Katine youth group receives oxen

Simon Tito Kiwanuka is a happy young man, optimistic about his future. Coming from a poor home, Kiwanuka, from Obalaga village in Ojama parish in Katine, could not go far with his studies because his family lacked money to pay fees. Like many of the village's young people, he resorted to farming to earn money, but encountered lots of difficulties. He lacked oxen to open up his land and seeds, reasons why many families in Katine, in north-east Uganda, continue to suffer acute food shortages. The community's problems have been compounded by an incursion by the Lord's Resistance Army and cattle raids by the Karamojong. Because of these difficulties, many Katine residents had previously asked the African Medical and Research Foundation (Amref), which is implementing a development project in the sub-county funded by Guardian readers and Barclays, to help them acquire cattle. After consulting with Farm-Africa, which is providing technical support on the livelihoods component of the project, Amref said it would not be able to provide the community of up to 29,000 people with oxen. This meant residents had to find other alternatives to acquiring oxen, and they did so from the National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAADS), a government programme being implemented in every sub-county throughout Uganda, including Katine. Under the programme, the sub-county managed to procure two bulls for each of the six parishes in Katine. One group from every parish benefited, including Ojama youth development group, in which Kiwanuka is the chairman. "We have been having challenges opening up land, but now, with the bulls, we believe the lives of many youth in my group would change," he said when he received the bulls last month. The group's priority is to plant as much cassava as possible to generate income. The group also hopes to utilise the produce store, which is being built beside the main road in Katine by Amref and farmers. Sam Emalu, Katine's procurement officer, said the sub-county had budgeted UShs 7.8m to purchase 12 oxen. A pair of oxen costs UShs 1.3m. Emalu said the allocation was made under the food security budget of UShs 18m, a component financed by NAADS. The purpose of the handout of bulls is to ensure young people are supported to become economically independent, fitting in with the government's Prosperity for All programme. "We expect them to pay back 75% of what we have given them so that other groups would be created to benefit more youth," said James Odyeny, the sub-county NAADS' coordinator, adding that farmers' groups created under the Katine project should join NAADS as the NGO gears up to leave next year.