BY OUR REPORTER
Lira
In a significant step towards enhancing food security and improving livelihoods of local communities, Lira Catholic Diocese Cooperative Society Limited has received an incubator from Uganda’s Health Minister, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng.
Capable of hatching over 2,000 chicks, this incubator worth shs five million promises to transform the local community by providing a steady supply of nutritious food and a reliable source of income.
This collaborative initiative underscores the commitment to sustainable development and self-reliance, fostering hope and progress among the Lira Cathedral parish Christians.
Mr Fred Doi, a member of Lira Diocese Cooperative Society Limited says the incubator will change their lives and foster a sense of hope and progress as majority of the households under the cooperative will benefit from this project through embracing poultry farming thus elevating poverty.
“ Traditionally, hens lay eggs, sit on the eggs and then hatch them, but then it is biologically done, where you can’t expand, like one hen can lay about 10 to about 15 eggs, then sit on the eggs, and may not hatch at all,” he said.
“…And then they start running around with the chicks, and it becomes actually very difficult to properly take care of the chicks. But when you use an incubator, you build your stock, and then you hatch them in hundreds,” she explained.
He says with the intervention from the health Minister, even the poorest will have access to a little bit bigger number of chicks running within their compound.
“ Like the one we got today is a two thousand hatchery, which hatches two thousand chicks at a go. So, after every 21, 25 days, you will be having a batch of two thousand. Meaning in a year you will be able to hatch about 14 times,” he added.
Rev Fr Emmanuel Opio, the Parish Priest of Lira Cathedral Parish applauded Dr Aceng’s contributions calling on other political leaders to emulate such initiatives instead of handing out cash to voters.
“Give us resources and we are going to have dollars.if there are leaders around us who have connection, the resources that they have,give us machines,give us equipment don’t just give us animals,”he said
“So let us change this mentality if you are in a place which has connections,you are in a big street,you are in an organization which can help our people,help us build our own capacity,”he added.
Dr Aceng encouraged the community and their leaders to make effective use of the incubator so as their livelihoods are improved.
“The incubator being donated today followed a request made by the parishioners through their leaders.Am optimistic that this project will significantly enhance the economic well- being of the Christian community in Lira Cathedral parish,”she added.
Additionally, the minister also donated shs 1.5 million as initial funding as a startup capital to the Christians through their cooperative of Lira Diocese Cooperative Society Limited to procure eggs for the commencement of the project.