Fake products impounded

As farmers prepare for the planting season, there are increasing worries of fake agricultural chemicals, expired seeds and drugs that are no longer being used because of their devastating effects on crops and human life. Mr Hussein Ntuyo of Bukanka village in Iganga district says, “We used to buy chemicals but they were not effective and some seeds couldn’t yield as expected.” The Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries says that traders take advantage of the ignorance of farmers and their poverty to cheat them by selling fake agricultural chemicals to them that affect crop productivity. Because of this, inspectors from the crop protection department at the agriculture ministry have shifted the national crack down on fake, expired drugs and chemicals from Kampala to Eastern Uganda where they have impounded various fake products in different districts in Eastern Uganda.

The operation, which took place in the districts of Bukwo, Jinja, Kamuli, Kaliro, Iganga, Bugiri, Busia, Tororo, Butalegya, Bukwo, Kapchwora, Namutumba, Mayuge and Budaka was headed by Joseph Bazaale, the Principal Agricultural Inspector at the National Seed Certification Services at the Ministry of Agriculture. Mr Bazaale said that most of the chemicals and drugs that were impounded were either not registered, expired or were scrapped off the marketing list because of their devastating effects.“We have trained and sensitised traders in various parts of the country about the proper handling of such chemicals for their own good,” he said.

Bazaale explained that some chemicals were dangerous to both the crops and human beings while the fake seeds affect productivity causing losses to poor farmers cheated by the stockiest. Among chemicals impounded was stomp, empty packing papers and bottles because traders put in diesel and paraffin to defraud ignorant poor farmers. Other confiscated drugs were Dithane M45, used on tomatoes, which has not been manufactured for some years. Bazaale advised traders that rather than selling fake products, they should register with the Ministry to learn repackaging processes because traders are expected to only have registered drugs and chemicals by the ministry.