Farmers in Gulu engaged in growing fruit trees have heeded President Museveni’s advice to use drip- irrigation.
The president was laughed at by some who termed his drip-irrigation an ‘‘ancient’’ method of farming.
This came after the president was photographed rolling a jerrycan of water on a bicycle and demonstrating to farmers in Luwero district how to use drip-irrigation.
Museveni however scoffed at those who laughed at him terming them as rumour mongers and noisemakers for ridiculing his bottle irrigation farming.
Some farmers in Gulu took the president’s advice seriously.
George Okumu of Omel ‘A’ village in Paicho Sub County is one of them. Okumu uses drip irrigation to save his avocado plants from drying. Okumu says drip-irrigation is cheap since the water bottles are largely available.
Martin Nyero who grows watermelon says drip-irrigation has saved him from his crops drying up during the dry season, enabling him to earn from his fruits throughout the year.
Morris Kinyera, an agricultural extension worker with Gulu District Farmers’ Association (GDFA), says there is need for farmers to adapt to climate change with the simplest technology at hand.
GDFA is currently training 18,000 farmers in Gulu and Omoro districts in modern farming and climate change techniques.
During farmers’ field day, a total of 15 local farmers’ groups in Gulu district were rewarded for their efforts producing quality crops and adopting as well adapting to new farming technologies.
The new innovation include use of organic fertilizers and pesticide made out of local materials in an attempt to fight pest as well as improve on soil fertility.
1 Comment
There should be a way to retain water in Aswan /Acwa and be used for irrigation as it will help majority of people , building barriers to retain water would help retain water for animals, bird species and humans around the river .