Photo courtesy
Manufacturers of various organic agricultural input products have called upon the government to recognize their products, ease certification and licensing process.
These manufacturers believe that their products can provide long-term and cheaper solutions to several challenges in agriculture.
They argue that they have solutions for plant, livestock, aquaculture challenges and have they insist that they are able to produce the desired quantity and quality.
Trust Hunting Vodka: 0754649086
While displaying of the Vermipro company‘s production plant in Seeta on Sunday, Moses Oburu, the company general manager, said that the problem starts with the lengthy licensing processes, to which they lose a lot of time and money which would otherwise be saved.
According to Oburu, though the market for organic agro inputs is growing by double digits annually, the government has not yet considered their products in its projects, which he says would have given them a platform for a bugger market.
“When you look at the bigger market which is taken up by the government providing subsidized inputs, the organic products have not been much considered, this is giving us a challenge for a bigger reach out for the market” Oburu explains.
He adds that, under various programs and projects, they have partnered with several development partners, and civil society, who link them up with a larger market, and to him, this to some extent, makes up for what they miss from the government.
Currently, the production of these organic inputs is governed by the Agrochemicals Control Act, due to the absence of an enabling law to the policy that was passed in 2019, to which Oburu says there is a need for an independent law specifically for these products, adding that as they wait for the law, the government should be deliberate in promoting these products.
“Generally if we are to improve the quality of our agriculture productivity and presence in the world market, the government should consider including organic inputs within the existing extension and demonstration setup. This setup already has a budget from which an allocation to demonstrate organic products on the district demonstration farms can be obtained such that more farmers can learn and appreciate these products” Oburu
says.
Oburu says that as a sector, they can satisfy the market demand giving an example of Vermipro company which can supply input to up to 1 million acres monthly, but is only using less than 10 percent of that at the moment.
Shariton Namuwooza, the executive director of the National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda- NOGAMU, the umbrella body for producers, promoters, exporters, importers, and organizations involved in organic products in Uganda, says that in addition to being lengthy, the licensing process is very expensive, and not fair because it evaluates organic inputs in the same procedure as inorganic.
“For a producer who intends to be integrated with the export value chain, the process costs between USD 8000 to 15000, and the East African one goes for about USD 1000, and they take our products through the same process which is not fair because these are two different products,” Namuwooza explained.
He revealed that as a sector, they are working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the office of the prime minister, to expedite the process of the organic inputs bill which the government already committed to last year.
“We are engaging OPM, and our line ministry, to expedite the organic bill, because just like the anti-homosexuality act, the same speed is required, because this law is needed yesterday, as it will operationalize the organic policy which is redundant since 2019, and this will solve most of the challenges the manufacturers are talking about, as well as streamlining enforcement and resources mobilization.”