IN a heartening initiative to promote sustainable agriculture and address transportation challenges faced by farmers around Kasisi area , Kasisi Agricultural Training Center has distributed 19 bicycles to organic small scale farmers growing vegetables in the Charis Project.
The bicycles will also help to save time and energy to come to their gardens, as some are coming from far villages. This will indirectly help to increase their income and improve their lifelihoods.
Speaking during the handover ceremony yesterday, KATC Director Claus Recktenwald Said the aim of the donation is to provide small scale farmers with a cost-effective and eco-friendly mode of transportation, which can help them access the Charis Garden located at KATC.
He said the distribution of bicycles is made possible by Theodor Gams and his friends who donated the bicycles to the Charis Project.
“It is a happy day today because we have received the bicycles as a gift from our donors. You are the farmers that have shown resilience in the project. These bycycles are a sign of your commitment,” Fr Claus said.
“These bicycles should help you access the Garden early and attend to your plants .You also need to maintain them and keep them properly, If you don’t have technical knowledge, a person with technical knowledge within the group should help,” He said
Farmers representative Gilldah Mweeba said the Charis farmers have lauded and thanked the efforts of the project and the donors by expressing their gratitude for the bicycles.
She said the bicycles will significantly reduce their transportation costs and will help them reach larger markets for their produce as they will be able to access the Garden on time .
“Our homes are far from the Garden , so last year we asked for bicycles to help us with transport and today the KATC through the donor has given them to us. We promise to maintain and put the bicycles to good use,” she Said.
Project Coordinator John Banda said the project aims at empowering the rural community around Kasisi mostly those who are vulnerable and lack farming inputs like land, water ,seed and manure.
“About four years ago KATC identified these small scale farmers and trained them in organic farming , each farmer was then given a 20×40 meters of land, water, seed and manure within KATC,” Mr Banda explained.
He said, KATC has constantly helped these farmers with creating and reaching larger markets for their produce therefore increasing the standard of living for the farmers.
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