One of them is through horticulture and floriculture which takes little space and yet the product is commercialised for purposes of earning revenue. The Assistant farm manager at Muarik, Chrysostm Tweyambe says the population globally has realised that floriculture farm products are good for beautifying and preserving the environment, therefore, a need for more farmers to get involved in this type of farming.
One of the flower gardens at University Agricultural Research Institute, Kabanyolo. Floriculture, an agricultural sector that has not been much exploited in Uganda could create employment and bring in revenue for the country. PHOTO BY LOMINDA AFEDRARU
|
According to Mr Tweyambe, a number of farmers living in and around Kabanyolo village team up with the institute to buy flower species which they plant on their farms. Ms Regina Nakinga, a crop scientist in charge of the flower sector says most farmers who have taken on this project do it particularly for business. She cites one Matia Wadri, a resident of Gayaza who is planting flowers on small scale and supplying them mainly to clients during wedding ceremonies.
According to Ms Nakinga, flower growing at Muarik does not require the use of chemicals because most of the species are grown using stem cuttings. Flower growing involves both artificial and natural process of raising the species. In the natural process, the flowers are raised by stem cutting, which are placed in basins of water for about one week. They are then transferred to the rooting hormones where the stems are placed in saw dust contained in a pot and after two weeks they are taken to the field for planting. Most African countries, Uganda inclusive, have of recent embarked on investing in flower growing to earn foreign revenue. The flower sector in the country has demonstrated dynamic growth with 26 flower farms emerging as of now and employing about 10,000 casual labourers.
However, despite the fact that most African countries involved in this venture are aiming at increased revenue collection from the sector, majority of the farms are owned by foreign investors. In a bid to promote flower growing, trade unions and workers organisations in seven different African countries, Uganda inclusive come in partnership with International Union of Food (IUF), among others to run a three year project aimed at organising the workers in the flower business for negotiating collective bargaining on their working conditions.
Ms Sue Longley, the international coordinator of the project says in 1996 when she came to Uganda on a mission of organising workers in the agricultural sector, trade union leaders requested her to put emphasis on the flower sector since it is a business-oriented sector that could bring revenue to the country. The Executive Director of IUF for African region, Ms Hella Alikuru says in Uganda the project is going to raise awareness amongst flower workers; there will be improved conditions of work ranging from wages as well as health and safety conditions. The project will also help address the issue of disposal of containers which contain chemicals that are usually sprayed in the flower farms.
She says the farm owners will be required to destroy these containers and bury them underground. According to Ms Alikuru, if the workers acquire enough knowledge about the sector, this will lead to improved quality of the flower production which will enable Uganda compete with other countries in the world market. Kenya is the leading exporter in the flower growing sector in Africa and Uganda is coming up drastically most especially on rose flower species.
