PADER — President Yoweri Museveni has commissioned Aringo-mone small scale irrigation scheme in Pader District.
Aringo-mone small scale irrigation scheme project was fully funded by Government of Uganda and 70 per cent of its beneficiaries are youth, practicing mainly horticulture.
Mr. Museveni said farmers should break away from the historical classification of certain crops as cash crops and food crops.
“Every crop is a cash crop if you plant it on a large scale with commercial orientation,” the president said.
Several beneficiaries such as model farmers, youth and women groups have been selected and others have started harvesting crops such as sukumawik, green pepper, cabbage, water mellon, eggplant, tomatoes and onions.
Mr. Museveni revealed that his administration plans to construct an irrigation scheme in each parish countrywide, as means to improve agricultural production and productivity.
So far, 40 irrigation schemes have been completed countrywide.
Government adopted an irrigation policy in 2018.
The policy was launched the same year. One of the strategies of implementation of this irrigation policy is the construction of small scale irrigation scheme.
Uganda has got around three million hectares of irrigation potential.
“Government has a strategy that by 2040, we should have irrigated around 50 percent of that. And we think we are on course if we continue at this pace, we should be there by 2040,” said Eng John Twinomujuni, the assistant commissioner in charge water for production.
