Embrace value addition  - Mayiga

Buganda Kingdom Premier (Katikkiro) Charles Peter Mayiga has urged farmers to embrace new farming technologies.

Mr Mayiga said farming programmes should be focused on improving livelihoods.

“We need to rely on science to get the best coffee varieties that will give us maximum yields. If we encourage people to grow coffee and they continue to grow coffee, they must be able to realise the good results through improved incomes,” he said.

Addressing agriculture researchers on January 30 at Kituuza Village, Nkokonjeru Subcounty in Mukono District, where he engaged with experts at the National Coffee Research Institute (Nacori), Mr Mayiga praised Nacori for its role in promoting the ‘Emmwaanyi Terimba’ campaign, a programme advocating for coffee production in Buganda Kingdom.

 He emphasised the need for value-addition to extract different ingredients from coffee beans, which can be utilised in cosmetics, jewellery, nutritional supplements, and other daily essentials.

“The different research that you are undertaking is good. We appreciate the effort. The research being done in indigenous birds, indigenous animals is a good step. We should all embrace the new knowledge to boost agriculture for food security and have surplus for sale,” the Katikkiro advised.

Dr Yona Baguma, the Director General at Naro, said they would ensure that the technologies are made available to the public.

“We request you to promote health programmes using Naro technologies. We have been able to develop high dense bean varieties, high dense sweet potato varieties in terms of nutrients. Let these high nutrient varieties penetrate the market and promote the health of the people,” Dr Baguma said.

“As Naro, we pledge to promote technologies through a well-designed outreach programme and through that effort, we will be able to drive out poverty in our communities,” he said.

Background

Buganda Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Naro in October last year.

Under the MoU, Buganda aims to rely on science to advance initiatives benefiting people engaged in agriculture. Naro’s institutes, including Nacori, Namulonge, Kawanda, and Mukono Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Muzardi), cover various aspects from coffee value-addition to livestock, food standards testing, and zonal demands such as fisheries, vegetables, and poultry.

The collaboration seeks to disseminate research and promote modern farming methods for the benefit of Uganda’s farming communities.