Farmers hold organic farming caravan

At least 50 farmers drawn from across the country drove through the districts of Wakiso, Luweero, Kayunga, and Buikwe to learn about organic farming from those already involved in the production, value addition, agro-input supply and agro-processing.

The participants were learning about sustainable farming systems while calling on authorities to protect farmers by ending the widespread use of chemicals in agriculture production.

Abdul Karim, the proprietor of Sulma Farm in Luweero District, who for more than 20 years has been exporting dried pineapples to Japan as well as fresh avocado, bananas and jack fruits to the Middle East, said organic farming is the acceptable standard for exports.

The major challenge for organic farmers is how to control pests and diseases. Sulma Farm tackles it through such practices such as eco management, soil management and application of bio pesticides.

“The market requires more organic products and we are encouraging farmers to embrace it because that is where the market is going. Whatever we are producing can be bought so long as it is the right quality,” Karim told Seeds of Gold.

He said that farmers need to be educated on organic production in order to be able to produce superior quality to be able to compete with other producers.

The farmer said that organic products earn more on the market and keen farmers need to embrace it. 

Inaction
Ezra Kalule, Pelum Uganda knowledge officer for organic agriculture, who are promoting the farmers caravan as a means of raising awareness among smallholder farmers, said they are disappointed by the seeming inaction of the government to destructive farming practices.

The group’s investigation shows inorganic production is not only dangerous to the soil health but also to farmers.

“We want to remind people to farm sustainably. Our farmers need to be made aware of the advantages of going organic instead of following the agro mafia who are parading GMO to perish indigenous seeds. With inorganic farm produce, they cannot compete with the rest of the producers on the world market and they will not consume healthy food,” said Kalule.

The Knowledge Hub for Organic Agriculture in Eastern Africa (KHEA), and Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture in Africa (KCOA) project, which is funded by GIZ, works to stimulate debate, understanding, and appreciation of organic farming practices to strengthen food systems that care about consumer health and improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

The four-day caravan climaxed with the launch of the Continental Digital Knowledge platform.

Diversity
Organic farming is desired for export markets. Its major challenge is the control of pests and diseases. Consumers of organics care about organic basic values, the values of: sufficient, healthy and sustainable food supplies.