Farmers accuse, Kalenzi of failure to provide technical guidance on coffee growing. Farmers also say that Kalenzi is rarely in the office to attend to their concerns as well as visiting them to access the progress of the coffee project.
Coffee farmers in Bwambara sub-county, Rukungiri district are up in arms with Stephen Kalenzi, the sub-county agriculture extension worker over incompetence.
Farmers accuse, Kalenzi of failure to provide technical guidance on coffee growing. Farmers also say that Kalenzi is rarely in the office to attend to their concerns as well as visiting them to access the progress of the coffee project.
Alexander Muhumuza, a coffee farmer from Nyamitooma II village in Bikurungu parish says that they quit tobacco growing for coffee after being told that coffee being a perennial crop has more profits. Muhumuza, however, says that their enthusiasm in coffee growing has been let down by Kalenzi’s laxity in fulfilling his roles.
Adrine Tukwasiibwe Kaparata, another coffee farmer from Nyakabungo B village in Kikarara parish, says that Kalenzi only stops at dumping coffee seedlings in trading centres for farmers to pick and plant. Tukwasiibwe says that Kalenzi does not move to farmers’ gardens for assessment and advice before distributing seedlings.
//Cue in: “nibaturetera embibo batatwegyeesa…
Cue out: …oku barikugyihinga…
Ismail Musimenta another farmer from Kafunjo village says that because they don’t receive advice from the agriculture extension officer, they only plant using traditional skills and end up counting losses.
Musimenta wants Kalenzi to revise his style of work or else be replaced with a competent extension worker.
//Cue in: “nobuzibu obu twine…
Cue out: …kuba norabamu.”//
However, Kalenzi says that the accusations are baseless. Kalenzi says that he has several times visited farmers and provided all the farming advice but farmers remain adamant and using traditional methods.
//Cue in: “most of them…
Cue out: …for coffee.”//
Story by Samuel Amanya
