Busongora rural information together with ORDISEF is now working in seven sub counties fully active, those are Kasese town council, Muhokya sub county, L. Katwe sub county, Rukoki sub county, Kilembe sub county, Bugoye sub county, Kyabarungira sub county.
With four parishes those are railway information point Kikonzo, Rwesande Parish point, Bugoye parish point, and Katoke parish point.
Busongora information centre’s membership is made up of sub county information centres who also their membership is made up by the parish information points and parish points also their memberships are the village points and village points are local people who are farmers, C.B.Os, N.G.Os, churches etc. And when we compile all those together we make a county information centre.
BRIC have one A.G.M. in a year with all sub county information centres and points
BRIC have also three executive meetings quarterly in a year.
BRIC since 2008 to date has these services.
1. computer training classes for both drop outs from school and students
2. secretarial work is also done at the centre
3. Internet café is done at the centre.
4. Television news on W.B.S, KBC, TBC and entertainment on video shows are also at the disposal.
5. Community library with good books, news letters from RIC NET, news papers from ORDISEF, some novels from Uganda community library, even pupils and students come to revise their books in the library the place is open from 8:00 am to 10:00pm. From Monday to Monday we have no weekends for the library, T.V and video showers. BRIC in conjunction with ORDISEF wish to inform every body in the region of Rwenzori that we have started the early literacy preparing children for reading success which will help our children learn how to read and know better their language. Right from 0-5year and above. This exercise started in this year, because we found that our libraries are more of old and learned people only yet our children those from UPE, Orphan, poor and younger ones do not Know anything in reading example a P.4 even P.6 child doesn’t know how to read and a S.4 even S.6 doesn’t know how to translate some words from English to the mother language it’s a pity.
BRIC also work with aged people in Kasese it has partnership with URAA Uganda Reach the Aged Association and KAFO which has done a grate deal of work in Kasese District to old persons on advocacy and BRIC also advocates for marginalized people for their rights. That one we work hand in hand with the government and politicians in the area.
Busongora Rural information centre currently have 147 individual farmers in Rukoki sub-county. 100 farmers in Bugoye sub county, 150 farmers in Kyabarungira sub county, 40 farmers in Muhokya sub county, 50 farmers in L. Katwe sub county.
In Busongora county, we mostly grow these food staffs as mentioned blow:
Coffee, Cotton, Maize, Beans, Soya bean, Ground nuts, Pineapples, Irish potato, sweat potatoes, Cassava, Bananas, Rice, Green paper, Mangoes, Egg plants, tomatoes, onions, sugar canes.
Out of all these food crops the main cash crops of Busongora County are as follows:
Coffee, Cotton, Rice, Pineapples, Maize, Ground Nuts, Sugarcane, Beans, Tomatoes, Onions, Egg Plants, Cassava Flour and bananas on small scale plus Irish potatoes and sweat potatoes.
Challenges in farmers:
· We have some crop diseases in banana plantations, coffee plantations, Irish potatoes and sweat potatoes.
· Lack of marketing our food crops.
· Lack of communication.
· Lack of adequate information about the season of when to plant and when to harvest.
· Thieves stilling food in gardens.
· In some other areas animals from the park eating also the food crops.
· Shortage of land most of the people hire the land for cultivation.
· Financial support towards the exercise of cultivation. e.g. hiring the tractor for ploughing .
· Buying of seeds.
· Labour when weeding.
· Shelling after harvest.(a shelling machine).
· In L. Katwe sub county lions have so far eaten 30 cows for cattle keepers and even people don’t cross during the night now starting at 6:00pm up to 8:00am. There is new information of lions who climb the trees so no way to hide from it.
This data was collected from the farmers during the exercise of registration of farmers in Busongora County .
This information has been sourced and compiled by the chairperson Busongora information centres Mr. John Patrick Isingoma and the information facilitator John Kiiza written by the secretary Asifiwe Phebis.
For more information contact
0772391521 / 0701 391521 / 0792 391521 / 0779777080 /0773294886
Email: ordisef@yahoo.ca
