Small-scale farmers have asked the Government to invest more funds in post-harvest handling and storage facilities.

According to the farmers, many people involved in farming have faced losses, especially during bumper harvests, due to a lack of proper storage facilities for surplus produce.

Small“We urge the Government to consider investing more resources in post-harvest handling and storage facilities for better management of their produce,” Hakim Baliraine, the Chairperson of the Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF-Uganda), said.

The farmers want the Government to allocate more funding to seed management by supporting the farmer-managed seed system and community seed banks.

The call by farmers comes at a time when the South Sudanese Government blocked Uganda’s maize from going to South Sudan, saying it has aflatoxins, which are mainly caused by poor post-harvest handling.

For improved agricultural production, the Government has allocated sh2.2 trillion for food security, irrigation, climate change mitigation, value chain development, agriculture research, and disease control in the budget for the 2023–2024 financial year.

Responding to the budgetary allocations for the agricultural sector, the small-scale farmers highlighted several priority areas that they said have been underfunded and ignored by the Government.

“The Government should increase funding for an extension to meet the demands for the extension to cater for transport facilitation, recruitment, training, and equipping of extension workers for improved extension service delivery,” Margaret Masudro, a member of ESAFF-Adjumani district, said.

Addressing journalists in Kampala on Friday, the small-scale farmers want the Government to build the capacity of extension workers along with farmers’ initiatives like the farmer field schools that support small-scale farmers’ extension.

Irrigation

They also want the Government to establish valley dams to promote irrigation, since drip irrigation is limited to crops like tomatoes and other vegetables.

The farmers also appealed to the Government to allocate more funds for boosting agriculture credit facilities for small-scale farmers’ production and productivity.

“The Government also needs to allocate more funds to community-based financial institutions to ensure access to cheap credit and construct fruit processing factories in all regions, especially in the northern and eastern regions, to minimize wastage and support value addition,” Masudro said.

In their statement, the farmers want the Government to allocate more funds to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as by building on the tree planting across the country and restoring the encroached wetlands, among other natural resources.

According to the farmers, Uganda’s food security and rural development depend on its large number of small; scale farmers, hence the need to invest in the sector.

“The 2023–2024 national budget shows relative support for citizens, notably small-scale farmers recovering from COVID-19. This budget supports the transition from a raw materials-based economy to a manufacturing and knowledge-based one, but allocation to human development is constrained,” Baliraine said.

The small-scale farmers appealed to the Government to promote agro-ecology investment, which they said is needed to promote value addition, business growth, and employment creation for the youth, women, and all Ugandans.

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija last month presented to the country a sh52.7 trillion budget for the 2023–2024 financial year.

The theme for the budget is the full monetization of Uganda’s economy through commercial agriculture, industrialization, expanding and broadening services, digital transformation, and market access.

However, to achieve its aspirations for the national budget, the farmers advised the Government to extensively address persistent corruption, late fund disbursement, and limited balanced community partnership.