Summary:
Kigezi Sub-region is a land of timeless beauty. Its evergreen landscapes, high altitudes, and numerous crater lakes not only create breathtaking scenery but also nurture some of the most fertile soils in the country. This region is home to many Ugandans, particularly the native Bakiga, who are renowned across Uganda for their tireless work ethic and unwavering honesty.
NEWS: The President of Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, will set camp in the mountainous terrain of the Kigezi Sub-region on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Among the many stories nestled within these undulating hills, he will encounter tales of successful Parish Development Model (PDM) beneficiaries, like those highlighted in this article.
Kigezi Sub-region is a land of timeless beauty. Its evergreen landscapes, high altitudes, and numerous crater lakes not only create breathtaking scenery but also nurture some of the most fertile soils in the country. This region is home to many Ugandans, particularly the native Bakiga, who are renowned across Uganda for their tireless work ethic and unwavering honesty.
During his visit, President Museveni will meet with PDM farmers, commission completed government projects, and address a public rally. As he embarks on his PDM assessment tour in the Kigezi Sub-region, we delve into some of the remarkable success stories he is set to discover. Read on to learn more about these inspiring individuals and their journeys.
Niwaha Blessed- Fruits and Vegetables Enterprise, Rubanda District.
Niwaha is a beneficiary from Kitojo Parish. She received One Million shillings from PDM under the Special Interest Group of Youth, who are entitled to 30% of the 100m sent to each parish. Given the space she had, she chose to invest in growing mushrooms in a backyard garden.
She took 800,000/= of the money and used it to set up incubation rooms, buying the seedlings and other inputs. She also incurred a labour cost of Shs 200,000/=. Her mushrooms have matured and she now harvests them 5 times a week, which gives her 15kgs. She sells each kilo at Shs 10,000/=, according her a weekly gross income of Shs 150,000/=.
From this money, she saves Shs 60,000/= with her local VSLA, and the balance meets her business costs and household requirements. For her, PDM is already a welcome intervention helping her take care of her household needs for now, and giving her the projection of completing her house in the future.
Hakiza Benon-Dairy Enterprise, Kisoro District.
Hakiza is a member of Kibaya Dairy Enterprise Group, in Bunagagana Parish. Prior to PDM, owning a cow was something he constantly dreamt of, and was saving very patiently for it. By the time he received PRF, he had saved up 130,000/= for it from his vegetables and other small scale food crops. He added his 1 million to this saving and was able to purchase a dairy cow.
The cow produced in May 2024 and he started to sell milk in his community and in Bunagana border town with DRC. He milks upto 7 litres a day, and sells each litre at 1,200/=. This enables him to get a daily gross income of 14,000/=, on top of providing him with manure for his farm and expanding his dairy business to two animals.
Niwabiine Rogers- Coffee Enterprise, Kanungu District.
When Niwabiine heard the President on one of his national addresses talking about wealth creation and improving coffee output, he was motivated. A coffee farmer with an already existing 2-acre plantation, he struggled with yields as he was only harvesting 1.5kgs per coffee tree.
After receiving his 1 million shillings from PDM, he first bought 4 bags of mulch, each at 150,000/=. He then bought a handsaw which helped him prune faster. With the balance he bought fertiliser and more seedlings.
As of now, he has 3 acres of coffee, each acre bearing 450 trees, totalling to 1,350 trees. Thanks to the prunning and fertiliser, he can now harvest 4kgs per tree. If all his 1,350 trees mature well, he can harvest 5,400 kgs of coffee per season and if the prices don’t flactuate, he can earn 59.4million per season.
The challenge he faces is acquiring manure for his coffee, because manure in Kihiihi parish is very expensive. To this, his solution is to use his returns in the future to diversify into dairy farming, which will provide him with manure and also milk for home consumption and for sale.
Kenneth Ayesigwa-Food Crops Enterprise, Kanungu District.
Perhaps the most compelling success story yet. A picture of Ayesigwa’s “Parish Development Model Restaurant” business went viral towards the end of 2024 across many social media platforms. A resident of Nyamirama Town Council in Eastern Ward, Kenneth decided to think outside the box.
He was not a farmer, but he had a small poorly constructed wooden structure through which he was selling cooked food to his customers. After hearing about PDM and the PRF, he applied for the loan, which he secured and used to pay rent for in a bigger and better structure. He also used it to procure a sign post for the unique name which not only surprised people, but also attracted them.
Joining PDM at the marketing and consumering node of the agricultural value chain was a smart decision for Kenneth. He buys the food from people including other PDM beneficiaries, then adds value and sells to the public.
PDM has enabled him to attract more high value customers like workers from the town council and others who simply be driving by, pushing his daily profits from an unstable 5,000/= back then to a sure 30,000/= today.
He hopes that the accumulating profits can support his dream of buying his own land for a house to stop paying rent and starting an outside catering service.
Owoyesiga Callist- Food Crop Enterprise, Rubanda District
Owoyesiga is a resident of Mpungu Parish in Hamurwa Sub-county. He received his PRF under the 10% for the elderly. His unique business is the multiplication of irish potato seed, which he sells to other farmers when the planting season rolls around.
He received his PRF of 1million and in his first season, he stored 7 bags of irish to sell as seed. Each of these bags sold for 300,000/=, to his customers in Kampala and in the local community.
For the next season, he bought 4 bags of seed which he planted and got a bumper crop of 17 bags. He sold 7 of these at 200,000/= each, keeping the 10 for the next time and hoping to sell each at 400,000/=.
His main challenge is the price fluctuations, which he deals with by ensuring that he has enough quantity to sell off. He is well trained in this business, with a lot of experience, which is backed up by a frequent refresher offered to him by the sub-county extension workers.
There are many more of these stories, such as Janta Robert, a PWD from Rukungiri Municipality who deals in piggery, Tumuhimbise Sarafina who rears goats in Kanungu, Nyiramugeno Specioza who grows onions in Kisoro, to mention but a few. The president’s assessment tour will bring more of these to light, and inspire others to utilize their PRF well and embrace PDM.
