Kole | Judith Alyek, the Kole district woman Member of Parliament who also serves as chairperson of the Lango Parliamentary Group, has emphasised the importance of agricultural mechanisation for Lango farmers in order to increase farm productivity.
MP Alyek made the remarks on Friday, May 3, 2024, at an event organised by the Alito Joint Farmers Cooperative Society to commemorate its Silver Jubilee.
She spoke to dozens of farmers as the chief guest in Okwerodot sub-county, Kole North, Kole district.
“I am now encouraging others in a cooperative society to come and learn or gain more skills from this cooperative, because what I know is that people are very united by joining their hands together to ensure that the cooperative moves forward,” said Alyek.
She would later join the cooperative as a member, paying shs1 million in cash.
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“My farmers, I am now so grateful to see that the cooperative has moved beyond the Lango sub-region. I am also aware that this cooperative received a tractor from the government a while ago, but this is insufficient for our farmers to add value to their framing,” the LPG chairperson stated.
According to Isaac Okello, the cooperative’s programme coordinator, there are now over 16,900 registered members, up from five founding members.
“We cover 14 districts in Northern Uganda with only one tractor… another challenge for farmers is access to markets. I encourage our farmers to increase their productivity. Climate change is now affecting the majority of farmers’ crops,” Okello stated.
The cooperative’s chairperson, Rev. John Christopher Okwanga, stated that Alito Joint Farmers Cooperative Society Ltd was founded in 1998 and has since grown in size.
The purchase, production, sale, and distribution of agricultural goods in Northern Uganda are among the farming activities for which it was founded in accordance with Ugandan laws, he continued.
Tom Ekuka serves as a member and chairman of the Board of Directors. He said they have a group of 30 farmers in Lango, Acholi, and some parts of Karamoja.
“The reason why we have maintained the cooperative for long is because all the members are united. “I encourage other societies to avoid leadership division,” Ekuka advised.