The Microfinance Support Centre has donated 150 pigs to 63 groups under the Rukungiri Producers Cooperative Union as seed capital to help them fight poverty.
The program will see the Microfinance Support Centre(MSC) set up a modern piggery breeding centre in Rukungiri where locals will get high-quality pigs, drugs and advisory services and the centre will be managed by MSC in partnership with the union.
The groups will be returning 2 pigs to the breeding centre per litter for three years.
Speaking at the function, Peter Mujuni, the Microfinance Support Centre Executive Director said the initiative is meant to encourage youths and other people of Rukungiri to embrace diversification but also tamp into other sources of income to survive during calamities and when the market is low.
“This is also one of the measures that we have come up with as the Microfinance Support Centre to restore jobs of the small businesses that were pushed out of work by Covid-19,”Mujuni said.
“I am calling upon you to save even when your incomes are low because the small savings of many people can finance development in communities when accumulated.”
He said on top of the modern breeding centre, the Microfinance Support Centre will expand to poultry and other animals.
“I encourage you to start small while saving with whatever size of capital, and grow the natural way. President Museveni directed us at the Microfinance Support Centre to organize communities so they can promote wealth. We have already covered most parts of the country and we shall go back soon to avail funds as directed by the president.”
The Microfinance Support Centre Executive Director urged youths who are not into animal breeding to embrace Emyooga initiative which will enable enterprises in the same trade to access low-cost government funds through their saccos.
“We have reviewed our processes to make access easy, in two weeks only. Emyooga money will be given at no interest to the groups from Microfinance Support Centre. We have come up with measures to ensure people restore jobs of the small enterprises that were pushed out of business by Covid,”Mujuni said.
