Museveni guides rice farmers, commissions sh71b Achomai irrigation scheme

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President Yoweri  Museveni has today commissioned a sh71 billion Achomai Irrigation Scheme in Kamutur sub-county, Bukedea District, with a call to farmers to embrace irrigation-based rice growing on dry land rather than wetlands, to safeguard the environment while increasing agricultural productivity.

During the commissioning ceremony, the President expressed delight over the project’s completion, describing it as a significant step towards agricultural modernisation and water management in the Teso and Bugisu sub-regions.

“I’m very happy to be here to commission this Achomai irrigation scheme,” President Museveni said earlier today, Wednesday, Nov 5.

“I don’t eat rice; instead, I eat cassava and bananas and our indigenous foods, but some of our people eat rice, so it’s good to grow it, but grow it safely, not in the swamp. You should take water from the swamp to the dry land and then irrigate,” Museveni added while addressing a huge gathering that included local leaders, residents, and government officials.

He cautioned farmers against cultivating rice in wetlands, explaining that such practices destroy the ecosystem and interfere with nature’s balance.

“I don’t want rice in the swamp (Osamai). I want it in the Aroo (dry land), and then you irrigate, he emphasised, according to a release from the  Presidential Press Unit.

He underscored the dual benefits of irrigation - boosting yields and taming floods, through effective water capture and management systems.

“When you irrigate, you yield and produce more per hectare, but there is also another element of taming the floods and water from destroying everything. When you make a dam, you capture water from the surface and retain it somewhere, and then you can use it by pumping when you want,” he lectured his audience.

According to President Museveni, the Achomai Irrigation Scheme symbolises the government’s broader strategy of transforming subsistence farming into commercial agriculture by enhancing productivity per acre through technology and infrastructure.

Rice fields at Acomai. PPU photo

The Speaker of Parliament and Woman Member of Parliament for Bukedea District, Annet Anita Among, hailed President Museveni for fulfilling his development pledge to the people of Bukedea, describing the project as a dream turned into reality.

“Before this dam was established here, I used to think it was a myth. Now I’m seeing it in reality. This place used to flood, but now we have a fully-fledged irrigation scheme serving nine villages - seven from Bukedea and two from Bulambuli. I want to thank you for also working on the road, which now makes it easy for us to cross into Bulambuli. These are the gains we are protecting,” she added.

Among, who launched the construction of the project on December 18, 2021,  praised the contractor, Dott Services Limited, for delivering quality work.

“They’ve done a very good job. You’ve commissioned the Achomai Irrigation Scheme and the breeding centre that’s just in the next village,” she said, adding that the President’s visit had turned the day into a “public holiday” for the district.

Engineer Athanasius Ssebugwawo, the Contract Manager for the Achomai Irrigation Scheme, explained that the project was implemented under the Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme (AVCP), a government initiative supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB). 

The program aims to improve access to water for agricultural production, boost productivity, and enhance post-harvest handling and value addition.

Some of the beneficiaries of Acomai irrigation scheme in Bukedea district express their excitement during the commissioning of the facility by President Museveni on Wednesday. (PPU Photo)

He revealed that before the project’s inception, Achomai and the surrounding areas faced extreme climatic conditions - droughts during dry seasons and severe floods during rainy seasons due to their low-lying terrain.

“During the dry season, it would experience the worst droughts; we could hardly see anything green. And during the rainy season, it would flood, and the area was hardly inhabitable,” Eng. Ssebugwawo said.

He noted that with the project’s completion, the community’s fortunes had changed dramatically, and the issue of excess floods was history.

“People now produce different crops throughout the year, and livelihoods have improved,” he said.

According to the engineer, more than 1,800 acres were planted and harvested in the last season, with projections to expand to 2,000 acres in the next planting cycle.

“People now have the right to plant whichever kind of crop they want,” Eng. Ssebugwawo revealed.

The commissioning of the irrigation scheme was one of Museveni's activities on the last leg of the presidential campaigns in the Teso sub-region. 

Museveni, the flagbearer of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), is among eight State House hopefuls.

On Wednesday afternoon, he crossed to the Bugisu sub-region, where he had his first rally in Sironko.

Throughout the tour, the President has emphasised irrigation and value addition as key pillars of his vision to transition Uganda from a peasant to a middle-income economy.

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The Achomai Irrigation Scheme sits on approximately 2,200 hectares in Achomai Village, Kamutur Sub-county, Bukedea District, and extends into neighbouring Bulambuli District. It includes key facilities such as an administration block, two drying yards, a warehouse, workshop, bridge, and 58 kilometres of access roads.

The sh71 billion ($19.9 million) investment was jointly funded by the Government of Uganda and the African Development Bank, and is part of the national agenda to enhance the agricultural value chain, from production to processing and market access.