A series of hands-on trainings have been organised at the 2023 Harvest Money Expo. These will run from Friday, February 10 to Sunday February 12. Trainees will have to pay sh20,000 to enter the Expo and also attend the trainings for a whole day. This is to give farmers the best agronomical practices and value addition tips throughout the production value chains of the different enterprises to equip farmers with knowledge on whatever they want to engage in.
Every session will have information on postharvest handling and value addition, however there are also several sessions that are specific on value addition, that have been organized in the evenings. The evening sessions will be free of charge.
Below are the trainings that will feature on Sunday, February 12;
Beef cattle management
There is growing interest in keeping cattle for beef. This session on Sunday morning will be handled by Dr Allan Iga, a practicing cattle nutritionist and Brian Natwijuka, a beef cattle farmer.
“There is growing interest in beef cattle as many farmers are diversifying from dairy, however the challenge has been that farmers do not know how to select the right beef cattle and how to feed them for quick returns. We shall heavily focus on these and other issues,” Iga says.
Farm-based value addition
Ugandan farmers produce a lot of foods but most of it is sold raw without any value addition. This is why a session on farm based value addition has been arranged on Sunday afternoon. This will be handled by Julius Nyanzi and Judith Bakirya. Nyanzi is the CEO of Prof Bioresearch, located at Equatorial Mall on Bombo road in Kampala. His company researches, innovates and adds value from indigenous herbs and trees. His research has produced a range of 500 products, which he sells in Uganda and overseas, including in the US, UK and Asia. They include remedies for malaria, stomach gas, menstrual cramps, diabetes etc. He also makes perfumes, shoe polish, cosmetics and aftershave, among others.
Judith Bakirya was best farmer for 2014. She has an expansive farm in Jinja and Bugiri. She has excelled in growing various crops and adding value to them. She also exports processed jackfruit to Europe. “Everything that we grow can give us more money if value is added on it. We shall show how this can easily be done at farm level,” Bakirya says.
Hass avocado/Macadamia
This session will be handled by Dr Bernard Obba, a hass avocado farmer, Shayaan Morvi a macadamia farmer and NAADS.
Avocado is a tropical ever green fruit tree found in most home gardens in Uganda. It is organically produced given the optimal weather conditions and fertile soils in the country. It’s grown in all the regions of Uganda i.e. Central, Western, Eastern and Northern regions. Hass variety is the most preferred for the export market and its production is currently estimated at 1,500 acres across the country with the biggest farms in Mayuge and Kyegegwa districts.
Macadamia is another new tree crop that is being promoted by the government. NAADS has been selected as one of the lead agencies working to promote the growing of macadamia. The training will give farmers the skills to adopt better practices and tell them about the opportunities available.
Growing citrus/oranges/mangoes
For farmers who wish to invest in long term investment, citrus is one of them. If well managed, mangoes or oranges can give good annual incomes. The session, on Sunday afternoon will be handled by experts from the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry (MAAIF) plus experienced farmers.
Evening sessions-5:00 to 6:30pm
Because the theme of the Expo is Post-harvest handling and value Addition, the evening sessions are essentially targeting this. Facilitated by Ware House Receipt Systems and Upfront Partners/Riela, emphasis will be put on how to practice proper harvesting and value addition, both as farmers and as investors in the value chain.
