Vegetable farmers have been advised to test soils before opening the fields for planting.

According to agriculture experts, soil testing helps farmers understand the fertility of the land and make choices on whether to use manure and measure the number of fertilisers one needs for their land.

“If you are planting without knowing the type of soil you’re using, you are going to lose money. If you are doing agriculture as a business, make sure that before you plant, you know the type of your soil to avoid loses,” Joseph Male, an expert in vegetable farming and director Avail, told farmers at the Harvest Money Expo on Saturday.

The expo was organised by Vision Group in partnership with the Dutch Embassy, Ministry of Agriculture, Engsol, Bella Wines, TAFE, Pepsi, Uganda Warehouse Receipt System Authority, Prudential, Champrisa International Ltd and Conversion Feeds Ltd.

Male said soil testing improves yields and profitability since the farmer provides the necessary nutrients needed for the growth of the crops.

He added that soil testing also increases the consistency of nutrient availability across a field and uniform growth of crops on the farm.

Male noted that because of failure to test soils, farmers have ended up using too much or too little fertiliser on their crops, which affects yields.

“You don’t need a lot of money to carry out soil testing. For example, you need only sh50,000 to do soil testing on a one-acre piece of land,” Male said.

The farmers were also advised to do away with seasonal farming and embrace irrigational for sustainable crop production.

Male said it is old-fashioned farming for a commercial farmer to depend on rainwater despite the introduction of modern farming methods.

“Don’t depend on water from rain yet you are doing farming as a business. Water for production is not about rain, invest in innovative ways of harvesting water for the proper growth of your crops,” he advised.

The farmers were also, during a session on vegetable farming, taken through modern types of farming such as greenhouse farming as opposed to open field farming.

Male implored farmers to embrace greenhouse farming which he said is cost-effective and limits the spread of pests and diseases.

“With greenhouse farming everything is more automatic and organised. There is protection of crops and steady production throughout the year,” he said He said greenhouse farming favours all farmers, especially those with small pieces of land, and those practising urban farming.

The farmers were skilled in fruits and vegetable farming.

The demand for fruits and vegetables has been associated with better health to prevent lifestyle diseases.

According to the Centre for Agriculture Biosciences (CABI), 89% of Ugandans consume vegetables accounting for 63.5kg per year against the recommended 149kg per year per person.

Use of pesticides

Farmers were also tipped on the rightful use of chemicals (pesticides) for the control and prevention of pests and diseases in crops.

Speaking during a session on horticulture which involves the growing of crops such as pawpaws, citrus, mangoes, pineapples, tomatoes, onions, pepper, cabbages and bananas among others, Wilfred Thembo Mwesigwa an agricultural expert, advised farmers to be cautious of the pesticides they spray on their crops.

According to Mwesigwa, fraudsters import already made and labelled tins for genuine pesticides and fill them with counterfeit pesticides which are then sold to unsuspecting farmers.

Mwesigwa also appealed to farmers to take extra caution when buying chemicals for crops, saying some chemicals are wrongly used.

“Every chemical has a label. Let us read these labels carefully and know how to use the chemicals and what to use them for,” he advised.

He also urged the farmers to avoid spraying chemicals on crops a few hours to harvest of the crops, saying such chemicals are harmful to human life.

Mwesigwa noted that some Ugandan crops were being rejected on the international market because of chemicals being used during crop production.