The Office of the National Chairman (ONC) has launched a countrywide seed distribution campaign to support farmers as the rainy season begins, with officials urging communities to shift their attention from politics to production.
The campaign was launched in Maddu Town Council, Gomba District, where ONC Manager and Senior Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo Uzeiye, distributed maize and bean seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to farmers.
The distribution was conducted amid heavy rain, which Namyalo said offered farmers an opportunity to take advantage of the planting season and restore agricultural production after prolonged dry spells.
“We have finished the election period and now it is time for work,” Namyalo told farmers and local leaders.
She said drought had affected agricultural production and household incomes in many communities, while some ONC empowerment activities had been scaled down during the election period.
“With the political season over, our focus should now return to work, production and improving household incomes,” she said.
Namyalo urged beneficiaries to use the agricultural inputs for their intended purpose, saying timely access to quality planting materials could help farmers improve production and strengthen household livelihoods.
She also called for greater cooperation among farmers and local leaders to ensure that government and other development interventions translate into tangible economic benefits.
Calls for broader empowerment
The agricultural support also prompted local leaders in Maddu to call for the expansion of empowerment programmes beyond farming.
Julius Kibirige, the NRM chairperson in Maddu, thanked Namyalo for extending the support to farmers, saying the town council, which has 19 villages, needed interventions that could improve household incomes.
He asked for more vocational training opportunities and support for women and young people, including equipment such as sewing machines to enable beneficiaries to establish small businesses.
Maddu Town Council Mayor Alali Muhiirwa Kabaleega similarly called for increased support for youth and women through practical skills and equipment.
He cited popcorn-making machines, bricklaying equipment, salon equipment and sewing machines as some of the interventions that could help young people create income-generating activities.
Kabaleega also urged residents to take advantage of the rains and return to productive work.
“The political season is now over; it is now time for working,” he said, while calling on residents to remain united despite their political differences.
ONC promises skills support
Responding to the leaders’ requests, Namyalo said the agricultural intervention would be complemented by other empowerment programmes targeting vocational activities and small enterprises.
She said the ONC planned to support activities such as welding and bricklaying and urged local leaders to identify active community members who could make productive use of the equipment.
Namyalo said empowerment programmes should focus on people willing to work and build sustainable livelihoods, rather than simply distributing equipment without mechanisms to ensure that it is used.
The planned interventions would broaden the ONC’s empowerment activities to include agriculture, vocational skills and small-scale enterprise development, with a particular focus on young people and women.
The seed distribution comes as farmers in several parts of the country prepare their gardens for the new planting season, with timely access to planting materials and other farm inputs remaining an important factor in agricultural production.