A farmers’ group learns about bean production in Lwengo District. Residents in Lango say government does not prioritise Agriculture yet it is a prime source of income for many Ugandans. PHOTO/FULE/MICHEAL J SSALI.
Soybean and sunflower farmers, who mainly produce the commodities for the manufacture of edible oil and related products, have challenged government to start considering agriculture as a business if the country is to benefit.
Speaking at a skills training programme organized by Mukwano Group and facilitated by Enterprise Uganda, farmers in the Lango sub-region, said government has failed to inject enough resources in agriculture to boost production and modernised farming.
Mr Joel Ebong, a farmer in Kwania District, said production of sunflower, which is a key resource in the region, is constrained because of farmers’ inability to handle agriculture as a business that requires due attention.
This, he said, has been largely a trickle-down effect from government that treats agriculture casually.
Mr
Ebong also noted that the failure to train and provide sufficient
extension services, which are key ingredients in the agricultural value
chain have sustained farming as a subsistence sector that has failed to
graduate into a commercial activity.
Sixty per cent of Ugandans in agriculture produce for consumption yet majority of the population is involved in farming.
Mr Allan Onedo, a farmer from Apac, noted that because of the subsistence nature of agriculture, it has been difficult for farmers to save enough money that they could recoup back into expanding their business.
However, he said, away from lack of government support, many Ugandans have a poor savings culture which hinders reinvestment and expansion.
“At every beginning of the planting season, we form groups and buy seeds for planting but a significant number of us fail to raise the required money at a right time because of lack of savings,” he said, noting that it was high time government forms a well-structured funding system to turn around agriculture.
Mr Charles Ocici, the Enterprise Uganda executive director, who facilitated the training, said government must refocus its investment and budgeting priorities to sectors such as agriculture that have no immediate returns but have the capacity to improve both household and taxable revenue in the long term.
“It is difficult to get meaningful tax from a small person [farmer]. It is in small and medium enterprises where you begin to build up your power of tax collection and where you get quality jobs,” he said, noting that if government continues to look at agriculture casually, it will take long before Uganda can widen its tax base.
The training sought to equip sunflower and soybean farmers in the Lango sub-region with the required skills to enable them produce the right quality and quantity of oil seeds to supply large consumers such as Mukwano Industries.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
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