With less than a month left before the deadline, Tayebwa revealed that he will be traveling to Brussels next week with five other committee members as part of the EU-Africa Joint Parliamentary Assembly to negotiate an extension.
Oliver Kishelo, a coffee and matooke farmer from Bulambuli, expressed concern over government policies that allow counterfeit agricultural inputs on the market. She noted that many food crops grown with inorganic fertilizers lack the natural taste and aroma that consumers expect.
"Despite being associated with backwardness and primitivity, indigenous crops are the best in addressing the challenge of food insecurity, and produce all year round... hybrid seeds are expensive yet can't be stored for long in case of low market price."
The facility at the border between the sub-counties of Rupa and Katikekile was developed under the Pastoral Livelihood Resilience Programme to boost the trade between Karamojong and the Turkana of Kenya.
The farmers say that they are facing starvation after investing all their resources to plant the sorghum that is taking too long to get ready for harvest. They added that all their colleagues who plated the local variety are already harvesting and experiencing better yields.
During the launch of the 30th edition of the annual Agricultural Show at the Uganda National Farmers’ Federation (UNFFE) offices in Kampala, farmers emphasized the need for strategic investment in the limited budget.
Dr Paul Okullo, the Nabuin Zonal Agricultural Research Institute Director said that the idea of walking tractors was conceived after realizing that most farmers had less than five acres of land which is not cost-effective for big tractors.
As per the consent judgment, it was recognized that the number of tea seedlings estimated to have been planted in the specified districts amounted to 106,640,606, valued at Shillings 42,656,242,400. Of this, Shillings 8,237,098,116 had already been paid to eligible nursery bed operators, and NAADS committed Shillings 7,118,326,249 for payment.
Vincent Mugisha, the Ibanda District Surveillance Officer, says that they received information from the in-charge of Kicence Health Center III about two people presenting with symptoms of anthrax. He says that three more cases were reported at Keihagara Health Center with similar symptoms.
At a post-budget meeting where the Economic Policy Research Center released their report assessing of the FY2023/24 agro-industrialization programme budget towards provision of agricultural extension, Lawrence Kasenge who heads the agriculture desk in Ministry of Finance admitted that extension services were not budgeted for.
Initially, it was a role of women and children to carry out farm activities while the men were either in the kraals looking after livestock or resting under the trees as they waited for meals.
But with the current insecurity that resulted in the loss of animals, the men have resolved to join their women in the gardens to produce food for sustaining the family.
The 1.5 square kilometre valley dam is being constructed through the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the strategic plan to address water challenges and improve the food value chain and commercial agriculture in Teso and Karamoja. The facility is expected to provide water for livestock and crop resources in the area.
Abdu Mugisha, a senior agro-business officer in the MAAIF and a technical person in the FIEFOC-2 project, said they are creating awareness among farmers on where they can access different services, and the district production department will be the coordinating center for these market linkages.
Peste des petits ruminants – PPR, a viral disease closely related to rinderpest virus affecting goats and sheep is characterized by fever, wounds on the goats, flu and diarrhea which led to death of animals.
According to the Ministry, the field survey findings will help them in planning for an effective intervention plan depending on the level of disease spread.
Luwero district is experiencing heavy downpours, albeit after a prolonged dry spell. However, according to research, such changes in weather patterns, often come with an increase in moths, aphids, mites and blossom weevils.
The farmers argue that the idea of bankrolling each parish Savings, Credit Cooperatives Societies (SACCOs) with 30 million shillings to be used in addressing individual challenges of each of the benefiting individuals, is likely to cause less impact on the lives of farmers.
Robert Sande Mubiru, another farmer planted maize on five acres of land at Shillings 1.7 million. However, his garden has withered by the time our reporter visited the garden.
