Harvest Money Expo 2019: Day One

HARVEST MONEY EXPO 2019

#HarvestMoneyExpo

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4:15pm

  Parting shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4:00pm

Mutabazi urges media houses to be relevant

 

New Vision's Agnes Nantambi:

The executive director of Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) Godfrey Mutabazi has been one of the people that showed up on the first day of the Harvest Money Expo 2019.

He has asked Uganda's media houses to make themselves relevant by providing information that can transform society.

He applauded Vision Group for organizing a wonderful expo, saying Uganda's economy can be transformed through platforms like farming exhibitions.

"This is promoting our agricultural business in our country. We need this kind of exhibition to transform society because farmers need information and services," he said.

He reminded all media houses to consider providing free airtime to farmers through the use of agriculture officers such that they can be sensitised on the new technologies and new available improved crop varieties to be planted.
 
"Many media houses have forgotten about the relevant issues but now instead only engage in entertainment, which has pulled them back," said Mutabazi.

 

 

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3:45pm

The schoolgoers also around

It's a Friday - a working day - but still, the opening day has been well attended. The expectation is that Saturday (Day Two) will see an even bigger attendance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2:30pm

Harvest Money Expo: Up and about

It's a hot afternoon now but attendants are braving the heat.

Vision Group CEO Robert Kabushenga is mingling with guests around the venue.

 

 

Former agriculture minister Victoria Sekitoleko (wearing hat) is also around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uganda People's Congress (UPC) leader Jimmy Akena is armed with his camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2:00pm

Training schedule

 

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1:45pm

Filled training sessions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1:40pm

Harvest Money: Machinery

New Vision's Joshua Kato:

Have you been afraid of approaching a machine supplier to talk about acquiring a tractor for your farm? Worry not. Over 10 tractor dealers are exhibiting in Namboole. The companies include Engsol, the Cooper Motor Corporation, Mahindra, Dura Motors, NEC Tractor Project, Mas Corporation Limited, China Huangpai Machines, among others.

Currently, less than 3% of commercial farms in Uganda are mechanised compared to around 12% in Kenya, 30% in South Africa and 90% in Europe. Engsol's marketing manager, Med Mwiri, says many Ugandan farmers have not embraced mechanisation due to lack of exposure to equipment.

 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, there are an estimated 1,400 tractors in Uganda, against a basic need of about 6,000 tractors. The number may still be low, however, in the last fi ve years, there has been a big increase in the appreciation of farm machinery by farmers.

For example, in Nwoya and Amuru districts, there are large-scale cereal farms with visible mechanisation. "There is a remarkable increase in the number of tractors in the country," Mwiri says. He says they will show farmers at the expo that machinery is affordable.

"We shall exhibit tractors that are affordable to most Ugandan commercial farmers. Engsol is reducing prices so that farmers who come for the expo can have an extra incentive to buy from here," he said.

Farm equipment to be exhibited include all types of tractors, such as the walking tractors, the small 35HP, the medium size 2WD and the big 4WD tractors. There will be planters, tillers, among others.

 

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12:55pm

The full training schedule

 

 

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12:42pm

 Harvest Money Expo 2019: The sponsors


This year's main sponsor is the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands.

The other sponsors are ENGSOL, TAFE, dfcu Bank, NARO, aBi, CHAMPRISA INTERNATIONAL LTD, Adritex, msc.

 

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12:10pm

Learning from the best

Every exhibition stall is busy on a breezy hot day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11:24am

  Training sessions

The attention span in these sessions is super high.

Attendants, armed with pens and notebooks, are following keenly inside the various training rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10:53am

DUTCH VILLAGE AND BEST FARMERS 2019 LAUNCHED

The Dutch ambassador to Uganda, Henk Jan Bakker, has launched the Best Farmers 2019 competition - and also officially opened the Harvest Money Expo 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10:53am

LAUNCH OF BEST FARMERS 2019

Today, we are launching the Best Farmers competition.

This is happening at the Dutch Village, which is opposite the media centre.

 

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10:40am

Vegetable farming

Vegetable farming is a lucrative venture if a person does it well. So, this year, it is one of the trainings on offer. Scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 2:00pm, the training will be conducted by Julie Nakalanda Matovu and Jane Nalunga. Both trainers have a lot of experience in agriculture, especially simple organic practices.

 

 

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10:28am

Training sessions schedule

2:00pm-5:00pm:

Friday afternoon will have four sessions running at the same time. In one hall, there will be training on passion fruit farming, led by Bashir Mayiga, Mayiga, a large-scale passion fruit farmer, who was one of the 2016 Best Farmers. He will be supported by Charles Kigundu.

Among the things they will tell farmers is how to select the right variety and better management for good yields. There will be no repeat of this session. The other new session will be soil management, conducted by Prof. Kitungulu Zaake, a leading soil scientist.

"I will educate farmers on how soil determines their yields," he says.

He will be assisted by Julius Mabuya, another soil management expert. There will be no repeat session on soil management. At the same time, there will be a session on poultry, conducted by Robert Sserwanga, Godfrey Walusimbi and Chris Magezi. There will be a repeat of the session on Sunday morning.

There will also be a session on urban farming by Dr Diana Nambatya and Harriet Nakabaale. These will talk about how to use small spaces to practice farming, especially in Kampala. There will be no repeat of this session.

 

 

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10:25am

Training sessions schedule

9:00am-11:00am:

Today morning, four training sessions at the Harvest Money expo kick off at 9:00am. A lecture on coffee growing will be handled by Edward Ssentamu Lutakoome from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA). UCDA is the government body mandated to regulate coffee farming in the country. Ssentamu will be supported by Mathias Kasamba, a well-known coffee farmer and Patrick Makanga, another farmer from Kyotera district. "We are going to train not just the A-Z of coffee management, but also marketing of the crop," Ssentamu says.

The coffee session will be repeated on Sunday at 2:00pm. At the same time, there will be another session on piggery, which will be handled by Dr Emma Naluyima and Dr Christopher Mulindwa. These are passionate trainers with over 10 years' experience in piggery.

There will be a repeat of the training on Sunday at 2:00pm. On Saturday, there will be a fish farming training, led by Ali Kiyaga from Sanga Fish farm. Showgoers are warned that there will be no second session on the subject. At the same time, there will be a session on farm management, which will be handled by Dr Arthur Tumwine and Isaac Muhoofa. These will offer tips on why a farm must have a complete management team, a clear financial flow, keep records, as well as hire good workers. This session will be repeated on Saturday at 12:00pm.

 

 

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10:20am

Farm security, inspirational speakers

New Vision's Joshua Kato:

Among the new training sessions is farm security. Farmers make a lot of losses due to theft of their produce, which is why the training has been organised. They will be equipped with knowledge on how to curb thefts on their farms. The training will be conducted by officers from the Uganda Police's Anti Stock Theft Unit.

"We shall equip farmers with simple knowledge in marking their livestock so that they are easily identifiable," says Apollo Baaki, one of the officers to offer training on Saturday afternoon. The training starts at 2:00pm.

There are many farmers who are not sure of what they intend to do — lacking inspiration. In order to help people in this category, an inspiration talk has been scheduled at the expo. The speakers include goat farmer Grace Bwogi, as well as poultry farmers Robert Sserwanga and Prof. Diana Nambatya.

"We want to assure people that a career in farming is possible. There are many people who are stuck at crossroads, unsure of where to go next. We invite these people to come for this talk," Sserwanga says. The talk is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm.

 

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10:15am

Media centre

New Vision's Joshua Kato:

The 2019 Harvest Money Expo training sessions that kick off today have been expanded with the addition of new enterprises, compared to the 2017 and 2018 editions.

According to the organisers, the event's training programme has been planned on the basis of need and demand to enable farmers and those who desire to start a career in farming to earn and upgrade their agricultural knowledge, learn new ways, procedures and technologies in agriculture, acquire market and value-addition-related knowledge.

Showgoers will also be helped to develop knowledge, skills and abilities that will empower them. They will also be presented with knowledge and ideas to keep abreast of new agricultural techniques and concepts.

 

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10:05am

Media centre

And here is the media crew relaying what is happening at the expo, including Yours Truly, who is the man behind the phone camera :)

 

 

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9:55am

Exhibitor tips farmers

New Vision's Agnes Nantambi:

Emmanuel Asimwe is the chief executive of Integrated Agritech Uganda Limited, a company manufacturing post-harvest handling equipment. His company is among the many which are going to offer knowledge, information and technological advances to farmers during the Harvest Money Expo at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.

He believes many farmers have sacrificed a lot in agriculture, but due to lack of knowledge on post-harvest handling, many have ended up making losses.

"Many of these farmers lack networks and are ignorant of a number of issues. We wish to inform them that we supply construction, installation and maintenance of food and agro-processing machinery in particular, silos," he said.

"We attended last year's expo and we hope it was beneficial for many and us because the turnout was good. We believe much as Ugandans know much about farming, they do not know much about post-harvest management, in particular storage.

"That is the reason why we produce more crops and struggle with that yet we could actually process them into other forms of products that can support other sectors such as the feed industry for poultry," Asimwe said.

He said farmers visiting their stall would receive solutions for both small and big challenges.

 

 

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9:45am

Best suppliers and genuine seeds

Day One underway.

"We expect our visitors on today starting 6:30am. Entrance is sh10,000 for stall visitors while those wishing to train in any session will only pay sh10,000," said Joweria Nabuuma, the events manager for Vision Group.

She assures the expo-goers of the best suppliers, genuine seeds and financial institutions that can extend credit to farmers and those in the value chain on top of learning from the different sessions.

 

 

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9:30am

A tête-à-tête with Kabushenga

As mentioned earlier, Vision Group CEO Robert Kabushenga was one of the first people to arrive at Namboole this morning.

Since then, he has been warming up to the Harvest Money Expo by having a chat or two with guests who are already here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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9:15am

Finding your way in

If you are making your way to Namboole Stadium, here is a map that should make your life a bit easier.

 

 

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9:00am

Over 200 exhibitors

There are more than 200 exhibitors showcasing a wide range of farming stuff across the three days of the expo.

On top of the exhibitors, there are also many training sessions on piggery, cattle, goat rearing, etc.

 

 

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8:45am

Security guaranteed

All is set and general security is guaranteed. The men and women of the uniform are deployed at the venue to ensure that the department of security is well under control.

There is a bit of a breeze streaming through on a relatively cloudy Friday morning. Don't be deceived by the chill though - it promises to be a very hot day.

 

 

 

 

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8:27am

The early birders

Tear drops are planted along the stadium's circumference as guests saunter through the gates in twos and threes and threes. Exhibitors are also putting final touches to their stalls ahead of a busy day.

And one of the early birds is the man himself - Vision Group's chief executive, Robert Kabushenga.

I am pretty sure I spotted him already sat by the time I walked through the gate at about 6am local time.

 

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8:20am

Good morning

Welcome everyone. We are at Namboole Stadium, where the Harvest Money Expo, now even bigger this year, is taking place.

The most anticipated farming exhibition in Uganda is underway and will run for three consecutive days - Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Plenty of training sessions available as well as hundreds of exhibitions stalls to get yourself busy with.