Luweero farmers ask govt to invest in value chain systems

A section of farmer cooperative societies in the greater Luweero have blamed the low farm output and the slow progress in agriculture projects to poor investment in the value chain system.

Speaking at a dialogue in Luweero District on Friday,  more than 200 farmers from Nakasongola, Nakaseke and Luweero districts said there are many adulterated agro-inputs, including the acaricides and fertilisers on the market.

“When we fail to get good farm yields because of the poor and adulterated farm inputs, we get demoralised. We are failing to add value to the final product because the farmers are not prepared and lack the skills,” Mr Robert Mayengo, a farmer under the Kimaka Cooperative Society in Nakaseke, said.

“The government should invest in the value chain system and check the fake agro-inputs on the market. Some of the farmers have lost their respective yield after applying fake chemicals among some other agro-inputs,” he added.

Mr Mayengo said the farmers lack machinery and skills for the value chain system.

“We have the coffee beans but how do we add value to the coffee beans and find better markets for the products?’’ he asked.

Ms Jane Ssebyala, a farmer from Katuumu Village, Butumtumula Sub-county in Luweero, said the machines can be extended to the farmers at a subsidised rate. The Rev Fr Hillary Muhezangago, the Caritas director at Kasana- Luweero Diocese, advised farmers to build capacity through improving farming systems, better market strategies and evaluation processes for different projects.

“We need to advance technology in all our farming systems and embrace modern farming practices. When the extension workers do their work and the farmers embrace modern farming practices, the sector can get better,” he said.

The Luweero senior agricultural officer, Mr George William Ssemiga, said the Ministry of Agriculture has rolled out the micro-scale irrigation programme where farmers are helped to get irrigation pumps at subsidised rates.

“Both the cooperatives and individual farmers can apply for the micro irrigation systems. The farming sector can only improve when the farmers embrace modern farming projects. We have several farmers that have already applied for the irrigation pumps,” he said.

Mr Ssemiga said the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, National Drug Authority in collaboration with the Agriculture ministry have always conducted several inspections and confiscated some of the adulterated farm inputs.

“But we rally the farmers to make use of the extension staff to help identify the right farm inputs for use,” he said.

The government allocated Shs1.6 trillion for the sector this financial year with an emphasis on agriculture industrialisation.