The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has distributed 240,000 coffee seedlings to farmers in 4-Acre Model Villages across eight sub-counties in Kakumiro District as part of efforts to promote commercial agriculture and improve household incomes.

The initiative is part of the government’s strategy to encourage households to utilise their available land for commercial production and create sustainable sources of income.

The distribution exercise was led by the Minister of Works and Transport and Bugangaizi West MP, Fred Byamukama.

During the exercise, Byamukama, on behalf of the programme, also donated 250 pigs to women chairpersons in the area.

The pigs are intended to support women in establishing income-generating activities and contribute to household economic empowerment.

The government has been promoting the 4-Acre Model approach, which encourages households to maximise productivity from small pieces of land through a combination of food production and commercial enterprises.

The coffee seedlings are expected to enable participating farmers to establish or expand coffee plantations, while the piggery initiative is intended to diversify household income sources.

The programme also seeks to strengthen household participation in commercial agriculture and improve livelihoods through increased agricultural productivity.