The fight against fake agro chemicals

On Monday, July, 17, at the Uganda Media Centre, the Minister of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) Frank Tumwebaze announced the appointment of a committee on the effectiveness of agrochemicals and animal health products in Uganda.

Increase production

Tumwebaze said the ministry is committed to increase agricultural production and productivity. He also said the ministry wants to increase agro-processing and value addition, to increase market access and competiveness of agricultural products locally and internationally.  He further said there is need to increase mobilisation, access, and utilisation of agricultural finance. He went on to disclose that much as the ministry is committed to achieving the objectives there is little progress being made and that the discussion at centre stage in the public domain right now is on the efficacy and genuineness of agro-chemicals.

Agro-chemical regulation

“What is the problem?” he asked. “Is it the quality of drugs? Is it because of weak government regulation of agro-chemicals? Are fake drugs being dumped into the market? Is it an issue of poor application of the agro-chemicals by the farmers? Is it resistance to the available drugs or a combination of some or all of the mentioned problems?”

Taskforce

To get answers to the questions is the reason he came up with the committee headed by Prof John David Kabaasa of Makerere University, composed of eminent science professionals and practitioners and one lawyer.

It is expected to start work when Covid-19 pandemic regulations are eased and to make a report within ninety days. Its terms of reference include studying and profiling various agro-chemicals, acaricides, and inputs that are on market in Uganda and their various sources. The committee will also study and profile the supply chains of agro-chemicals and acaricides.

It will further study and inquire into the complaints by farmers regarding the quality of agro-chemicals. It will in addition study and review the appropriateness of the current government policies, institutional mandates and regulatory frameworks for agro-chemicals, acaricides, and inputs before making recommendations for reforms to be discussed by the cabinet.

Mixed reactions from Naro

The formation of this committee by Tumwebaze has however drawn different reactions from observers and stakeholders many of whom think it is not really necessary.

Dr Andrew Kiggundu, a prominent researcher at National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) thinks that the committee has been appointed to find solutions that were already found.

“If you are talking about increasing agricultural production and productivity you have to look at the destruction that pests and diseases have caused to crops such as cotton, cassava, bananas, Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes, among others,” he told Seeds of Gold in a phone interview. “The big surprise is that the minister did not take any trouble to talk to Naro yet we have the solutions to most of the issues that he raised.”

Naro is mandated to conduct research on all farmed plants, animals, and birds in the country with a view to increase quality, production, and productivity as well as to fight parasites, pests, and diseases that undermine agricultural production.

Kiggundu has further said, “Not all challenges facing agriculture today can be overcome by agro-chemicals. The minister has appointed people that will most probably give him solutions obtained from the reports and recommendations that we have made.”

He attributed the said ineffectiveness of agro-chemicals to the collapse of the extension services in the ministry of agriculture. “Where the few agricultural extension staff exists, they are poorly facilitated and farmers are left to work on their own, using agro-chemicals without technical guidance, hence the general mess in their application across the country.”

Only 23 per cent of farmers in Uganda have received training in pesticide use such as proper application techniques, storage, and safety measures, according to studies made by Pesticide Use, Health and Environment Project and Uganda National Association of Community and Occupational Health and whose results were released in 2019.

In its report dated June 23, 2017 the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) relates agro-chemicals misuse to soil depletion and human health problems. It said: “Mindless use of agro-chemicals leads to soil pollution. Excess nitrogen and trace metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury can impair plant metabolism and cut crop productivity, ultimately putting pressure on arable land. When they enter the food chain, such pollutants also pose risks to food security, water resources, rural livelihoods and human health.”

Mr Arthur Makara, a crop scientist and Commissioner in the Ministry of Science and Technology, has said, “The minister’s appointment of the committee to probe the usage of agro-chemicals and why agricultural production is slow is a clear indication that the government does not trust its own scientists at Naro.” “If you train your own scientists, give them the tools and equipment to do research, then you should be able to trust the results they present to you. Most of the issues holding back agricultural production in Uganda have been researched on by Naro and it has the answers. Why now go into a probe of agro-chemicals which are not even manufactured in Uganda?”

Danger

Like Dr Kiggundu, Makara is also of the view that not all agricultural challenges Uganda is facing can be overcome by using agro-chemicals.

Because of our geographical location between the tropics farming is a constant battle with a wide variety of pests and diseases.

The East African climate is well suited to the well-being and multiplication of pests and parasites. And with the arrival of climate change the pests and parasites have spread to areas where they were unknown before.

We now host even new pests that have no chemical cure and have made production of some crops really difficult. Cassava which is a major food crop is being wiped out by two incurable diseases ---- cassava brown streak disease and cassava mosaic. Banana which is another important food crop is being killed off by the incurable banana bacterial wilt. Production of crops such as cotton and Irish potatoes has become too costly because of the African boll worm and potato blight which require a lot of pesticides to fight.

Maize is under attack by the army fall worm and other pests. Long droughts have complicated production of maize, beans, and many of our other food crops.

Writing in the Daily Monitor on October 9 2015, Dr Wilberforce Tushemeirwe, of Naro, said, “The big population increase is set to dramatically raise the demand for food supplies. Yet our food crops are facing extinction and there are no known ways of effectively dealing with the new pests and diseases other than the use of biotechnology.”

How Naro is fighting diseases 

Anybody who has visited Naro institutions such as Namulonge, Kawanda, Serere, Kachwekano and others has seen demonstration gardens of crops that are resistant or tolerant to diseases.  At Kawanda, there is a garden of bananas that are resistant to banana bacterial wilt. At Namulonge Naro has also developed cassava that is resistant to cassava brown streak disease and cassava mosaic.

Naro has also come up with cotton resistant to the African boll worm. There also crops such as maize and beans that are drought tolerant. Naro is only waiting for government approval to give out the crop varieties to farmers to grow.

Committee’s tasks

The committee will study and profile the supply chain of agrochemicals, acaricides and inputs in Uganda with a view to establish existing gaps and loopholes in policy, regulatory frameworks and usage.