MP for Fort portal Municipality, Alex Ruhunda

A section  of district leaders  of the sugar growing districts want some of the clauses in the proposed sugar bill dropped because they are anti-business especially to the farmers.

Clause 22 of the sugar bill proposes that the zoning of sugar growing in a radius of 25 kilometers which they describe as detrimental and restrictive to the farmers as it encourages monopoly to the millers.

Districts leaders from Masindi, Hoima, Kamuli, Mayuge, and Buikwe urged parliament’s committee on Trade to strike out the clause and give the farmers an opportunity work with a miller of their choice.

Meanwhile the Committee Chairperson Alex Ruhunda indicated that the problems affecting the farmers and district leaders were more prominent in Masindi and Hoima and needed to be addressed holistically.

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Vice President, Edward Ssekandi

Government has urged the  banking sector to design friendly loans that can be accessed by farmers and informal sectors in Uganda.

Currently many banks are offering short term loans which do not favor farmers who have long term investments.

Speaking during the Annual banker’s conference recently,  the Vice president, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, said that much as government is moving to re-capitalize Uganda development bank to help farmers, available financial banks must be lenient to farmers as well.

He said that farmers are potential bank customers, thus engaging them will give banking sector a mileage.

“These farmers should be the people you should favour most because they will be your customers of all seasons,” Sekandi said.

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Vanilla

Farmers under their umbrella body, Vanilla Exporter`s Association demand for a policy that will help to guide vanilla dealers in the country. While meeting with the Minister of Agriculture Animal industry and Fisheries, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja they requested Government to consider reviving vanilla crop in Uganda, because the prices have skyrocketed in the recent past. They said a kilo of vanilla is now 130,000 shillings, hence a need for government to mobilize farmers to grow vanilla again.

However, minister Ssempijja promised to mobilize farmers to grow vanilla in large quantity as  part of the strategy to drive the economy to middle income status as it’s the case in Madagascar.

In 2003, Uganda experienced a vanilla price boom, when farmers earned up to Shs150, 000 for a kilogram of fresh green beans. However, during the bust, the prices plunged to as low as 5,000 shillings forcing many farmers to abandon growing of the spice crop.

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Kigula who was speaking while meeting district leaders recently at Nimrod Hotel in Luwero said that although the district is surrounded by many water bodies, livestock farmers are still losing their animals because there are no storage facilities like valley dams.

A district select committee of farmer’s association from Nakaseke district.

He called on government to make valley dam construction in Nakasongola a priority to avoid them losing their animals and enabling livestock farmers increase on their household income.

Kigula however, says that the area is going to focus on fruit growing to supplement on coffee growing, fishing noting that fruit growing will be highly taken up by people in sub counties which do not grow coffee in order to improve on the people’s household incomes.

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According to a, the press release, the plan will be implemented by 10 insurance companies under the Uganda Insurers Association. Many farmers groups have already been identified as key players in this process and they will closely work within associations to increase public awareness through farmer groups, organized events, fairs and the on-line platforms.

The scheme targets farmer groups, associations, larger farmers and ranchers who have suffered a number of agricultural challenges and risks such as excessive rains, fire, flooding, drought, pests, diseases and limited access to finance among others.

All categories of farmers will benefit however emphasis will be on the small scale farmers with potential of transforming into large scale farming. The scheme is therefore to help them be credit worthy and encourage them to access credit from financial service providers.

Some of the selected and prioritized enterprises include the following;
Crops: Maize, Coffee, Maize, Beans, Rice, Cotton, Bananas, Soybean and Sunflower Livestock: Cattle (beef & diary), Poultry, Pigs and Fish.
Financial Institutions involved in Agriculture Credit will insure loans in two ways:
a) actual loan received by the client; which would translate into the cost of production for the purposes of insurance
b) the bank can require that the entire enterprise is fully insured in order to protect the loan that has been invested in it.

It is important to note that; smallholder farmers will be subsidized at 50% and larger commercial farmers at 30%.

Poultry farming is one of the lucrative activities that brings in quick returns country wide.

Through the implementing companies, officials hope this scheme will help farmers have increased access to financial services, increased production, become food secure and enhance household incomes.

Farmers have also been advised to access more information and knowledge on how to benefit from the scheme by joining an upcoming West Nile Finance Fair that is to take place from the 17th-18th August in Arua.

It is also at this Fair that farmers will have a full presentation on the Agricultural Insurance Scheme that is being rolled out by the government.

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The international agricultural show that will run from 11th and end on Sunday 17th has been opened in Jinja show ground by the ministry of agriculture and the farmer’s federation. The minister of agriculture Vincent Bamulangaki sempijja says the show is intended to show the new technologies in farming, poultry and fishing.

Sempijja says that farmers across the country should attend this show to learn the new technologies in agriculture so that they are able to  improve on their produce. He added that with the new innovations in the sector farmers will be able to improve on the quality of their produce for export  to meet the international standards.

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The director LAUMA Christian training and teaching company Rev.Robert Muhwezi says that his company will give out crop planting materials to farmers and more animals so as farmers are not left out in income generation while looking after their families. The coordinator of LAUMA in Kiboga and Kyankwanzi districts, Isaac Tusubira says that local community in his area has  benefited a lot from such assistance and improved their life.

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The three groups which benefited from this initiative include Twezimbe Development group from Entebbe,Bwavu mpologoma from Wakiso and Golokoka yakka from Mityana  and this farmers programme is intended to empower farmers to engage in commercial farming to improve on their income while generating funds to pay children’s school fees.

Members of Twezimbe Development Group receive seedlings

One of the beneficiary Ms Dorothy Nantaba was optimistic that the pigs she got will serve its purpose so as   she is off loaded the burden of paying school fees to her children.

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Kiggundu warned head teachers to be vigilant when buying grained food for students because they may be exposed to this dangerous toxic. He also says that Ugandans should not mistake Hybrid seeds to be genetically modified seeds from farmers and market. Dr. Andrew Kiggundu says that hybrid seeds have been on market for so long especially for commercial farmers. He asked members of parliament to pass the National Biotechnology and Biosafety bill 2012 to enable Banana farmers access disease resistant bananas which are still laying at research centers in the country.

The doctor rejected claims that GMOs are on the market though South Africa has been using this technology for  some years.

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Improved seeds

Experts are concerned that farmers are slow in adapting to new technologies aimed at countering and reducing effects of climate change, which could in turn impact on their farm produce. Speaking during a stakeholders meeting on farmers’ readiness for adaptation to climate  in agriculture, the executive director, DENIVA-Uganda, Justus Rugambwa noted that government is supplying farmers with improved seeds and breeds of animals but these have not helped improve farming practices due to ignorance on how to use these technologies. Rugambwa advises government and stakeholders to integrate indigenous knowledge with new technologies so as the country copes  with changes in climate patterns.

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