Africa-Press – Uganda. The Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) Hon. Frank Tumwebaze has said a data collection partnership with the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE) will help government plan better for farmers to improve the country’s agricultural sector commercially.
“We are going to partner together in areas of data collection about farming profiles in different regions, farmers mobilization, and sensitization on the correct agronomical practices, and discuss issues affecting farmers generally,” he said
Mr Tumwebaze made the remarks during the launch of the partnership between MAAIF and UNFFE at the ministry headquarters in Entebbe on Wednesday.
“I expect them in one quarter to give us the profiles of each sub-region, the dominant enterprises, production levels, food security levels, constraints of the people, enterprises people understand. We cannot carry out agriculture with precision when we don’t have this ecological-specific data” he said.
Mr Tumwebaze said the partnership with which Shs 1.5bn has been provided to the farmers’ federation for the first quarter will complement the few extension workers who are overstretched around sub-counties across the country to sensitise farmers.
The Minister of State for Animal Industry Lt. Col Bright Rwamirama said there is a need for a robust database for the agricultural sector for better planning when in search of finance for the sector.
“We attempted to do this thing alone in 2014, 2016, the production departments tried to do this work and they never did it to success, to completion. Now that we are working together with these people don’t leave it for them alone, work with them so that at the end of the day we are taking decisions from an informed decision” he said.
The chairperson of Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE) Mr Dick Kamuganga said the partnership will promote the commercialisation of the big farmers as epicenters of agricultural transformation.
“Agricultural transformation that is food security oriented but also export-oriented, looking at the national, regional and international market opportunities in a way ultimately integrating Uganda farmers into the global agricultural value chains,” he said.
Mr Kamuganga said the data that will be collected quarterly will be critical for reports, policy designs, and adjustments in the sector.
“We will be championing profiling of Uganda commercial farmers as a top priority in the next few months such that we can provide you that data including production, input, and output market reports which will, in the long run, culminate into a national agricultural data lab,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary at MAAIF Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama said there is a need to practice agriculture in an innovative technological way to increase the competitiveness of the sector.
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