By Eusukoit Cuthbert Otim.
Boham Okiror, the programme officer for Soroti catholic Diocese integrated development organization SOCCADIDO says the exhibition gives a chance for farmers to acquire knowledge, skills and connect with different service providers with the optimism of improving their farming and agricultural livelihoods among others.
Picture of Minister Hellen Adoa (Left) interacting with farmers in the expo at Soroti public gardens.
The state minister for agriculture, animals and fisheries Hellen Adoa has called on the farmers in Teso and entire Uganda revert to indigenous seeds to better stabilize production in the farming systems.
The minister while on Wednesday officiating the expo at Soroti public gardens, told farmers that the local seeds are good for planting as she gave them some tips on farm production.
” When you plant the same seeds, they will still yield as highly as they did the first time provided that you plant them on time, as a mindful farmer, you should weed and harvest at the right time” she said.
She implored farmers to grow millet, sorghum, carry on with fishing and maintain the growing of indigenous crops with use of resilient preservation methods for their variety of food crops produced.
“Post harvest handling of crops is one of the stages where a farmer can easily make loses in the market, when the post harvest is properly handled, the quality of produce fetches a farmer money worthy his out put”, the minister told Teso farmers at the expo.
Pictorials of Minister Hellen Adoa inspecting the products displayed by various farmers during the expo.
Hadijja Nalule, the Programs officer agricultural markets and business development at PELUM Uganda told this website that this exhibition is geared at promoting responsible investment and the event will aim at raising awareness about responsible investment practices in the agriculture sector, emphasizing sustainable and socially responsible approaches to agricultural investments.
“this will equally help to provide a space that facilitates knowledge exchange for partners, value chain actors e.g. farmers, business development service providers, consumers, financial institutions researchers, policy makers to share experiences, best practices, and business opportunities related to agriculture and market systems” She added .
She further reiterated that this would foster partnerships through networking and collaboration among various stakeholders to enhance trade and negotiation, development and scaling up of aggro-ecological entrepreneurship and market linkages among various actors.
Boham Okiror, the program officer for Soroti catholic Diocese integrated development organization SOCCADIDO says the exhibition gives a chance for farmers to acquire knowledge, skills and connect with different service providers with the optimism of improving their farming and agricultural livelihoods among others.
Okiror challenged the farmers to identify quality seeds and entrepreneurship skills to boost their farming business.
The varieties include millet, sorghum, and traditional vegetables like pumpkins, cow Peace, malakwang, sim-sim, groundnuts, baberynuts and collard greens among others.
A variety of indigenous seeds displayed during the farmers’ exhibition at Soroti Public gardens.
Meanwhile Joseph Obucel a farmer from Abella parish in the eastern district of Katakwi noted that its high time government incorporated indigenous seeds and crops when supplying to farmers under programs like Operation Wealth Creation.
“The cassava which government has been giving farmers takes six months to mature and it gets rotten leaving people in hunger so many
Perpetua Among from Amaseniko of Kapelebyong district stressed that farmers have gone back to indigenous cassava which takes two years to mature but you can keep harvesting it for three years, she said.” indigenous food crops are more resistant to dry weather, she says Uganda’s food basket, Teso sub region is facing threats to food security, as the shift to improved seeds affecting farmers’ ability to sustain production.
A one day expo organized by PELUM Uganda in partnership with SACCADIDO was centered under the theme Promoting entrepreneurship and exploring opportunities to strengthening market linkages and value chain.