Agriculture Cluster Development Project

  Introduction Doho Irrigation Farmers’ Cooperative Society (DIFACOS) are ACDP cohort three matching grantees. This seven year old Cooperative Society is under the mandate of   Ministry of Water and Environment in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and replaced the management committee in 2014. Butaleja district where this scheme is found a potential rice growing area and has water throughout the year supplied by the three rivers of   Manafa, Mpologoma and Namatala. DIFACOS members are all rice farmers and are enrolled in the e-Voucher system. In 1997, the infrastructure at Doho irrigation rice scheme was washed away and this led to government intervention   of improving the irrigation scheme to control the flood waters. As a result 98% of the farm plots receive water for irrigation. Matching grant In 2021, DIFACOS became beneficiaries of a total grant of    UGX   373,134,328   with government contribution of   250 million   and the cooperative co-financing   of    UG

  Introduction Monica Higenyi is a model famer in Butaleja district, she started farming by growing vegetables and vending. She also used to make and sell herbal medicine. Mr Were, the DAO says, “ This is when   I noticed her and gave her 10 bags of cassava   cuttings to plant. Then we came back and bought the cuttings from her. I noticed she was very hardworking   farmer and was eager to grow and learn”. Monica and her husband Patrick Higenyi   enrolled in the ACDP   late in 2019. While Monica enrolled for maize, her husband enrolled for cassava.   To enroll in the e-Voucher program, they each paid a membership of   UGX 148, 500 and were trained on good agronomic practices. Benefits   According to Monica, they were taught   how to plant a maize variety called ‘Bazoka’. Maize is usually sold at a low price but because of the variety I planted the produce is of high quality and I was able to sell at a high price.   I used to plant maize before but the profits were not high”. T