Make farming easy through technology
A sweet potato farmer places vines that he multiplies for other farmers in a screen house. End-user preferences are important to consider in selecting and breeding sweet potato varieties. PHOTO BY FRED MUZAALE
What you need to know:
- We must also quicken the process of agricultural services extension services by taking advantage of digital information devises such as the smart phone for quick communication.
We marked World Food Day last Saturday, at the time in the history of farming when we are struggling to cope with the effects of climate change and when, due to population explosion, we have a bigger demand for food.
About 60 percent of households in Uganda depend on farming for their food and income.
Yet due to pests, crop diseases, and erratic extreme weather conditions the country is facing food insecurity. The pace of our agricultural growth is not keeping up with our population growth.
We must scale up delivery of modern and climate-smart farming practices to the farmers.
We must also quicken the process of agricultural services extension services by taking advantage of digital information devises such as the smart phone for quick communication.
Our farmers should be helped to access digital information and to use digital devises to communicate.
It must have been in this spirit that on October, 8, 2021 bean farmers’ agents operating under Community Enterprises Development Organisation (CEDO) gathered in Masaka City to be updated on digital technology to ease business transactions.
The farmers were drilled on how to use the Mastercard Farmer Network (MFN) App on their smart phones to get service requests such as accessing Seed Credit and pesticide loans and to send information very quickly to farmers’ organisations leaders regarding any issues in their work.
Mr Billy Kayemba, a bean farmer in Lyantonde District, says he has been using his smart phone to share pictures of pest damage with fellow farmers and agricultural services extension officers and that he has often received help and advice.
Ms Gloria Namubiru, an agricultural officer attached to CEDO, says: “The MFN system quickly informs us about the farmers and the state of their farms without us physically visiting them, which reduces operation costs. We get to know their bank accounts and mobile money numbers. We come to know their bean variety, the anticipated quality and the expected harvest date. This enables us to plan better and to make prompt payments. It also helps to keep farmers records in digital form. We want to move from paper work to digital platforms.”
Mr Michael Ssali is a veteran journalist,
[email protected]
