NELSON K
President Museveni has urged Ntungamo residents to shift from excessive animal rearing to coffee growing, and to spare small spaces for growing pastures to feed animals under zero grazing. He also hailed them for voting him with 92%.
The National President-elect made this call while giving a vote of thanks to Ntungamo voters who voted him with 92%, making the district the second highest after Isingiro. In the same exercise, the Ugandan president appreciated the support he received.
President Museveni commended the “unstoppable team” that has been organizing his events and campaigns, and in a special way appreciated Ntungamo voters for massively electing him together with NRM flag bearers. He said this has given momentum and motivation towards improved service delivery in the district.
Following his support for agriculture and coffee farming, he appreciated Mr. Nelson Tugume, the Executive Director of Africa Coffee Park, for effectively running the project and supporting and empowering local farmers to grow coffee, mainly the Robusta species, which has been seen to be more productive in Brazil and America.
Having already invested over 52 million dollars in coffee development in Western Uganda through the Africa Coffee Park development, he urged residents to use good farming methods such as crop rotation, manure application, zero grazing, and encouraged those near swamps to engage in fishing.
He noted that the Inspire Africa Coffee project has so far consumed 52 million dollars, collaborating with Brazilian-style coffee growing practices introduced by Mr. Moses Tugume. He said the project can support even peasants with small pieces of land to harvest high yields, provided there is commitment.
He urged residents of Ntungamo to utilize vacant land for coffee growing instead of intensive animal rearing, plant pastures to feed their animals, and avoid using all available land for unprofitable livestock farming.
The First Lady, Janet Kataha Museveni, who is also the Minister of Education and Sports and the Ntungamo District NRM Chairperson, appreciated Ntungamo voters for massively voting H.E. Y.K. Museveni with 92%. She said they even exceeded the percentage she asked for, as she had requested 90% but they added a bonus of 2% to make it 92%. With confidence, she pledged continued service delivery and promotion of development in the country.
The event host, Mr. Moses Tugume, the Executive Director of the Inspire Africa Coffee Park project, while making his address, welcomed the President and congratulated him upon winning the previous general elections, saying they sacrificed everything for such a big victory.
He informed the President that the coffee project is expected to employ over 4,800 workers in the future when successfully completed. He encouraged the adoption of the Brazilian coffee growing method, saying it is more favorable in Ntungamo District and Western Uganda, where one hectare of land can be planted with 1,000 coffee trees, each producing at least 5kg per harvest.
Meanwhile, the Rukungiri District Woman MP-elect, Hon. Mary Paula Kebirungi Turyahikayo, was also present at the venue. Speaking to journalists, she supported President Museveni’s call for residents to prioritize growing the Robusta coffee species using the Brazilian style, where 1,000 trees can be planted on one hectare of land, each producing at least 5kg per harvest.
She also urged Rukungiri residents to adopt other productive farming methods to improve income, such as zero grazing to effectively collect manure and crop rotation to maintain productivity even on small pieces of land.
She further congratulated President Museveni and Janet Museveni upon their victory in the recently declared elections, and thanked Ntungamo voters for voting the President with 92%, as well as Rukungiri residents for electing her as the Rukungiri Woman MP, pledging immediate service delivery after her official declaration in May.
