Uganda short of improved seeds
Uganda has run out of
improved seed. About 80 per cent cannot access improved seed in the country
because of limited technology, government has alerted.
The country’s Minister
for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Tress Buchanayandi says all
seed varieties are insufficient yet government lacks resources to produce
better seed varieties.
“In terms of technology
we are critically short of improved seed. We don’t have enough seed for all
sort of things that we plant like maize, beans, banana suckers, cassava
cuttings ,” he said during a national forum on agriculture on June 6 in Kampala
where stakeholders were mobilized to determine the future of agriculture.
“So this is a huge area
for investment,” the Minister said.
The Minister said he
had tabled a request before Cabinet for more funding and he hopes for positive
response.
“Recently, I wrote a paper
and discuused it at Cabinet level. They appreciate it I hope they will give us
some money to buy improved seed,” he said.
Farmers in Uganda have
failed to increase yields partly because of the quality of seeds. Despite
assurances of high quality seeds while purchasing, some farmers in Eastern and
Southern Uganda are still not getting a good harvest.
Farmers have now
resorted to finding means of developing their own seed banks where they can
manage quality and supply of seeds.
However, farmers also
lack the knowledge to realize their optimal potential. Even with high quality
seeds farmers do not realize the yields that they should because of bad farming
practices, which reportedly lead to low adoption of quality seeds.
Countries like Kenya or
South Africa have an adoption rate of 50 percent to 75 percent of improved
quality seeds; in Uganda it is used by fewer than 20 per cent of farmers
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