The Irrigation Lesson: Why Lira Youth Are Being Told to Stop Waiting and Start Producing

What the report says

Young people in Lira City East Division, Uganda, have been encouraged to take up agriculture and use government empowerment programmes as a route to higher incomes and poverty reduction. The appeal came from Female Youth Councillor Vivian Mildred Oyella during the launch of an irrigation facility for coffee farmer Obongo Oleke in Adwila on Tuesday, August 25, according to Dokolo Post.

The event brought together local officials including the Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Lira East Division, the mayor, town clerk, environment officer and other leaders. Oyella urged youth to move away from dependence on handouts and instead pursue productive enterprises, pointing to initiatives such as the Parish Development Model and Emyooga as tools for starting or expanding small businesses and farm activities.

She said agriculture should be treated as a business rather than only a survival activity, adding that organized farming, technology and market access can create wealth. In that context, she praised the irrigation project as an example of how investment in farm technology can improve coffee production and help farmers cope with unreliable rainfall.

Oyella also said her office would step up youth outreach in Lira East Division to promote mindset change, teamwork, saving and investment. The broader message, as reported by Dokolo Post, was that Uganda’s push toward a money economy depends on young people building disciplined, market-oriented livelihoods rather than waiting for direct assistance.