Bukedea farmers decry lack of extension services

Farmers in Bukedea District have decried limited access to agricultural extension services, saying it has made it difficult for them to gain knowledge on improved methods of farming.
Mr Ben Oduut, a farmer in Kakungur Kanyanga Village, Malera Sub-county, said extension workers are not helping them to fight poverty.
“I recently lost my cow after looking for our sub-county livestock extension officer to help but in vain. He turned down my calls,” Mr Oduut said.
He said the loss has resulted in food shortage since he can no longer plough his gardens.
Mr Ben Emuron, a farmer from Kachonga Village, said he has never used modern farming methods.
“The only thing I have learnt is cotton growing because cotton dealers usually guide us in the field during planting season,” he said.
Mr Ibrahim Emokol and his wife Saida Apas Citrus, both farmers from Kokwech Village in Malera Sub-county, said extension workers’ role in the community is minimal because they spend most of their time riding to the sub-county headquarters.
For instance, Mr Emokol said residents have handled two armyworm outbreaks single handedly, the most recent being in April.
Mr Moses Olemukan, district chairperson, said the district executive committee, recently met to discuss the effectiveness of the extension workers. “We are going to start punishing them,” Mr Olemukan said.
Mr Francis Ongelec, the district production officer, admitted that there are challenges surrounding the operation of extension workers.
He said there are only two workers at each of the 16 sub-counties in the district, adding that they are overwhelmed.
Mr Ongelec, however, accused some farmers of failing to report their problems to the extension workers.
“These farmers want us to go door-to-door asking if they have a problem and we solve it. That is not how we are supposed to operate. They should come and report so that we respond just like doctors at hospitals do,” he said.

Background
In August 2014, government disbanded the National Agricultural Advisory Services after faulting it for failing to work with local farmers. As a result, in December 2018, government recruited 3,811 agricultural extension workers in all sub-counties countrywide.
Extension workers are supposed to improve farmers’ agricultural practices by checking crop failures, livestock diseases, pests and vectors. They also provide agricultural statistics, regulatory services, agricultural planning and quality assurance for food security. However, failure by government to allocate a sufficient portion of its budget to agriculture is a hindrance to effective agricultural extension services.This is because limited funding affects recruitment, equipment and facilitation of extension workers.