Africa-Press – Uganda. Stephen Tibeijuka, the commissioner for crop protection in the ministry of agriculture has said government will recruit about 1,000 extension workers to support the private sector along the agronomic chain.
Officiating at the Sasakawa Africa Association’s stakeholders’ planning meeting in Kampala, Tibeijuka said the move is intended to equip both farmers and traders in the agricultural sector with knowledge and skills on producing products of high quality for international markets.
According to him, government has in the last few years recruited about 4,000 extension workers but the ratio is likely to increase to the recommended 1:500 households.
Records show that the current ration stands at 1: 1,800
“Our target is to recruit about 5,000 extension workers. We are not yet there but efforts are ongoing,” Tibeijuka noted.
Meanwhile, government has established a directory of extension services in the ministry of agriculture to put in place policies to ensure that those involved in the provision of extension services share standardized information with farmers.
“The market is the anchor, and therefore, all efforts that we put in should enable our commodities conform to the national, regional and international export markets,” he emphasized.
Kiboga District farmer Musa Bugembe Ssegujja decried “farmers who want to be reminded on quality all the time.”
Sasakawa Africa Association deputy country director Joseph Bbemba said limited knowledge among the farmers and suppliers of farm inputs such as agrochemicals was exacerbating food contamination.
Dr Stella Kabiri, the lead Regenerative Agriculture at Sasakawa Africa Association called for educating farmers on use of agrochemicals.
“We have engaged many farmers across Africa and so far, our platforms have reached out to about 3million farmers through a spillover effect,” Dr Kabiri noted.
She stressed the need for farmers to improve on their soul health saying it is not an expensive venture.
“You can intercrop, return about 30 percent of crop residues in the garden, plant cover crops like pumpkins. If you have litters from tree lives in your garden, use them for mulching, if you hand anthills, use them to trap water,” she advised.
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