LEST YOU FORGET, WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES Edition (X) 2024
AGROREF UGANDA
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO
KNOW; WEEKLY AGRICULTURE –COOPERATIVES (AGRICO) NEWS UPDATES
LEST YOU FORGET;
EDITION-(X) 05th
May, 2024
About
AgroRef Uganda
Agriculture Reform (AgroRef) Uganda is a Non-Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organization focusing on advancing agricultural policy reforms, budget advocacy; and supporting the building of systems, fostering values of equity, accountability, transparency, and sustainability of organisations, especially smallholder 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.
Veterinarian's
competencies must be regarded as an essential and integral part of health at
large, says the World Veterinary Association. It says the application of
veterinary science contributes not only to animal health and well-being but
also to human’s physical, mental and social well-being.
“This dimension of the veterinarian's work often remains invisible to society
but protecting and improving the health of people and their communities is an
essential part of the vet profession,” stated the association.
One of their main responsibilities is to identify and respond to disease
outbreaks early on, and by doing so, they can limit their effect on both humans
and animals and the disease moving from animals to human-beings.
Annually, World Veterinary Day is celebrated on the last Saturday of April to
recognise the work of veterinarians around the world and their contributions to
improving animal health and welfare, as well as public health. This year,
World Veterinary Day was celebrated on Saturday, April 27, 2024, under the
theme ‘Veterinarians are essential health workers across the world.’ https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/agriculture/veterinary-science-contributes-not-only-to-an-NV_187157
NARO SHOWCASES TRANSFORMATIVE AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES AT LABOUR DAY CELEBRATIONS
The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) participated in the International Labour Day celebrations in Fort Portal City, where they showcased transformative agricultural technologies with the potential to uplift Ugandans from poverty. Presiding over the well-attended event, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni underscored the need to leverage the country’s abundant arable land resources to engage in agricultural systems that generate high returns from small pieces of land.
In an emphatic reiteration of his longstanding call for Ugandans to adopt the four-acre model, which focuses on intensive farming, the President stated that there are seven specific agricultural items—coffee, fruits, dairy, poultry, piggery, fish farming, and cultivating food crops for home consumption—that can exponentially increase incomes at the household level if appropriately mixed on small acreages. The President offered a clear distinction between intensive and extensive agriculture, noting that the former is suitable for crops that can offer high returns on small lands, while the latter involves crops that require large estates to provide economic value.
UGANDA
CHOKES ON 600 TONNES OF PLASTIC WASTE
No
matter what kind of plastic you drop, it ends up in the ground, a drainage
channel, or a body of water.
It could get there by wind, an animal looking for food, or someone else. In the
soil, for example, Kavera slowly releases microplastics or other particles that
build up and stop airflow. This kills all the living things in the soil,
including the earthworms that break down dead plants to make organic waste. In
the long run, the dirt stops being useful.
The process is the same for all the other plastics. Plastics, such as bottles,
broken jerrycans, and polythene bags, stop the flow of water in the drainage
channels, which causes flooding.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says every year the world
produces more than 430 million tonnes of plastic.
GOVT,
PARTNERS TO PLANT TREES IN 300,000 SCHOOLS
BUIKWE- The
Government, working with partners, will plant trees in 300,000 schools in
the next 12 months. The trees are to be planted in eastern Uganda as a
mitigation measure against climate change.
Presiding over the inaugural planting exercise on Tuesday, April 23, at
Najjembe Primary School in Buikwe district, Diana Kagyenyi Mutasingwa, the
Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President, said the consequences of
deforestation and climate change in Uganda are "impacting not only our
environment but also our health, our livelihood, and the future of our
children".
She said the school greening programme is, therefore, a timely intervention
against deforestation adding: "By planting 300,000 trees in schools, we
are not only mitigating the effects of deforestation but also nurturing a sense
of environmental responsibility and ensuring that our children take up the
stewardship of conservation for the next generation".
PRESIDENT MUSEVENI MEETS JAPANESE INVESTOR OVER FERTILISER PROJECT
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni held discussions with Prof. Kim Yong Myong, an investor from Japan. Prof. Kim is the owner of Ac-Planta, a company interested in introducing acetic acid fertilizers in Uganda, states a release from the Presidential Press Unit (PPU). The company, based in Tokyo Japan produces acetic acid fertilisers through skeepon technology, a product that promotes high yields in plants and also helps them in resisting diseases as well as drought. During the meeting at State House –Entebbe on Tuesday (April 23) President Museveni welcomed the investor to Uganda and pledged government’s support towards the project.“The product is good. It changes the metabolism of the plant to be less wasteful and more resistant,” he said.
Francis Mwebasa, the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, and Bright
Rwamirama, the Minister of State for Animal Industry are among government
officials at the meeting. On his part, Prof. Kim, who was accompanied by one of Ac-Planta’s Directors, Mr.
Davis Ian Lawson, expressed gratitude to President Museveni and assured him
that his company is ready to set up a factory in Uganda to produce the
fertilisers.
https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/president-museveni-meets-japanese-investor-ov-NV_186631
IBANDA FARMERS CRY OUT AMID RISING THEFT OF COFFEE
Medard Tukamuhabwa, of Ishongororo Town Council, in Ibanda North County was inspecting his coffee plantation recently when he discovered that he could have lost about sh100,000 worth of red coffee cherries to thieves. The model farmer says a person sneaked into his plantations and harvested about 20 kilogrammes of coffee two weeks ago. A kilo of red cherries is at over sh5,000 presently in Ibanda. Tukamuhabwa’s plantation is in a different village, a fact the suspect exploited to steal the coffee. “Although he was identified by the neighbours who informed me about the theft, he disappeared from the village on learning that the Police were looking for him,” adds the farmer. This experience forced him to hire guards to protect his two plantations and keep the thieves, who often harvest unripe coffee, at bay. The farmer says many of the suspected coffee thieves are school dropouts from unstable families. Tukamuhabwa’s experience is shared by many farmers across Ibanda district.
STAKEHOLDERS MEET TO DISCUSS COMMERCIALISATION OF BANANA
Stakeholders
in the banana value chain are meeting at Hotel Africana in Kampala to discuss
ways of increasing the value of bananas.
According to the head of the banana research programme at the National
Agriculture Research Laboratories in Kawanda, Dr Alex Barekye, bananas have
remained as food crops, and yet when added value, they can be turned into other
high-value crops.
Barekye
added that the discussions from the meeting will feed into NARO's
commercialisation program of its research findings.
Preliminary findings show that highly sought-after products from bananas
include briquettes, fibre, hair extensions, furniture, glue from the sap, and
then fertilisers. The findings were highlighted by Clair Nakimpi a PhD student
from Wageningen University during the stakeholders meeting taking place today
at Hotel Africana.
She, however, advised stakeholders to spearhead policies in areas of standards
and marketing structures, among others.
Residents of Ogwangapur Parish in Acaba sub-county, Oyam District, have been struggling to fix a district road that has not been repaired for the last 10 years. Men, women, and youth on Monday started repairing the eight-kilometre road that stretches from Obangangeo to Atipe Health Centre III using rudimentary tools. This was after waiting patiently for their leaders to address the pathetic state of the road in vain. In this northern district, farmers engage in mostly subsistence farming to feed their families and sell their surplus to raise money to meet family needs such as health and education. For them to exploit the potential of agriculture, they must be supported with a good road network to transport their goods to market. However, the impacts of good roads are like fairy tales for the community of Ogwangapur, as they are ravaged by accidents caused by the inaccessible road that would link them to the outside world.
100 YOUNG INNOVATORS TO TACKLE AGRIBUSINESS CHALLENGES
The Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) in Nakawa is hosting the "Agri-Tech Hackathon 2024," a three-day competition bringing together 100 young innovators from various universities to design digital tools that will address critical challenges within Uganda's agricultural sector. Themed "Utilizing Industry 4.0 Technologies to address the challenges confronting sustainable Agriculture in Uganda," the hackathon was inaugurated by State Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Ms Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo on Friday. Ms Ssebugwawo highlighted the potential of these innovations to provide long-term solutions for agricultural challenges. “We must acknowledge the persistent challenges that have hindered our progress like limited access to markets for agricultural products and gaps in technology infrastructure which continue to pose obstacles to our development efforts,” Ms Ssebugwawo said. She emphasised the alignment of the hackathon with Uganda's National Development Plan III (NDP III), which prioritizes industrialization to accelerate economic goals. Ms. Ssebugwawo pointed out agriculture's potential for job creation, with projections of growth in the sector's contribution to GDP (from 3.8% to 5.1%) and a decrease in youth unemployment (from 13.3% to 6.6%).
NARO
PARTNERS WITH RWENZURURU TO TRANSFORM AGRICULTURE IN RWENZORI
The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Rwenzururu to promote transformational agriculture. The partnership is aimed at the socio-economically uplifting communities in the Rwenzori region. A statement from NARO on Friday said the partnership is a strategic alliance focused on enhancing the dissemination and adoption of technologies, innovations, and management practices (TIMPs) generated by NARO. The Omusinga (King) Charles Wesley Mumbere, while witnessing the signing event held at Rwenzori International Hotel in Kasese town, described the partnership as a significant milestone in the journey towards fostering collaboration, innovation, and development of the communities in Rwenzori sub region and beyond.
https://www.independent.co.ug/naro-partners-with-rwenzururu-to-transform-agriculture-in-rwenzori/
WHY
PROTECTING ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS MATTERS
Today Friday, 3 May is World Press Freedom Day, which this year is dedicated to the importance of journalism amid a series of mounting environmental crises. Environmental journalists are often the chroniclers of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Many reports on hidden issues such as illegal logging and the theft of freshwater. In recent years, a growing number of environmental journalists have faced harassment, assault, and even murder. Research suggests that more than dozens of environmental journalists were killed in the past two decades, making it the most dangerous journalism field after war reporting. Andrew Raine, Deputy Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Law Division says environmental journalists are on the frontlines of the triple planetary crisis .
https://www.independent.co.ug/why-protecting-environmental-journalists-matters/
INFLATION
EASES DUE TO FOOD CROP PRICES
The pace at which the prices of annual food crops increased has contributed to the slowdown of inflation for the last 12 months ending April, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics-UBOS report. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by UBOS indicates that Uganda’s annual inflation increased at a slower rate of 3.2 percent, compared to 3.3 percent registered in the year ended March 2024. According to the report, while most categorized products registered increments, though not very significant, annual food crops and related items were on the opposite with a 2.9 percent decrease, down from minus 0.4 percent indicated in the same period for the year ending March 2024. “This was mainly attributed to the decrease in prices of cooking bananas by minus 11.7 percent, compared to 8.2 percent registered in March 2024. Dry beans prices reduced by minus 8.5 percent, compared to 3.4 percent in March 2024. Sweet potatoes decreased by minus 19.9 percent, down from minus 12.0 percent last year,” reads part of the report. The report indicates that the biggest contributor to the slight increase in the inflationary rate was the items in the other goods category, which increased by 2.0 percent compared to 1.6 in March.
https://www.independent.co.ug/inflation-eases-due-to-food-crop-prices/
YUMBE
MANGO FACTORY TO START OPERATIONS
There is a sigh of relief among fruit farmers in the West Nile sub region after Aringa Mango Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited (Ltd) is set to commence buying mangoes for processing at Yumbe Mango Factory this season. The factory which is located in Lodonga sub county in Yumbe district was commissioned by President Yoweri Museveni on January 9, 2021, but remained non-operational due to uncompleted construction works due to funding challenges. However, the management of Aringa Fruit Farmers’ Cooperative Society Ltd in a statement indicates that they will commence buying mangoes from farmers this month for processing at the factory for commercial purpose. Saidi Aniku, the chairperson of Aringa Fruit Farmers’ Cooperative Society explains that they have resolved to start buying mango pulp in the current Mango season from the farmers so as to operationalize the factory. Aniku said their target is to buy indigenous ‘kagoggwa’ mango varieties.
https://www.independent.co.ug/yumbe-mango-factory-to-start-operations/
MUSEVENI
TELLS TEA FARMERS: TAKE ON HIGH VALUE CROPS
President Yoweri Museveni has asked farmers to diversify from the traditional tea growing to other high commercial value crops. In his address during the National Labour’s day celebrations held in Mukabura playground in Fort Portal Tourism City, Museveni said tea doesn’t have high global market compared to other products like coffee, fish and bananas. The president said that with changing global demands, he has been an advocate of a diversified economy though his message has not been given attention by the appropriate persons. Museveni highlighted seven key enterprises: coffee, fruits (mangoes, oranges, pineapples, apples, grapes), zero-grazing dairy farming, fish farming, poultry for egg production, piggery, and homestead food crops such as cassava and bananas. The president’s message followed a presentation by Col. Tom Butiime, the Minister for Tourism, also a member of parliament for Mwenge Central in Kyenjojo district. Butiime informed the president that the government needs to urgently intervene in the plight of tea farmers with many abandoning their farms over a drop in prices. Some tea farmers in Tooro and Ankole have reportedly been uprooting their tea plantations due to low prices. The president, however, said the cabinet will meet to address some of the issues including lack of fertilizers and other challenges faced by tea farmers that can be addressed by the government.
https://www.independent.co.ug/museveni-tells-tea-farmers-take-on-high-value-crops/
RWENZORI TO GET NEW AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION
The Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA) has initiated the construction and installation of an automatic weather station in the Rwenzori Sub-Region. These machines will record wind movements, rainfall, pressure, air temperature, and radiation. According to UNMA, the introduction of automatic weather detection machines will enhance the accuracy of data collection crucial for periodic weather forecasts in specific districts and regions. Dr. Alex Bob Ogwang, the Acting Executive Director of UNMA, highlighted during the commissioning of a manual Rain Gauge at Kilembe Mines Hospital in Bulembia Division of Kasese Municipality, that they are seeking funds from development partners to procure and install more machines in disaster-prone areas across the region and the country. Currently, the Rwenzori sub-region has only five automatic weather detector machines out of the 211 spread nationwide. The rain gauge was procured with funding from the European Union Humanitarian Aid.
https://www.independent.co.ug/rwenzori-to-get-new-automatic-weather-station/
UGANDA TIGHTENS INSPECTION OF AVOCADO, BANANA AND PINEAPPLES TO IMPROVE EXPORT QUALITY
To enhance the quality of Ugandan crop exports, inspection controls for avocado, banana, and pineapples are slated to be reinforced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF). The trio will be classified as high-risk commodities, mirroring the categorization of hot pepper, chili, and garden eggs. These crops are among the most commonly sourced from Uganda, and bolstering their inspection for the international market aims to elevate quality standards for both local and foreign consumers. The implementation of this new measure falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Crop Inspection and Certification within the Ministry of Agriculture. The announcement was made by Alexander Samula, a senior crop protection and certification officer at MAAIF, during the opening ceremony of Victoria Horticultural Exporters, a new entrant in the industry. Samula emphasized the persistent discourse on crop quality, underscoring the necessity for interventions such as this. According to Samula, the traceability regime for these crops will transition from solely assessing the product to encompassing the entire production process. He emphasizes the need for collaboration among industry stakeholders, including exporters like Victoria Horticultural Exporters, to uphold quality standards at the farm level.
UGANDA’S
WEATHER SERVICE: ONE STEP FORWARD, THREE STEPS BACK
Parliament’s decision to revert Uganda Meteorology Authority (UNMA) to the department at the Ministry of Water and Environment has drawn mixed reactions. Uganda Meteorology Authority will no longer be semi-autonomous once President Museveni assents to the Bill seeking to merge or rationalize government Authorities and Departments. Some environmentalists and users of meteorology have told URN that MPS seemed blind to the benefits of maintaining meteorology service in a semi-autonomous status or as an Authority. The Authority has been giving weather information services to the agriculture, aviation, marine, and insurance sectors among others. UNMA’s other consumers include the oil and gas industry, the hydropower sector, commercial, police air wing, and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Some sources have indicated that Parliament seemed to be concerned about issues like how much the Authority has been making and yet weather information services are one of the public good, especially with emerging weather-related calamities. Uganda National Meteorological Authority was a department of Meteorology under the Ministry of Water and Environment.
https://www.independent.co.ug/ugandas-weather-service-one-step-forward-three-steps-back/
CHINA
PROVIDES FUNDING FOR SCHOOL MEALS TO 165,000 CHILDREN IN KARAMOJA
China has allocated funding through the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to provide school meals for over 165,000 children from 315 schools in northeastern Uganda. The contribution is part of China’s commitment to improving food security and nutrition, strengthening people’s livelihoods and boosting local economy, said Zhang Lizhong, Chinese ambassador to Uganda, while speaking at the handover ceremony on Wednesday. According to the WFP, the funding will enable it to procure maize, beans and vegetable oil locally for the children. “We are grateful for the contribution of China supporting our efforts to provide school meals to children,” said Abdirahman Meygag, WFP country director. “We have witnessed children who have benefited from school meals program become senior government officials, doctors and entrepreneurs,” Meygag said.
KARAMOJA
FARMERS DECRY LACK OF SEEDS
Farmers across the Karamoja sub-region are expressing frustration over delays in the government’s distribution of seeds during this crucial planting season. Despite the onset of rains in early April in some parts of Karamoja, farmers have yet to plant crops three weeks later due to the absence of seeds. This delay is exacerbating food insecurity concerns, as many households have depleted their cereal reserves intended for cultivation. Jonathan Moru, a farmer from Nadunget sub-county in Moroto district, laments that despite having over four acres of land prepared for planting, he is unable to proceed without seeds. Moru’s plea for timely seed distribution echoes sentiments shared by many farmers who rely on government support for agricultural inputs. Similarly, John Boso Akore, secretary for the Kotido Elder council, highlights the community’s efforts to engage in commercial farming to enhance food security among the Jie people. However, Akore underscores the challenges of inadequate seeds and mechanization, urging the government to prioritize reliable, drought-resistant seeds tailored to the region’s climate.
https://www.independent.co.ug/karamoja-farmers-decry-lack-of-seeds/
REGIONAL NEWS
SOUTH
KOREA DANGLES ‘TAILORED’ SUPPORT AHEAD OF ITS FIRST-EVER AFRICA SUMMIT
Rice may not be a staple in most of East Africa, but it is one of the most consumed cereals in the region. Koreans know it, so, over the past couple of years, they have introduced a technology for higher-yielding seed, known as K-Rice. In East Africa, Kenya and Uganda have been pilot sites, although the K-Rice Belt is wider on the continent, including Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ghana and Cameroon. The project helped produce 2,040 tonnes of seed in 2023. And Kenya and Uganda expect to produce about 2,300 tonnes of seed on average by 2027, the presumptive time the four-year project is to run, Korean officials say. Most of these African countries will be able to produce own seed, carry out mass production of this type of rice and address food security.
WHY
POULTRY FARMERS ARE ILL AT EASE WITH KENYA-US TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
Kenya’s poultry farmers say the country risks becoming a dumping ground for US poultry and dairy products, as Nairobi and Washington work on a deal. Last week, poultry farmers raised fears that the US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investments Partnership (Stip) agreement would allow cheap poultry imports; likely to result in the loss of Ksh172 billion ($1.3 billion) annually if implemented. According to the Poultry Breeders Association of Kenya, the loss would come from a projected 75 percent reduction in demand for local poultry products.
COCOA
FOR EU GROWN INSIDE DEFORESTED LAND IN TOP SOURCE COUNTRIES, REPORT SAYS
Importers of cocoa into Europe are flouting European Union laws by selling beans from deforested African land while mislabelling its origins. A new report lists cocoa merchants as fuelling the felling of trees in Liberia while disguising the beans as originating from neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. Liberia, one of the countries in Africa still recovering from civil war, has struggled to replant trees, most of them cut down during the conflict two decades ago. And, while agribusiness has been encouraged to tackle both poverty and land rehabilitation, cutting down trees for cocoa farming violates EU laws on environment and business.
EAST
AFRICA BRACES FOR HUNGER, DISEASES AS FLOODS DESTROY FARMLAND, LIVELIHOODS
The East African region is staring at a looming food shortage after extreme rains and floods unleashed a wave of destruction, killing people, injuring others, ruining infrastructure and destroying farmlands in the food basket regions. Heavier-than-usual rains, compounded by the El Nino weather phenomenon, have devastated Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, engulfing villages and threatening to inflict more pain in the weeks to come. The floods have impacted agriculture, transport, health, education, and tourism, which was just emerging out of the Covid-induced slump. Kenya has especially been battered in the past month, with President William Ruto on Friday announcing that at least 210 people have died.
TANZANIA,
KENYA RESOLVE POULTRY EXPORT DISPUTE, EAC STATEMENT SAYS
Tanzania and Kenya have successfully resolved a longstanding dispute over the export of poultry and poultry products between the two countries, the East African Community (EAC) said in a statement on Tuesday. The statement said the dispute was resolved during a two-day consultative meeting held at the EAC headquarters in Tanzania's northern city of Arusha that ended on Tuesday. Rabson Wanjala, the co-chair of the meeting from Kenya who represented the Kenyan High Commissioner to Tanzania, said both countries are committed to fostering trade relations, adding that their commitments underscore the importance of collaborative efforts to ensure increased trade in the region.
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/tanzania-kenya-resolve-poultry-export-dispute-4609154
DROUGHT-STRICKEN
ZAMBIA TURNS TO UGANDA FOR 0.5M TONNES OF MAIZE
Zambia is in talks with Uganda for a possible supply of more than 500,000 metric tonnes of maize to replenish its depleted reserves that have exposed more than two million people to starvation. Lusaka banned the exports of maize grain and mealie (maize flour) in February following a prolonged dry spell that has adversely impacted the production of the crop in 84 out of its 116 districts. Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal, Industry and Fisheries says through a correspondence seen by The EastAfrican that Kampala has received a request to supply up to 500,000 metric tonnes of the grain to Lusaka. “The Government of Uganda has received an expression of interest for up to 500,000 MT of maize grain to be exported to Zambia. This has certain requirements including quality and available volumes to enable us to meet the export successfully,” the ministry’s Permanent Secretary David Kasura-Kyomukama says through a letter dated March 25, 2024.
Comments
Post a Comment