State minister for Agriculture Christopher Mbalibula Kibanzanga
looks at indigenous African vegetables at Uganda National Seeds Expo
and Trade Fair 2017 in Jinja on Tuesday. More than 70 per cent of
Ugandans are involved in agriculture. PHOTO BY Denis Edema
Kampala.
The
Kingdom of the Netherlands has launched two agriculture support
programmes valued at ...
€22m (Shs80b) for improved seed quality and market linkages for farmers.
€22m (Shs80b) for improved seed quality and market linkages for farmers.
The two programmes set to run
for the next five years, are targeting the entire value chain in the
agriculture sector right from seed distribution to linking farmers to
the private sector buyers of the produce.
“Uganda’s
agriculture sector has a great potential to transform the country and
the livelihood of Ugandans. Using our Dutch experience and success in
agriculture, we believe that by end of 2020, at least 350,000 households
will be positively impacted by the projects,” said HE Henk Jan Bakker,
the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands told reporters on the
sidelines of the launch at his residence in Kololo, Kampala on Wednesday
evening.
The Integrated Seed Sector Development Plus
(ISSD Plus) will target access and production of high-quality seeds
through research in partnership with the National Agricultural Research
Organization.
On the other hand, Resilient Efficient
Agribusiness Chains (REACH Uganda) will link about 40,000 farmers in
Kigezi, the Lake Kyoga region and the Sebei region to the market. The
target is mainly for farmers growing rice and potatoes.
“In
addition to providing quality seed, the issue of climate change will
also be tackled through the dissemination of climate smart varieties and
other technologies that go with it. This will be greatly facilitated by
the mutual partnership with NARO in the implementation of the Euro 10m
ISSF Plus project as NARO is the main source of agricultural
technologies in Uganda,” the ambassador added.
According
to Ms Astrid Mastenbroek, the Chief of Party ISSD, Ugandan farmers are
still faced with limited knowledge on the handling of seeds, which often
results in poor crop yields. She also admitted that the Ugandan market
is also filled with counterfeit and poor quality seed.
Under
the previous five-year ISSD programme, the target was mainly on seed on
production, however this time it will be combined with ensuring farmer
awareness on seed quality and handling.
Mr David
Slane, the Chief of Party for the Integrated Fertilizer Development
Center (IFDC) also noted that the target for the REACH Uganda project is
the rural farmer who having trouble with market access and production
of quality resilient produce.
“Our target is having a high multiplier factor on the rural farms where yields can increase by almost six times over a period of five years,” he said.
“Our target is having a high multiplier factor on the rural farms where yields can increase by almost six times over a period of five years,” he said.
In a
written speech by Mr Vincent Ssempija, the minister of Agriculture,
Animal Industry and Fisheries, he said that the projects are targeting
areas that will make Uganda food secure.
“Agricultural production in Uganda is mainly dominated by smallholder farmers engaged in food and cash crops,horticulture, fishing, and livestock farming. The focus of the rice and potatoes the REACH Uganda project means that Uganda will be more food secure and trade in these crops will also improve,” the speech reads.
“Agricultural production in Uganda is mainly dominated by smallholder farmers engaged in food and cash crops,horticulture, fishing, and livestock farming. The focus of the rice and potatoes the REACH Uganda project means that Uganda will be more food secure and trade in these crops will also improve,” the speech reads.
About 70 per cent of Uganda’s population
is engaged in agriculture but accounts for only 22.2 per cent of the
GDP because most of the people practice subsistence agriculture.
mmuhumuza@ug.nationmedia.com
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