Connecting Agricultural Extension Services to Farming Communities
Riding under the scorching sun on a bumpy road in Pader district, Okelokoko Nobert ponders on his life journey from staying in an internally displaced person camp to pursuing a Master’s degree at Gulu University. He currently works as an Agricultural Extension Officer in the department of production and marketing in Pader Local Government in Northern Uganda heading Ogom and Pukor sub-counties.
Okelokoko’s upbeat demeanor signifies that his difficult days are behind him. Starting a Motorcycle spare parts and repair shop to supplement the family income, investing in the lucrative cabbage growing business, and working with farming communities to extend government advisory services as an Agricultural extension worker, Okelokoko can only feel happiness and relief knowing that he is on the right track to fulfilling his life purpose of transforming his community by training more youth in agricultural practices while he continues his work as a civil servant.
Despite the challenges posed by climate change, such as extended dry seasons and flooding, Okelokoko began cabbage farming a year ago as a quick way to supplement his monthly salary as an agricultural extension worker because cabbage matures faster than other grains such as sim-sim and rice. During this business venture, he interacts with young people in the community, teaching them agricultural and business skills so that they can each replicate the idea to provide income for their families.
The TAGDev scholarship degree, combined with his life experiences as a motorcycle mechanic and a vegetable farmer, would later prepare him for a life-changing opportunity when he receives his appointment as the Agricultural Extension Officer in Pader district.
Okelokoko rides his motorcycle to deliver government services to farming communities. His assistance includes providing technical advice and quality assurance on agricultural extension and advisory services; strengthening inter-institutional linkages among research, educational, and farmer institutions; promoting agribusiness services, enterprise development, and agricultural value chain development in close collaboration with the private sector; and supporting training skills, manpower development, and farmer institutional development in the agricultural sector.
Okelokoko appreciates the skills he gained during the TAGDev orientation week and graduate program, which prepared him to confidently engage with various stakeholders along the agricultural value chain, including farmers, the private sector, and policymakers. He is passionate about involving youth in crop production throughout the value chain, from value addition to post-harvest handling.
Reflecting on his journey, Okelokoko notices a shift in his mindset and sees himself as a role model for the youth who work alongside him. He encourages young people to put what they have learned into practice. Farmers have moved from one farming season to two farming seasons as a result of his work, and the impact on farming communities can be felt.
Working with farming communities, Okelokoko has noticed increased productivity and the use of small technologies like crop irrigation to combat climate change, as well as value addition to their products like milling maize into flour and packaging it for commercial consumption. There is increased access to improved seed varieties in farming communities and farmers’ confidence has increased as they are now setting better prices for their products, as opposed to when buyers set the prices, leaving farmers at their mercy.
In five years, Okelokoko hopes to advance to a managerial position and increase access to improved seed varieties in farming communities in Northern Uganda while skilling youth in agricultural practices.
These Stories are a result of the documentation from the RUFORUM and Mastercard Partnership under the TAGDEV Project, Gulu University: https://ruforum.wordpress.com/category/tagdev-project/.
