RUKUNGIRI. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has emphasized the need for intensive agriculture practices as the most viable solution to address the escalating poverty rates in the Kigezi Sub-region.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Speaking to over 1,000 selected leaders from the six districts of Kigezi, including Kabale, Rukungiri, Kisoro, Rubanda, Kanungu, and Rukiga yesterday, the President stressed the importance of maximizing land use.
During the event held at Rukungiri Municipal Stadium, Minister of Security Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Jim Muhwezi, who is also the Rujumbura County MP, presented a joint statement from the leaders. The statement highlighted that the poverty rate in Kigezi had increased from 13% in 2017 to 27% in 2020.
The leaders attributed this rise to land scarcity resulting from land fragmentation practices within the region.
However, President Museveni attributed the problem to a lack of guidance on productive land use practices. He acknowledged that Kigezi faces land constraints, yet many residents engage in extensive agriculture, cultivating crops like maize, tea, and Irish potatoes that require large-scale production to yield desirable results.
Museveni urged leaders to promote intensive agriculture, which enables various agricultural projects to coexist on the available land. He illustrated this concept using the local term “Empinga Yekibaro,” which means utilizing different parts of the land for diverse purposes.
“Use part of the land to grow fruits, another part for coffee, rear zero-grazing cows, and use the rest for growing food for the family,” he explained.
The President expressed satisfaction with the widespread adoption of the Parish Development Model across the country, based on his observations from visiting 11 sun regions.
“I’m pleased to see that our people have finally started listening to the messages we’ve been conveying since 1996. Now, it’s incumbent upon you, the leaders, to ensure that our people are properly guided on utilizing available resources, especially land, for effective results,” he said.
According to available statistics, Kigezi has a population of 1.8 million people, with 396,918 households, on a land area totaling to 493 square kilometers.
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