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Farmers get new skills from the Farm Clinic
Chief Executive Officer of Prisma Spa, George Inyensiko (right) explains to Sarah Kataike, the director incharge of policy and planning at OWC how the soil nutrient retainer works. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
The clinics, which rotate across the country, offer farmers an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and various other forms of assistance to improve productivity, yields, quality and incomes.
The 32nd edition of the Seeds of Gold farm clinic was last Saturday held in Mukono District, focusing on value addition to three major crops, coffee, cocoa, and bananas.
Bank of Uganda and Stanbic Bank were the main sponsors of the weekend event and attended by several hundreds of farmers within the region.
Acquire new skills
The clinics, which rotate across the country, offer farmers an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and various other forms of assistance to improve productivity, yields, quality and incomes.
Speaking at the event, the deputy director general of National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) who is in-charge of technology promotion, Kassim Sadik said that Seeds of Gold Farm Clinic is one of the best initiatives the Daily Monitor have done for this country because “it contributes directly to the farmers which is improving the agriculture practices in the country.”
“This platform brings farmers to access funding, meet with experts and brings us the policy makers closer to them. I call upon Daily Monitor to continue promoting this specific initiative because as Naro, we are committed to continue partnering with you,” he said.
20 million bags by 2025
Uganda, he said targets to produce 20 million bags of coffee per year by 2025 and with such initiatives, this will be possible since farmers are linked to better agronomic practices.
Sarah Mubuke Nantongo, the head of credit analysis and publicity for Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) at BoU said they are currently in the process of revising the lending rules to make loans more accessible and relevant to farmers’ needs.
“We are revising our terms with commercial banks and soon we shall pronounce a better package,” said Nantongo. “ACF borrowers are charged an interest rate of 12 percent per annum and the maximum loan period is eight years. The minimum is six months but the maximum interest rate is 12 percent per annum, although this can be lower, subject to negotiations with your bankers,” Nantongo added.
Stanbic Bank is an active participant in ACF because it sees the agriculture sector as one of the most important drivers of Uganda’s economic growth.
Monica Ilunga Rutaro, the Stanbic Bank Mukono branch manager said, “We offer a wide range of finance, investment (financial services) and risk management solutions across the entire value chain. They range from primary production, agro-processing, distribution and marketing.”
