears poultry, piggery and fish farming for those near the swamps.
