2016 Best Farmers Competition launched

Feb 03, 2016

The best farmers share sh150m worth of farm inputs and are taken for an all-expenses paid tour to farming enterprises in the Netherlands.

 

The 2016 Vision Group National Best farmers competition has been launched in Gulu, 340km north of the capital Kampala, with a special category for women included for the first time.

The colourful event at Dr Tonny Kidega`s farm, located in a serene environment 12km northeast of Gulu municipality was presided over by Alphons Hennekens, the Ambassador of the Royal Netherlands embassy in Uganda.

Dr. Kidega, who is into dairy farming, was the best farmer in the 2015 competition.

Hennekens reiterated the embassy's commitment to sponsoring the competition and commended Vision Group for the wide publicity it has given the project over the past two years.

"We are hopeful the 2016 Best Farmers Competition will once again attract many participants from all parts of this country," Hennekens told an audience that comprised of hundreds of farmers from the northern region, journalists and representatives of the sponsoring organisations.

 rom left abushenga mbassador ennekens and ijdens sign the sponsorship agreement for the 2016 est ramers competition redit olly obius winy From left, Kabushenga, Ambassador Hennekens and Tijdens sign the sponsorship agreement for the 2016 Best Framers' competition. (Credit: Jolly Tobius Owiny)


 ere abushenga standing akimbo and other guests on a tour around idegas farm at the launch of the 2016 est ramers competition redit olly obius winy Here, Kabushenga (standing akimbo) and other guests on a tour around Kidega's farm at the launch of the 2016 Best Framers competition. (Credit: Jolly Tobius Owiny)

 

 The national best farmers competition, now running for the 3rd year, is sponsored by the Royal Netherlands embassy in Kampala, Dfcu bank, Vision Group and KLM airlines.

The best farmers, usually about 10 in total, share sh150m worth of farm inputs and are taken for an all-expenses paid tour to farming enterprises in the Netherlands.

The envoy said there was need to make agriculture more attractive especially to the youth who should not view it as an enterprise for retirement.

"Most of us tend to take farming for granted; we tend to think it is a job that can be done by anybody.

"Some people even think it is a job you settle down to do when you have failed everything else. Others think it is a job to be done after retirement. But the truth is: farming is a professional and profitable business," Hennekens said to applause from the audience.

(Details of the launch are in tomorrow's [Thursday] New Vision newspaper)

 

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