By John Okello Lapok
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries through its Department of Agricultural Infrastructure, Mechanisation and Water for Agricultural Production headed by Eng. Boniface Okanya has held a 5th joint inspection and site progress meeting with the political and technical leadership of the beneficiary Districts of Bulambuli and Kween for the construction of Atari Irrigation Scheme to assess progress of the construction Works.
The physical progress stands at 50.45% against 61% of time. The infrastructure being constructed includes; Main and secondary canals (17.3km concrete lined), drainage canals (22km earthen), farm access roads (7km), flood protection dykes(4km) and Headworks.
The Project is being executed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries with funding from the Government of Japan through JICA.
The construction works are being undertaken by M/S Zenitaka Corporation, and Sanyu Consultants Inc. is the supervising Engineer.
The objective of the Project is to boost farm household income by increasing production and productivity of rice and horticultural crops in the Atari farming community through development of irrigation facilities.
The Project will cover a command area of 680 ha in Atari basin area, benefit up to 1300 households and impact on a population of approximately 6500. The yields of rice are expected to increase from an average of 3ton/ha to 5.5 ton/ha.
The expected outcome is a significant increase in water availability for irrigation, leading to enhanced agricultural production and productivity, higher household incomes, and strengthened food security across the region.
