'Lack of data on soils hurting Uganda''s production'

By Prossy Nandudu

ENTEBBE - The minister of agriculture animal industry and fisheries has said the lack of information on the productivity and performance of Ugandan soils is undermining government's plan of increasing agriculture production.

Minister Tress Buchanayandi said government wanted to increase productivity by dividing the country into productive agriculture zones but that this has not been possible due to lack of information on the productivity of local soils.

Currently, identification of productive areas and their soils is conducted physically and this does not provide enough data about the soils in those locations.

"At the moment, we do more of the observation of the area and its yields. If the plants are doing well then we assume the soils are fertile, which not the case is,” said the minister.

“Researched and scientifically analyzed information on the soils will give us the nutritional content of the soils and more information apart from the fertility which is considered most by many farmers.”

Information on the acidity, nutritional content, minerals, living organisms and other essential contents of the soil that favor plant growth is missing, Buchanayandi underlined.

He made these revelations while meeting a team of researchers from the African Innovation Institute and Conservation Trust who called on him at his office in Entebbe earlier this week.
 

Planting of sweet potatoes. Little is known about the productivity and performance of Ugandan soils

Data made available to farmers

The team is promoting an agriculture information system through the Vital Signs programme that will conduct a comprehensive research on soils – by collecting and integrating information on water availability and quality, soil health, biodiversity, crop yields from all parts of Uganda.

Dr. Sandy Andelman, the executive director of Vital Signs and Chief Scientist at Conservation International, said the information generated will be made more relevant by making it available to farmers.

"Collected and analyzed information will be made available to the ministry of agriculture which will distribute to help plan for sustainable agricultural by improving livelihoods while maintaining soil productivity and protecting natural resources that people depend on like water.”

The chief researcher said farmers will use the information to make better decisions while investing in agriculture and conserve the environment.

Dr. George William Otim, the executive director of the African Innovations Institute, explained that they came up with the innovation after observing that the fertility of Uganda’s soils is reducing every year due to soil exhaustion.

He said that they are already training field officers who will start the data collection in March this year such that by the end of 2015, they will have ready information for planning purposes.