Nawangwe calls for soil mapping guide for Ugandan farmers

The vice-chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Bernabas Nawangwe, has urged agricultural researchers to spearhead the mapping of soils countrywide to guide farmers on what to plant.

"It is urgent that we map our soils, so that the farmers in every part of Uganda know which crops to grow," he said.

Nawangwe said most farmers spend money on seeds and labour, but end up with disappointing yields because they do not know that the soils cannot support the crops they are growing.

"If we map our soils well, we shall ensure that the farmers know what to grow, so that they get good yields," he said.

Nawangwe said researchers from the agricultural college at the university have innovated ways of testing soils and can easily map Uganda's soils if supported.

He made the remarks recently during the research dissemination seminar for the project on enhancing value addition on potato-sorghum enterprises for improved livelihoods in Uganda.

The project was funded by the Government through the Makerere University Research and Innovation Fund. It is aimed at improving the economic value of potato and sorghum enterprises.

Nawangwe said potato and sorghum are the main crops in south-western Uganda, but farmers' earnings from them are not satisfactory.

He said if the right interventions are made, the two crops are capable of transforming the economy.

Prof. Johnny Mugisha, the principal project investigator, said potatoes and sorghum compete for farm resources yet in terms of household food, they are neither substitutes nor complements.