By Gertrude Mutyaba
MASAKA: Coffee farmers in Masaka City have appealed to the government to bail them out by waiving loans they obtained under the Parish Development Model (PDM) programme to support their agricultural activities.
This follows the government’s move, backed by the police, to launch an operation to arrest beneficiaries who have failed to repay the loans to enable other people to benefit from the programme.
Villages including Kanabukuliro, Senya, Bukunda, Butaaya and Lwansusu, among others, in Masaka City were affected by drought, which left many farmers counting losses after the scorching sun destroyed their coffee plantations.
KFM has learnt that most coffee farmers in the area borrowed money under the PDM programme to buy fertilisers, hoping that the season would bring them a good harvest.
However, their expectations were frustrated by the prolonged dry spell.
The farmers say they are now struggling to provide food for their families and are appealing to the government for support in the form of seedlings and fertilisers to help them recover from the losses.
The farmers are also concerned about what they describe as substandard pesticides and fertilisers that are on the market.
They want the government to strengthen inspections and crack down on suppliers of counterfeit agricultural inputs.
The situation has prompted Kimaanya-Kabonera Member of Parliament Patrick Kuteesa to intervene by seeking ways to support his constituents. He has brought in coffee traders from the Netherlands who are expected to assist the farmers by providing irrigation equipment and testing their soils to determine the most suitable crops to grow, with the aim of improving coffee yields.
Although rain started in several parts of the country, coffee farmers in Masaka City say their situation remains dire.
They argue that the rainfall has not yet brought them meaningful relief, while many have little hope of seeing their coffee trees recover.
