By Umar Nsubuga
One of the demons that keep plaguing farmers is ‘fake’ farm inputs. According to various researches, around 30% of seeds on the market are fake. According to Uganda National Agro-Dealers Association, in Uganda, it is estimated that counterfeits and fake agro chemicals account for between 10% and 15% of the national agro-chemicals in the market, which is a loss of around $6m per year. And yet, most farmers cannot easily differentiate between fake and genuine farm inputs.
That’s why Natiigo Farm Consultants Limited oraganised farmers in Mubende to get trainings on how to manage their farm enterprises.
The farmers underwent trans-formational training that encompassed areas such as land and seedling preparation, crop production and care, post harvest process, value addition, financial literacy and enterprise development.
Geoffrey Natigo the director Natiigo farm consultants said majority of the beneficiaries were youth, who may just pour in money without enough knowledge on agriculture.
“Despite challenges like limited access to irrigation water and equipment, the mind set of farmers are changing because of the losses they get”, Natigo said.
According to Kenneth Mulwa, a farmer from the district, said the training to farmers was from all over Mubende and beyond. “We got the training on arrangement with the proprietor. It was done in groups as teamwork made the process even more beneficial,” Mulwa said.
Isma Kizito, a farmer from Kasamba testified that the training was helpful in enhancing household incomes through farming.
“I came to learn about counterfeits through a friend of mine. That is when we decided to attend and learn as farmers and we indeed learnt a lot about food security and farm management,” Kizito explained.
Natigo said that they decided to help farmer on the value addition, many Ugandan farmers produce a lot of foods but most of it is sold raw without any value addition.
He said that training helped farmers to become good managers of their enterprises as they take note of common mistakes that negatively impact farming.
According to him, the trainings Mubende farmers have gone through have already made their marks in assisting farmers manage their farms much better.
Harriet Nalule a resident from Kassanda appreciated the training saying the tips acquired would be instrumental in getting her out of poverty.
“I am going to set up a demonstration banana garden on my one-acre land. This would give my family food as well as helping others learn from it,” Nalule explained.
Farmers and local leaders from the district have already benefited by being trained on crucial farming skills. After the training.
