Poor soils frustrating govt irritation schemes efforts

RUKUNGIRI | Despite investing huge sums of money in establishing small-scale irrigation schemes, soil infertility has continued to frustrate this government water for production programme.

Farmers want government to avail them organic manure if they are to breakthrough but the government insists as it will spoonfeed them..

In a bid to boost food production throughout the year, the Ministry of Water and Environment started a programme of establishing small scale irrigation schemes to farmers not only to enable them produce food even in the dry spells but also boost their incomes.

While the ministry continues to establish these small-scale irrigation schemes across the country, in Rukungiri District, farmers are yet to harvest tangible yields due to soil infertility.

Richard Murangira, the chairman Rwakabengo small small irrigation scheme, says whatever seedlings they plant, some germinate and manage to flower while other die natural death due to soil exhaustion.

These with the help from the ministry of water and environment department for water for production provided them with organic manure which after putting into their soils, they managed to harvest some yields.

Brenda Mbabazi, senior engineer at the department of water for production in the ministry, says before they establish these irrigation schemes, they first conduct soil analysis and upon obtaining all clear indicators that the soils facilitate the growth of crops it's when they move ahead to install machinery.

In cases where crop yields fail to come out, she says farmers need to apply organic manure though farmers aim for fertilizers which sometimes can't enable plant growth.

Besides soil infertility, the over Shs500 million Rwakabengo small scale irrigation project has also meet several challenges among which include thefts and vandalism of equipment.

The RDC for Rukungiri, Mr Stephen Bewaayo, advised the farmers to recruit own guards to secure their project since it's been handed over to them.

"I don't have security guards or police to deploy everywhere," Bewaayo said.

The government has so far established over seven small scale irrigation projects in Rukungiri though some them are yet to benefit farmers over vandalism.