BY K D SEBUNYA
Cereal farmers from over 26 districts across the country have received skills training on how to enhance the quality and quantity of their yield, as well as how to manage a business dealing in these products.
The training attracted facilitators from various MDAs, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives; Ministry of Agriculture; the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO); Uganda Registrations Services Bureau (URSB); Uganda Revenue Authority (URA); Uganda National Bureau of Standards, among others. Apart from farmers, other players in the cereals value chain like processors, traders, and transporters were also represented.
This training comes at a time when the Uganda cereals industry is facing backlash for deteriorating product quality, especially maize, limiting cross-border trade and foreign earnings. Simultaneously, the government is striving to eliminate informality in the country’s economy, including cereal produce businesses.
Dr. Fred Kagoda, a research officer from NARO, pointed out that although much needs to be done, especially in extension services, to ensure the adoption of acceptable practices throughout the value chain, farmers must love what they do and be responsible enough to seek knowledge about their business.
According to Kagoda, the quality of cereal production starts with the seed planted and extends through the entire value chain. He adds that NARO has released many cereal varieties, but they remain unused on organization shelves due to inadequate extension services.
About marginalized cereals like millet, Kagoda says, “Research takes a bottom-up approach, with projects being demand-driven. Crops with less demand receive less research attention. We also consider food security for the nation, hence maize and rice taking precedence due to high consumption.”
Johnson Abitekaniza, the Ministry of Trade officer for business development and quality assurance, advised farmers to be conversant with the quality of their products from harvest, emphasizing that proactive measures ensure qualitative output and enhance competitiveness in local and cross-border markets.
He added, “Having better quality is the only way Uganda’s cereal produce businesses can survive the highly competitive market. The farmers’ mindset should shift from only planting and harvesting to being business-minded.”
The event was organized at Gudie Leisure Farm in Najjeera, where the proprietor, Gudula Nayiga Basaza, mentioned that the training aimed to align sector players’ expectations and support them in establishing viable businesses. The training will also equip farmers with techniques to increase their yields and understand post-harvest handling methods that maintain the quality of the produce.
Nayiga emphasized, “We want to learn how to do postharvest handling to avoid wastage. Storage issues, like aflatoxin affecting cereals, tarnish the country’s name. We want to address that to ensure the product we put on the market is of high quality.”