Plant Clinics score High towards Plant health system

by Charles Kaliba

Farmers in Bwera and Kisinga have expressed their happiness and gratitude towards the work done by the Plant Doctors towards improving yields and Pest and disease control. This was revealed during the evaluation exercise of the performance of Plant clinics in Kasese District. The evaluation was held in four different places that is Kisinga, Kiburara, Bwera and Kasese from 21^st to 24^th October 2013 by staff of Makerere University in conjunction with MAAIF.

The content of the research finding covered the performance of the Plant health system in Kasese in areas of; a).Performance of the Plant clinics, b).Performance of the Plant Doctors, c). Relationships between Plants clinics and plant pest and disease control, d). Role of other extension service providers towards improving plant health system, e). Government interventions in plant clinics and plant health systems, f). Role of individual farms in farming and g). The Role of CSO’s in supporting farming and farmers in the District.

In Kasese District, Plant Clinics are run and operated by Rwenzori information centers Network [RIC-NET] as part of their livelihood programs improving individual livelihood at household level. This is under the program “health plants for health people” that cover the whole of Rwenzori region.RIC-NET has trained 10 plant Doctors who are operating 7 plant Clinics in the region.

According to Baluku John a farmers from Karambi who for the past two years has been visiting the plant clinics and a farmer of bananas, he mentioned that “Plant doctors have been visiting my garden from time to time and helped me in controlling BBW and Cassava mosaic… My yields have improves this year”. Another farmer Biira Agnes from Kyempara a farmers of Sunflowers mentioned that “Plant Doctors are more relevant that other extension staff at the sub county because they explain to the farmers properly and keep on monitoring the recommendation prescribed. This has helped me a lot in pests and disease control”. Miss Biira Justine of Rwenguhya-Kisinga a farmers of maize “Government should support Plants clinics because of their direct involvement with the farmers at household level”. While Miss Nzyabake Grace from Kuburara a farmers of vegetables mentioned that “I have been visited several times by the plant Doctors and I have been putting the advice given into practice. You can even see from the looks of my Egg Plants and Tomatoes”.

Banana Plantation owned by John

diseased banana stem

Table show number of respondents in the evaluation exercise

Category	Male	Female	Total	Comments from the Farmers
Local farmers	21	39	60	These are both commercial and subsistence farmers
Political leaders	4	3	7	At sub County and village level
Members of CSO’s	6	3	9	From CSO’s working with farmers
Opinion leaders at village level	2	2	4	At village level
Plant Doctors	5	5	10	Running the 7 Plant Clinics under RICNET
CDO	1	2	3	At sub county level
Community based facilitators	2	3	5	At Sub county level
NAADS staff.	2	4	6	At Sub county level
Totals	43	61	104

NB: We choice of using staff at village and Sub county level was intended to get information from people directly working with farmers.

farmers sharing views on the role of Plant Clinics

During the evaluation exercise farmers made a call to the Central Government to support individuals and organizations that are helping them in information on farming. The farmers proposed that Government should support directly the plant Clinics like the way they support other programs like NAADS.

THE SCHOOLS THAT PARTICIPATED IS THE COMPETITION FROM BUNDIBUGYO DISTRICT

IT’S A PLEASURE RIC-NET HAS AWARDED US.


Art and painting, poem and essay writing was seen as a measure to improve and support Education in both primary and secondary schools in the Rwenzori region thus RIC-NET organized an Essay writing and Art competition where most schools welcomed the idea by participating in the competition.

The photos bellow are for the schools which participated from Bundibugyo district.

A group photo of the participants with their certificate with the art teacher on right Bugombwa primary school.

The Head Teacher Bugombwa primary school giving out the certificate to the pupils in the presence of the teachers and other pupils

The art teacher and the pupils of Bundibugyo junior primary school with their certificates

The Head Master junior PS shows a Certificate to the assembly challenging them to be active in school programes.

The H/Master Bumate primary school on the left and art teacher behind with the pupils.

Pupils watching their equals who participated receiving their certificates and they are like "I wish I also participated ".

The H/Teacher hot spring vocational Secondary school a warding certificates to the participants.


 

It real these students were very pleased and excited for receiving their certificates and results

KAMWENGE DISTRICT E-SOCIETY CENTER SUSTAINABILITY MEETING.

The meeting took place on Wednesday 23^rd October.2013 at the district headquarters in the Deputy CAO’s office.  Members who were present was the RIC-NET staffs headed by the Programmes Manager, Systems Administrator, Video Documentations Officer and the Center ICT Officer among others. On the part of the District, there was the Deputy  Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Finance Officer, District Speaker and also the District Executive Committee Member. The main concern of the meeting was to draw the road map of E-centres operations  starting January  2014

 And to  discuss about the sustainability of the E-society resource center which is a community District ICT hub apoint that is used by citizens to access, share and disseminate information on local governance and service delivery using ICTs.

This HIVOS-EU funded  “enhancing civic competence for social accountability” project  that was set up on the 17^th September 2012  under public private partnership strategy in Kamwenge district given its objectives of building resident capacity to disseminate information through the use of online resources, given the fact that every project is time bound, it was therefore important to note and lay strategies for the continued operation of this project that ends on 31^st December 2013.The two parties embarked on seeing ways on  how the center will be sustained.

The   Chief Administrative Officer said that the District is in the process of not only sustaining the center but rather this extending ICT facility and make it a department of its own and   the District will recruit an ICT office r looking forward the budget estimates required to run the center for the year 2014 which totaled up to eleven million, eight hundred thousand (11,800,000). The two parties also embarked on how the budget is going to be cost shared as the District staffs committed  to take up some items within the budget like monthly internet subscription

and antivirus  amounting to 2,300,000/= while RIC-NET committed to website hosting and updating as discussions went on Kamwenge.

 

The   District speaker Hon:  Gerald Twebaze, promised to have further discussions in the council meetings for approval.

WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFULL PUPILS

Following the art and painting competition that RIC-NET conducted in the region between May and August 2013, it was time to reward the participants with certificates of participation and simple gifts for the best participants; these included Mathematical sets, and Art and painting kits. Every participating school was also given copies of the education magazine showcasing in it work of the best participants in the region. In Kabarole district the RIC-NET Information Officer visited the five schools(Rwimi, Rubona, Kigarama, Kyebambe Model and Harugongo Primary schools) that participated in the competitions to deliver the results, certificates, magazines and gifts. Similar exercises have been conducted in the other districts of Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, Kasese, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo. Here below are photos from the visits to schools in Kabarole district.

Pupils at Harugongo PS together with their teacher pose for group photo.

The RIC-NET Information Officer hands over  a Certificate to a pupil at Harugongo PS

The Deputy Head Mistress Harugongo PS shows a Certificate to the assembly challenging them to be active in school programs.

A group photo of Art teachers and participants at Kyebambe Model PS

A teacher at Kyebambe Model giving out Certificates to the participants at the school.

 

A group photo of the participants together with the RIC-NET Information Officer, head teacher and the art teachers at the school

A pupil at Kigarama PS receives his certificate from the Head Mistress

A teacher at Rubona PS helping the pupils to flag their certificates

A pupil at Rwimi PS receiving her Certificate from the RIC-NET Information&Advocacy Officer.

RIC-NET Information Officer and an Art teacher at Rwimi PS pose for a photo with the participants at the school.

CSOs CALLED ON TO TRICKLE DOWN THE CAUSE FOR GENDER ADVOCACY

CEW-IT UG   for the member organizations from west Nile, Northern, central, Teso region, and Rwenzori Region. RIC-NET had one staff kyomuhendo Joselyne in the training   the training that started on 15- 18^th October 2013, was facilitated by Institute of Social transformation (IST) .

A STAFF OF IST, FACILITATING ON GENDER

, A civil society based organization in Kampala held a three days Gender training

The objectives of the workshop were

·         To introduce the key concepts of Gender to CEW-IT members

·         To build capacity of CEW-IT  staff in skills  of Gender mainstreaming  transformative learning,  Gender equity & equality,  Justice and leadership  development

·         To build the capacity of staff that can recognize and act positively  to address gender injustices  in their families  workplace  and  areas of operation

SEASONAL CALENDAR  ANALYSES TIMING FOR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

 Introducing the concept of Gender Ms Aliyinza, one of the trainers from Institute of social transformation noted that gender advocacy is a journey that takes years because it requires change of mind and attitude on the different stereo types in the society.  Participants shared how Gender is addressed in their organizations and some of the ways noted were: Encouraging the participation of men and women in the staff and community meetings, representation of male and female in the Neighbourhood assemblies, advocacy   for Male and Female related concerns, sharing information related to Gender, encouraging sharing of domestic work, equal treatment of male and female staff, involving the male and female in leadership structures, sensitivity in the timing of activities for the  community  . However it was noted that in families’ gender injustices involve the unequal treatment of boys and girls, lack of control and ownership of resources by women and at the workplace sexual harassment was noted as a common Gender injustice to be challenged by community.   The participants tested various tools in Gender Analysis as centering which is a meditation exercise that would  always open the sessions for training,  some other tools were daily schedule calendar, seasonal calendar   that  aligns the  CSOs work to community schedules.  Empowerment map, visioning and challenge tree  tools  for  community to use in empowering their financial, social, emotional, educational status.

A RIC-NET STAFF PRESENTS AT THE TRAINING

By the end of the three participants resolved among others to:

·         In house  orientation of   the other staff members in their organizations in issues of Gender

·         Share gender related information with partners using online platforms

·         Review of organizational policies to make  them Gender sensitive

·         Hold community sensitization meetings on Gender justice

At the close of the training the Executive Director Institute of social transformation noted called upon the CSOs to utilize the opportunity of the existing networks to trickle down the advocacy to the community level, she also challenged the participants to first change their attitude toward the Gender injustices around before they moving to influence the wider community. She noted: CHANGE BEGINS WITH YOU.

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IST,  AT THE CLOSING REMARKS