AGRICULTURE | MINISTRY | FARMERS

KAMPALA - The agriculture ministry, through the Multisectoral Food Security and Nutrition Project, is teaching showgoers how to add value to bio-fortified food crops like iron-rich beans and zinc, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes among others to address the nutrition challenges in the country. 

The initiative, according to the ministry, is to increase production and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods and utilisation of community-based nutrition services for smallholder farmers. 

For farmers interested in accessing agriculture machinery, the ministry through the department of Agriculture Mechanisation and Engineering is showcasing tractors including those that can be accessed by smallholder farmers, with between one to three acres of land. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

Show-goers will learn how to grow some of the selected products, but also add value to them. 

The ministry is using the Harvest Money expo to teach about the best processing and farming practices. Farmers are learning how to process beans, and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes in addition to blending them with other food items to increase the nutritional value of food items, explained Moses Kajangu from the Project. 

Festo Obonyo from the mechanisation unit explained that the technologies being exhibited will support farmers increase production.

They will also be trained on best farming methods. Under livestock, farmers coming to the expo are learning the importance of artificial insemination and how to administer it. 

Agriculture machinery 

For those interested in accessing agriculture machinery, the ministry through the department of Agriculture Mechanisation and Engineering is showcasing tractors including those that can be accessed by smallholder farmers, with between one to three acres of land. 

To hire this particular tractor, a farmer or farmer group has to part with sh40,000 per acre.

Festo Obonyo from the mechanisation unit explained that the technologies being exhibited will support farmers increase production. For example, the walking tractors, that consume three liters of diesel per acre will reduce the time spent using oxen ploughs, which if hired could take up to three days to clear a one-acre piece of land. 

In terms of maintenance Obonyo added that although the tractors are manufactured in Thailand, they are assembled in Namanve, which makes it easy to access spare parts when the need arises. 

To hire this particular tractor, a farmer or farmer group has to part with sh40,000 per acre.

For large-scale, farmers, the four-wheeled tractor is being recommended and these are stationed at the National and Regional Mechanisation centres across the country. 

To hire this particular tractor, a farmer or farmer group has to part with sh40,000 per acre, while water bourses that support irrigation are hired at sh100,000 per day and for the excavators, one has to part with sh60,000 per hour, explained Obonyo. 

He, however, clarified that this is accessed at the regional and national levels. “Fuel costs are met by the farmer,” he added. 

Water bourses that support irrigation are hired at sh100,000 per day.

Seeds 

Previously foundation seed which is the first seed that seed companies access from breeders at a research station, multiply and is certified by the National Seed Certification services, was accessed by only farmers. At the Expo individual farmers will also access this seed, also known as first-generation seed to maximize their yields. 

The seed that is being exhibited by NARO holdings, a commercial arm of the National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) include beans, soybeans, rice, cassava cuttings, sunflower, sesame, ground nuts and maize. 

For the excavators, one has to part with sh60,000 per hour.

They will also learn about that are being offered in the National Animal Genetics Resource Center and Data bank for those interested in livestock, the National 

Other technologies that will be showcased to farmers include silk farming, beekeeping, urban farming, production of indigenous vegetables, and dairy value addition, among others.