By Patrick Okino
Equity Bank and SunCulture Uganda have launched a funding programme to allow farmers to access solar powered irrigation systems.
The partnership was launched on Friday at Lira City West Division, with a call to farmers to acquire the system to irrigate crops, water livestock and poultry in both dry and wet seasons.
It targets smallholder farmers and allows them to acquire solar powered irrigation systems supplied by the company in partnership with the bank.
According to Virginia Ssemakula, farmers can purchase the irrigation system and water storage tanks through affordable and simplified loans starting from sh1.8m.
Ssemakula, the manager, energy, environment and climate change at Equity bank, said they have intervened to improve the livelihood of farmers and create wealth which can be sustainable for the next generation.
“We are not only the bank but we are interested in your life. So start your journey today (Friday) if you have not yet started and engage in production to improve your life,” Ssemakula said.
She said under the bank, they have two engines, social arm and economic engine and in the social arm, they work with the community in agriculture, education, health, energy and environment, financial literacy and enterprise development.
“Through this partnership, we shall be able to get third and fourth seasons to grow our crops and all these are to uplift our livelihood,” she said.
Anne Kayiria, the National Manager SunCulture Uganda, said they have found out that when you plant during dry season, a farmer is able to make a lot of money more than in the wet season.
“We are very excited to be here because here usually people struggle with one season of growing crops and they end up producing once a year,” she said.
“If your crops died at that time then you get stuck but now if you have your own water pump, you can control when to produce,” she added.
She added that one day they did some activity in West Nile and they discovered that when you plant during dry season when everybody is not planting you harvest and earn more money than during the wet season.
Cyprian Ogwali, a farmer in Amuca Cell in Lira City, said farming without water is not possible and at one time he got stuck when using a generator to pump water to his farm.
He said he has poultry and piggery projects but before he acquired a solar water pump he was using a generator which sometimes was expensive because of the fuel and could break down anytime.
He said he was just struggling but when he acquired the system he was comfortable because of the constant water supply.
