State House approves Shs161 million for the establishment of a 4-acre’ model farm’ project in Acholi
This model is part of the initiatives being promoted under the Parish Development Model, which should be running for the third year since it was launched.
By Christopher Nyeko
Gulu: Acholi Presidential Zone Industrial Hub, situated in Bul-ker village, Oding Parish, Unyama Sub County, Gulu district, is set to receive a total of 161 million shillings, which has been approved by the statehouse for the establishment of the four-acre’ model project.
The development was revealed by Opiyo Christopher Ateker, the chairperson of the board for the Acholi presidential zonal industrial hub, who also doubles as the Gulu district LCV chairperson.
In an exclusive interview with this publication on Thursday, Ateker revealed that the state house has approved their budget, amounting to a total of 161 million shillings, after he submitted the budget to the state house and explained it to the president last month.
This approved money is expected to be disbursed in this financial year to enable the commencement of acres’ model farm, which will serve as a demonstration plot for the entire Acholi subregion.
Ms. Jane Barekye, the state house controller center, was sent to Oding on November 2, 2023, to deliberate on the establishment of the 4-acre’ model project.
According to plans revealed by the management of the Acholi industrial hub, they will install an oil processing factory, maize mills, and silos for the storage facility, and once the activity commences, the Acholi subregion is anticipated to be the major exporter of the finest maize flour to the entire world.
The President’s Initiative on the four-acre farming approach will be part of the youth skilling centers in the country. The four-acre approach or model aspires to have a farmer earning up to one hundred million shillings from a four-acre piece of land.
According to Museveni’s calculation, the four acres’ pieces of land will be separated in this format. One acre for clonal coffee, one acre for fruits such as mangoes, oranges, and pineapples, One acre for food crops for the family, for example, cassava, bananas, upland rice or irrigation rice, Irish potatoes, sorghum, or millet, One acre for pasture for dairy cattle (8 of them); poultry for eggs in the backyard piggery; and fish farming.
This model is part of the initiatives being promoted under the Parish Development Model, which should be running for the third year since it was launched.
In June this year, Ms. Rose Kabangeni, a senior presidential advisor on agriculture in charge of a four-acre’ model project, launched the project, saying it is now being included as one of the units at youth skilling centers. She, however, directed the management of the respective 19 hubs in all the subregions to submit their budgets to the state house for scrutiny and approval.
Ateker says following the recent approval of the 161 budget, a team of engineers from the Gulu district local government is on the ground assessing how the 65 acres of land in Oding can be best used for the establishment of this project.
He, however, reveals that a total of 240 youths who were selected from all the administrative units in Acholi are undergoing skill training in various hand-on skill disciplines and that they will commence their training on October 20, 2023, successfully.
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