YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW; WEEKLY AGRICO NEWS Edition(IV)
AGROREF UGANDA
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW;
WEEKLY AGRICULTURE –COOPERATIVES (AGRICO) NEWS
LEST YOU FORGET; EDITION-(IV) 12th-18th Feb
2024
About AgroRef Uganda
Agriculture Reform (AgroRef) Ugandaa is a Non-Governmental and
Not-for -Profit Organization focusing on advancing agricultural policy reforms,
budget advocacy; and supporting building of systems, fostering values of
equity, accountability, transparency and sustainability of organisations especially
small holder farmer organizations including but not limited to agricultural
cooperatives using a Human Rights Based Approach.
AgroRef Uganda compiles news from different media houses and
outlets that have been published during the week and shares them with our key
stakeholders. The purpose is to keep farmers updated and informed of the
operating environment in the country.
MINISTER NABAKOOBA ORDERS ARREST OF
FOUR BUSINESSMEN OVER LAND GRABBING
The
Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms Judith Nabakooba, has
ordered the arrest of four Iganga-based businessmen for allegedly grabbing
government land where Nakalama sub-county headquarters and a seed school are
located.
The
quartet includes; Hajji Hamdan Nkobe, Said Baga, Deo Wakabi, and Muhammad
Swaga.
The Nakalama sub-county LC3 chairman, Mr Hamidu Kawanguzi, said the land
measures about 35 acres, adding that technocrats and politicians in Iganga are
said to have helped the accused to get land titles on the contested land.
Ms
Nabakooba said she learnt about this land row from area leaders, who raised a
complaint to her office that the district officials and local leaders are
conniving with land grabbers to sell off this land yet the government is
planning to develop it.
TUMWEBAZE PUSHES FOR COLLABORATIONS
WITH REGIONAL RESEARCH BODIES
The Ministry
of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries is in talks with the Association
for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA)
to collaborate in research for agriculture development.
This was
revealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Frank Tumwebaze while handing over the
chairmanship of ASARECA Council of Ministers to Kenya's Agriculture and
Livestock Development Minister, Mithika Linturi. The handover ceremony took
place on Thursday during the 3rd ASARECA Council of Patron
Minister in Nairobi in Kenya on Thursday February 15, 2024.
“We are discussing strategies of joint
collaboration in research for agriculture development and emphasizing the
importance of causing our governments to prioritize agriculture research
funding. When research is domestically funded, the correct agenda that is
relevant to problems of our communities will be set,” said Tumwebaze through
his twitter handle.
https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/tumwebaze-pushes-for-collaborations-with-regi-NV_181388
IGAD SEEK CERTIFICATION OF LIVESTOCK
MOVEMENT WITH THE REGION
Intergovernmental
Authority on Development – IGAD has urged the member states to adopt the
certification of livestock movement within and across borders, a policy already
designed for implementation by the respective countries.
The authority says with certification, this could lead to a great reduction in
crime, tame livestock exaggerated numbers, and thefts in the grazing areas or
in transit to various destinations within the IGAD countries that comprise
Uganda, Kenya, and Sudan.
Others include Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and South Sudan.
Among others, the states will be able to curb the proliferation of small arms
and light weapons in the region by registration of the animal owners, for
decades herders have been known for carrying guns for self-defence to various
borders. However, they later on sell the arms to the marauding criminals in the
region.
https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/igad-seek-certification-of-livestock-movement-NV_181364
PLANT AHEAD OF RAINS, NABBANJA TELLS
FARMERS
Prime
Minister Robinah Nabbanja has urged farmers across the country to utilise
ongoing rains by starting to plant crops.
She made the
call during plenary on Thursday, February 15, 2024. This was during the Prime
Minister’s Time segment.
“We already
have a report and the country is already aware. The report came out in January
but I think we need to do more, in using the media. I want to urge Ugandans to
start planting now. It is going to rain until May,” Nabbanja said.
She was
responding to concerns that were earlier raised by Hellen Kahunde (Kiryandongo
District Woman MP, NRM).
“We have not
received an official report from the meteorological department guiding our
farmers on what to do with the rainfall. Prime Minister, can you guide our
farmers on what to do with rainfall and also inform us of any likely effects of
such early rainfall,” Kahunde said.
TDB AND WORLD BANK TO ACCELERATE ACCESS
TO SUSTAINABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
The World
Bank has extended a facility of close to $300m to the Eastern and
Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), to support distributed
renewable energy and clean cooking private sector projects in Africa.
This new
facility follows TDB’s successful financing of innovative off-grid solar
projects in the region it serves which were financed under a groundbreaking USD
415 million World Bank Regional Infrastructure Financing Facility (RIFF)
extended to TDB in 2020.
According to
Admassu Tadesse, TDB Group President and Managing Director, African energy
demand is projected to grow rapidly alongside growth in population and income.
“There is an
acute need to boost the intermediation of financing, including concessional
finance which can be leveraged to crowd in more private capital, and make a
substantial difference towards greater access to sustainable and clean energy
in Africa,” Tadesse said.
The fund is
part of the first wave of phases of the International Development Association
(IDA) USD 5 billion ‘Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access
Transformation’ (ASCENT) programme, which is expected to provide access to
electricity for up to 100 million people in Africa over the next seven years
and contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG).
UNBS URGED TO SET STANDARDS FOR AVOCADO
OIL PRODUCTION
Processors
of avocado into oil have appealed to the Uganda National Bureau of Standards
(UNBS) to develop standards that will enable them to access regional and
international markets.
Currently,
Uganda doesn’t have standards for avocado oil, an issue which is likely to
force Ugandans to use standards from neighbouring countries.
Apart from
standards, the processors also said that the existing standard uses obsolete
methods, which involve those that have been banned.
NARO’S FISHERIES INSTITUTE GETS AU
EXCELLENCE NOD
The
Fisheries Institute of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO)
has been designated by the African Union (AU) as an African Centre of
Excellence for research and training in Aquaculture, Inland Capture Fisheries,
and Climate Change.
The
National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), located in Jinja
with a satellite Aquaculture Research and Development Institute at Kajjansi,
was bestowed with this recognition during the AU’s second general assembly of
the Aquaculture Network for Africa (ANAF) held in Naivasha, Kenya, between
January 15 to 17, 2024.
INSPECTION OF PLANTING MATERIALS UNDERWAY FOR 2024
PLANTING SEASON
As
part of the preparation for the upcoming planting season that is expected to
begin in March 2024, the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS)
working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)
and technical staff from the District Local Governments has conducted an
inspection and verification exercise for planting materials (seed and
seedlings).
The
exercise is intended to assure the quality of the planting materials to be
delivered and distributed to beneficiary farmers.
In the
current Financial Year 2023/24, the NAADS secretariat received funds for the
procurement and distribution of Soybean seed, cashew nuts, Hass Avocado and
Macadamia seedlings.
ENTEBBE FISHERIES INSTITUTE GETS POWER SYSTEM WORTH
SH600M
A
solar-powered water pumping and lighting system, valued at shillings 600
million has been commissioned at the Fisheries Training Institute in
Entebbe.
The system is expected to act as an alternative solution to the high costs of
power and water that the institute has been grappling with.
According to institute principal Ofwono Osinde, before the installation of the
facilities, the institute was paying close to shillings of 3.6 million per
month on water bills and three million on electricity.
UGANDA AT THE FOREFRONT OF COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE
The
increasing climatic changes are pushing Uganda deeper into research for
solutions. Usually, the month of December marks the start of the dry season,
2023 was different as it was characterised by floods and landslides resulting
from heavy rains. This unusual weather pattern is one of the effects of climate
change – characterised by extreme weather conditions.
According to Bob Natifu, the Assistant Commissioner of the Climate Change
Department in the Ministry of Water and Environment, the effects of climate
change in Uganda are increasingly becoming severe, affecting both people and
environment.
https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/agriculture/uganda-at-the-forefront-of-combating-climate-NV_181036
MP APPEALS TO GOVT OVER GOLDEN DODDER WEED
West Budama
South MP Emmanuel Otaala Otiam has appealed to the agriculture ministry to
quickly find a solution to the threat posed by the Golden Dodder weed.
The weed is a yellowish-orange thread-like vine that grows over leaves,
branches, and stems of plants in an entangled web, smothering plants,
especially fruit trees, and destroying wetlands in parts of Uganda, especially
eastern Uganda.
Also known as Cuscuta campestris, the Golden Dodder is a parasitic, leafless,
vine with thread-like yellow to orange stems that twine around the host plant
and attach by suckers (haustoria) to remove nutrients. The tiny, white-to-cream
flowers are in dense clusters. Each flower (only 2-4 mm long) is bell-shaped,
5-lobed, and has 5 stamens.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Otaala said there’s a need for the
agriculture ministry to assess the situation, and to strengthen the regulatory
mechanisms to prevent the infiltration of such plants into the country.
AFRICAN COFFEE PRODUCING COUNTRIES URGED TO ADD VALUE TO
COFFEE EXPORT
While
specialty coffee from Africa is gaining popularity among consumers across the
world, officials of the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) have urged
African coffee traders to boost value-added coffee export, and cease export of
unprocessed coffee to the international market.
The remark
came during the 20th African Fine Coffees Conference and Exhibition and the
First African Coffee Week that took place from Feb. 6 to 10 in Addis Ababa, the
capital of Ethiopia, with the aim of advocating the export of value-added
coffee from Africa.
The event
has brought together more than 800 regional and international coffee roasters,
traders, producers, buyers and professionals to discuss policies,
sustainability, access to finance and international market regarding coffee
industry.
SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES CALL FOR STRONGER
AGRIBUSINESS VALUE CHAINS
The main
source of foreign cash needed by Uganda, which is related to fuel and oil, is probably
going to keep putting pressure on the local currency and, consequently, the
economy, which is of great concern to small and medium-sized businesses.
"Global
crude oil prices should not move upwards, even as Kenya continues to disrupt
earlier plans by the Uganda National Oil Company UNOC to undertake direct
importation of the essential fuel products using Vitol," says
Executive Director John Walugembe of the Federation of Small and Medium
Enterprises.
Presidential
signing of the Petroleum Supply (Amendment) Act, 2023 into law took place last
year. This law will give the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) exclusive
rights to import petroleum products into the country.
It was
expected that UNOC would buy fuel from Vitol EC Bahrain. UNOC had approached
Vitol to propel a $500 billion enterprise that they think can provide
$2.2 billion to buy the 2.5 billion liters of refinery fuel meant for Uganda.
Since then,
Kenya's government has put a stop to the agreement, raising concerns that it
will deprive the country of $385 million in investment in Kipevu Oil Terminal 2
in Mombasa, which opened last year, and $170 million in gasoline jetty in
Kisumu.
SMALL BUSINESSES CRY FOUL OVER EAC PAYMENT SYSTEM
Small
businesses have attributed their apathy towards the East African Payment System
(EAPS) to its focus on high-value transactions between commercial banks,
locking them out. They say that the system, in its current format, is a
deterrent to cross-border interoperability of digital payments.
“This is a
missed opportunity because micro entrepreneurs, 70 percent of whom are women,
are the backbone of East Africa’s economy. Their limited digitalisation is
hindering financial inclusion-commerce and cross-border trade in the region,”
Netherlands-based think-tank European Centre for Development Policy Management
(ECDPM) says in a discussion paper dated October 2023.
According to
ECDPM, which is working on international co-operation and development policy in
Europe and Africa, the EAPS is facing low uptake from regional governments, and
this is hindering seamless digital payments interoperability — the ability of
systems to exchange information and work together in a coordinated manner
without end user’s involvement.
“EAPS, which
is designed as a real time gross settlement system facilitates high-value
transfers of money or securities between different banks in the region but is
unattractive for mobile network operators and unsuitable for most mobile money
transactions which tend to be low in value,” it says in the paper titled
RELIEF FOR FARMERS AS KENYA RESUMES AVOCADO EXPORTS
Avocado
exports from Kenya will resume in two weeks, ending a four-month suspension
imposed by the Agricultural Food Authority (AFA).
The ban,
which was initiated by the Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) in November
last year to ensure the maturity and quality of exported fruit, will be lifted
on March 1.
However, the
sea exports of Fuerte and Hass varieties will remain restricted to size code 20
(184 grams) until the open export window begins.
The
government had suspended the export of Hass, Pinkerton, Fuerte, and Jumbo
avocado varieties by sea, opting for air transport for restricted small
quantities to prevent the export of unripe fruit that had previously tarnished
Kenya's reputation in international markets.
The decision
to lift the suspension followed avocado field surveys conducted by the AFA
between January 7 and 12, to assess the maturity and volume of fruit in key
production areas across the country.
UGANDA SIGNS $400M DEAL FOR GREEN HYDROGEN FERTILISER
PLANT
Uganda's
Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa on Thursday signed a joint development
agreement with Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) and Westgass International
for a green hydrogen fertiliser plant.
The plant
will be strategically located at Karuma, Kiryandogo District, within Bunyoro
sub-region to leverage its proximity with the 600 megawatts Karuma hydropower
plant.
According to
Ms Nankabirwa, the significance of the project extends far beyond the realms of
agriculture.
She said the
project aims to reduce the country's dependence on imported fertilisers,
therefore strengthening economic resilience and sovereignty with an estimated
investment of about $400 million (Ush1.55 trillion).
It is our cardinal duty to contribute to a
Uganda where everyone eats enough, nutritious and healthy food.
Have a blessed week.
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