Back to class: NTV brings you Farm Clinic live to your living room today  

While public transport and inter-district movement are closed coffee and cocoa farmers will today share a unique opportunity to visit the National Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI) in Kituuza, Mukono without leaving the house. Nation Media Group, the parent company of Daily Monitor and NTV, joined forces with the National Agriculture Research Organisation (Naro), Bank of Uganda, Embassy of China, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Stanbic Bank to run a virtual Farm Clinic hosted by NTV from 4 to 6pm.

The premier farming exhibition event of the year, the Seeds of Gold Farm Clinic, went virtual for the first time in 2020. From session presentations to the best agronomic practices, the National Agriculture Research Organisation (Naro) in conjunction with the Nation Media Group pivoted every aspect of the selected enterprises to an interactive online experience.

Previously, farmers from across the country would travel to the Farm Clinic at the selected Naro station to connect and build relationships with scientists while learning more about the modern agriculture practices.

Participants would sit in on presentations and choose at least two enterprises of their choice while making connections and access to high quality seeds and breeds. Many found relationship building one of the main benefits of attending the event.

One of the highlights of the Farm Clinics for many guests was to visit Naro centres getting an up-close look at each step along the value chain of their selected enterprise. A beloved outcome of these clinics was meeting fellow farmers and catching a glimpse of the equipment, tools and practices that can effectively be utilised on their farms.

For the second year running, participants, will however sit in the comfort of their homes for the virtual Farm Clinic bus to receive that same up-close look at the best practices.

Through on-demand video tours, customers across the globe were able to connect with US farmers on topics such as planting conditions and conservation practices, while learning more about their individual operations and farms.

What to expect

Saturday’s virtual Farm clinic will focus on the best agronomic practices of coffee and cocoa.

NaCORI accelerates development of new coffee and cocoa varieties.

Dr Godfrey Kagezi, the senior research officer explains that NaCORI is the birthplace of the 10 Robusta Coffee Wilt-Resistant (CWDr) varieties.

The clones named KRs (Kituza Robusta) are resistant to CWD, tolerant to leaf rust and have large beans. He explains that farmers can get a mean yield of 3.7 tonnes of hulled coffee per hectare/year.

The KR8-10 quality beans are the latest varieties developed at NaCORI.

The institute also produces seed for Arabica coffee.

Dr Kagezi adds that most of the materials are availed to stakeholders such as nursery operators and farmer groups.

According to Dr Geoffrey Arinaitwe, the director of NaCORI, farmers will gain skills for managing pests and diseases, improve soil fertility and plant management.

He adds that they have made breakthrough research on adding value to coffee through skin-care products such as body creams, lotions, lip balm and dietary products to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers through better incomes and gainful jobs.

“Apart from producing quality coffee, we need to look into value addition for local, regional and international markets,” he said, stressing that there is an urgent need to tap into the energy drinks industry.

Value addition allows for a more consistent supply of coffee for the rest of the world.

China aid

The Embassy of China will donate irrigation kits to selected farmers.

Ms Jiang Liqing, the economic and commercial counsellor of the embassy will share China’s unique experience with climate-smart farming.

The Embassy of China will use the Farm Clinic to inform farmers about how they can benefit from the coffee exports to China.

“Climate-smart farming is a global challenge and we shall provide Ugandan farmers with the support they need to leapfrog into modern, highly efficient agricultural techniques,” Ms Liqing said.

Represented by Zheng ZhuQiang, the Chinese government last year donated irrigation equipment to three winning projects to enhance their farm practices. They include: Guma Association, Agrorin Rural Institute and Buikwe Diary Development Association.

Ms Liqing added that Uganda has free market access to China with zero tariffs on 97 per cent of Ugandan products including coffee, dried mangoes and cocoa.

Financial headache

Whereas financing remains a key issue to agriculture, there is assurance from Bank of Uganda and Stanbic Bank.

Winnie Muliisa, the head of disbursement and recovery of the Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) at Bank of Uganda, explains that the facility supports commercialisation and modernisation of agriculture through provision of medium to long-term financing with focus on value addition and mechanisation.

The funds are accessed through any of the accredited financial institutions.

“The ACF provides for a grace period of up to three years which allows farmers or agro-processors a relief period in which they are not paying the principal loan but only interest. This enables the borrower to be able to implement the project and organise their cash flows before they can start to repay the loan,” Muliisa explains.

The maximum loan amount to a single borrower is Shs2.1b and for grain trade it is up to Shs10b.

Interest rate is a maximum of 12 per cent per annum (one per cent per month) and in the case of grain trade, it should not exceed 15 per cent per annum (or 1.25 per cent monthly).

“The loan repayments vary with some being monthly, quarterly or bi-annually taking into account the project’s life cycle but provided they do not exceed the maximum period of eight years allowable under the ACF. In the case of grain trade, the payment period is up to two years since these are short term working capital loans,” she adds.

NOTE

Seeds of Gold Farm Clinic schedule

July 24: Mukono (Cocoa and coffee)

Sept. 11: Arua (Cassava, apiary, fish, Irish potatoes & mangoes).

Oct. 16: F. Portal (aquaculture, apiculture, Irish potatoes, tea and beans)

Nov. 13: Namulonge (Diary)

Dec. 4: Mayuge (Cassava, maize, pastures, coffee and rice)