BY S KWAGALA
A most recent meteorological report indicates that there will be more rains this year than last year .
However , the ever changing weather seasons due to climate change require that access to information is made much easier for farmers across all levels, the elite and non elite .
Dr. Agnes Kalibata , president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa mentioned that access to information helps farmers to plan better for their farming cycle. Poor planning due to lack of information according to her has in the past contributed to unstable food production which is a source of insecurity.
The agriculturalists highlighted that channels which are being used for communication such as social media including WhatsApp, X, Facebook and Print media among others are not necessarily accessible to all farmers let alone the English and scientific terms used .
She noted that the challenge is not the absence of information but enablement of access to it for even farmers at grass roots.
“We do have alot of information for example weather information exists. So how do we make sure that this information becomes available to communities or countries for the sector to attract more investments.” Kalibata said.
Under a 6 year project by the World Bank dubbed The Uganda Smart Agricultural Transformation Project (UCSATP) , the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) together with NARO and Uganda National Meteorological Authority among others , will modify weather information and their channels of delivery to suit farmers across all sects .
Engineer Boniface Okanya, the project coordinator informed the media and other agriculturalists that there is a plan to get experts from UNMA to work with the ministry of agriculture to develop targeted information and channels of communication for the farmers.
“These would be SMS,on all phone types , short messages on radio, TV, so that alerts that come on one’s phone or what one learns from the radio can help one prepare for existing weather challenges,” Okanya made note.
Major Gen David Kasura Kyomukama,the permanent secretary of Agriculture celebrated that the 354.7Million dollar project would facilitate this in addition to other components the project is to serve .