Jinja -The Deputy Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Rt. Hon. Rose Namayanja Nsereko, has commended the Uganda Prisons Service for demonstrating how beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model (PDM) can invest their funds in productive enterprises to improve household incomes.
On Monday, Rt. Hon. Namayanja, through the Rose Namayanja Foundation and in partnership with the Uganda Development Forum (UDF), led a team of leaders from Nakaseke Sub-county, Nakaseke District, on a benchmarking tour of the Uganda Prisons Service Parish Livelihood Innovation Village in Jinja City.
During the tour, the Uganda Prisons Service demonstrated how a PDM beneficiary can invest Shs1 million in income-generating enterprises, including livestock, poultry and crop production.
The farm also showcased how beneficiaries can utilise small pieces of land to grow vegetables and generate income to support their families.
Namayanja said she was impressed by the organisation of the farm, describing it as clear evidence that PDM funds can contribute to transforming households when beneficiaries acquire the necessary knowledge and skills before investing in enterprises.
She particularly highlighted vegetable production, which requires relatively little land and can generate significant income when properly managed.
“Here we have seen that, in a very small piece of land, somebody can get one million, buy sacks, and put their horticulture or vegetables, and they sell. Some people used to despise the one million shillings PDM grant, but here at the Uganda Prisons Service farm, we have seen that in a month, they get Shs452,000. In a year, Shs5.1 million, on a very small piece of land,” Namayanja said.
Namayanja said that although many Ugandans have less than four acres of land ,they can use the smaller plots at home to produce and generate household income.
“The other aspect that we are learning here is that, yes, our President has encouraged the four-acre model, and we support it fully. But we also acknowledge that as the population increases, land does not increase. So the majority of households in Uganda, for instance, are at two to three acres.
“So even when somebody does not have four acres, we are saying that with two acres, you can produce and get income at home. With one acre, you can produce income at home. So before we go there, can we use this half an acre? Can we use this one acre? Can we use the two acres to produce income? And maybe we can go up to the four acres,” Namayanja said.
She said practical training centres established through the PDM ecosystem would serve as model farms where beneficiaries can acquire practical knowledge before investing in enterprises.
Namayanja urged the leadership of Nakaseke Sub-county to replicate what they had seen in Jinja and turn the available land into a model training centre for other residents.
“I am glad we have come with the leadership of Nakaseke Sub-county, because they already have the land, and they have already started. I urge them to implement what they have seen and ensure that what they have seen here, we can put in that area, so that it becomes the epicentre for others to learn from,” she added.
Dr. Edward Katende, Executive Director of the Uganda Development Forum, said the innovation village provides a practical demonstration of how farmers can use PDM funds to establish productive enterprises and generate income.
Katende said the purpose of the tour was to enable leaders from Nakaseke to observe the model first-hand and replicate it in their communities to promote the objectives of the Parish Development Model.
He added that the Uganda Development Forum, working with the Rose Namayanja Foundation, was ready to support the establishment of practical training centres in Nakaseke where PDM beneficiaries could acquire hands-on skills.
Eric Migadde, the LC3 Chairperson of Nakaseke Sub-county, applauded Namayanja for organising the benchmarking tour and said the local leadership was ready to provide two acres of land for the establishment of a practical training centre for entire sub county.
Migadde said several residents had received PDM funds but lacked the knowledge and skills to invest the money in profitable enterprises and manage the resulting loans effectively.
Practical Training Centres are local, hands-on learning hubs established at the farms of successful model farmers and entrepreneurs. They provide PDM beneficiaries with practical knowledge in areas including agriculture, livestock rearing, enterprise development and household income generation.
As part of its support to farmers in Nakaseke South Constituency, the Rose Namayanja Foundation donated 100 goats, 62 pigs, 3,000 chicks, 3,200 banana tissue-culture plantlets and 8,000 coffee seedlings to 96 parish training centres and 40 farmers’ groups.
The foundation also donated 1,500 kilograms of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs to support farmers and strengthen household income-generating activities.
