Archive for year: 2019

Kampala, Uganda: Scientists have warned against future food insecurity if Uganda’s Agricultural sector does not mainstream use of organic farming practices to preserve land fertility and sustain reasonable productivity.

Speaking at the launch of a report on the Status of Agro-ecology and Livelihood Systems Capacity in Uganda at the Cardinal Nsubuga Leadership Training Institute last Friday, Dr. Joseph Ssekandi, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture at Uganda Martyrs University noted that only 17.9 percent of youth are engaged in agroecological activities compared to their counterparts above 50 years.

Ssekandi further noted that some farmers were even using harmful chemicals to prop up production, undermining land productivity in the long-term.

“In our research, we found that only 15.2 percent of smallholder farmers were aware of existing agroecology policies, and the majority (56.6%) used inorganic chemicals to control pests and diseases. Indeed, it is of public health concern that some farmers use rat poison as a pest control measure, as we found in Masaka and Kasese districts,” Ssekandi said.

The study, the first of its kind on the status of value chains in the adoption of agroecology among smallholder farmers in Uganda research was undertaken by Uganda Martyrs University under the African Center for Agro-ecology and Livelihood Systems, and was jointly funded by the Government of Uganda and the World Bank.

Researchers collected data from 14 districts in the 10 agro-ecological zones of Uganda. Among other findings, they concluded that women face greater risk of landlessness because while they have land access rights, they cannot sell the land off or offer it as collateral to access credit. Similarly, they found, youth lack security of tenure from land owners, which hinders their decision making on how the land is utilized.

Speaking at the report launch, Agriculture Minister Vincent Ssempijja noted that such research was critical in shaping decisions and policies. “Government of Uganda is aware that 65% of the population in Uganda relies on agriculture, and that our livelihoods must be sustained through profitable and proper use of the environment,” he said.

He expressed particular concern at some damning findings of the report, which found that 54.5 per cent of farmers rely on traditional methods to control pests and diseases, while only 31 percent of farmers had acquired organic certification. Moreover, the report found, as many as 92.2 percent of farmers depend on the seeds saved after harvest to regrow crops.

“We need to popularize the adoption of environmentally friendly practices such as mulching, intercropping and use of organic chemicals for farming,” said Ssempijja.

Alex Lwakuba, the Assistant Commissioner for Crop Production in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries on his part noted that the ministry was moving to encourage the use of liquefied fertilizers as a way of increasing food production, in line with the rise in population.

“We can’t talk of Ugandans farming their way into the future when we still have just 249,000 certified organic farmers in Uganda out of the 5 million household farmers,” said Lwakuba.

Presently, Uganda’s population is estimated to be around at 44.27 million and is expected to shoot to 100 million by 2050. It(population) is estimated to grow at approximately 3.3 percent per year, while the rate of food production stands at 2.2 percent. It is this mismatch that has researchers worried that the population will over time have inadequate food to feed on unless immediate interventions are addressed.

As a solution, the report proposes the setting up of Agroecology Centers of Excellence to facilitate easy access to information, the coordination of research and development of organic agrochemicals to deal with pests and diseases.

Speaking at the closure of the launch, Uganda Martyrs University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rev. Fr. John. C Maviri also urged government to implement the ban on buveera, noting that it would go a long way in conserving the environment. “Our land has been poisoned by buveera. I am a farmer and each time I dig, what I get is buveera,” he lamented!

The post Scientists root for Organic Farming as a buffer against Food Insecurity appeared first on The Cooperator News.

The government has described the late Ignatius Kangave Musaaze as the father of cooperatives, whose nationalistic traits brought a lot of positive changes in pre-independence Uganda.

Musaazi, who passed away in 1990 is one of only two national heroes buried at the Kololo national heroes’ cemetery and is widely acknowledged as the founding father of Uganda’s Independence Movement.

He is among other things credited with founding Uganda’s first national political party – the Uganda National Congress (UNC) from which sprung present-day Uganda People’s Congress in 1961, and the first trade union – Uganda Motor Drivers Association, which later metamorphosed into the Uganda Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union. The two are credited for presenting the first organized challenge to the colonial administration.

In 2007, the Musaazi family with support from Government set up the 1.K Musaazi Foundation to help immortalize Musaazi’s memory, consequently starting the I.K.Musaazi memorial lecturers that have since 2016 become an annual calendar event jointly organized with the Uhuru Institute for Social Development.

This year, celebrations will involve a week-long set of activities that will start with thanks-giving prayers at Namirembe cathedral on Monday 30th September 2019, and conclude with a memorial lecture, a fundraising dinner and the launch of a book, “Musaazi and the Early Struggle for Freedom and Unity” by Prof. George Shepherd at the Uganda Museum on Saturday, 5th October 2019.

During the course of the week, there will also be engagements with Cooperative Society and labor Union leaders, a nationwide screening of the Musaazi Documentary on all Vision Group affiliate Television Stations, and the annual I.K.Musaazi memorial lecture that will be hosted alongside fundraising dinner on Friday, to be presided over by President Museveni.

Leonard Okello, the Chief Executive Officer of the Uhuru Institute for Social Development told theCooperator that funds raised from the dinner will be used to set up the I.K Musaazi Innovations Institute, to serve as a leadership and innovation think tank inculcating cooperatives ideology among workers and cooperators across the country.

Addressing the media on the week-long activities at the Uganda Media Center on Wednesday, second deputy Prime Minister in charge of the East African Community Affairs Hon. Kirunda Kivejinja applauded Musaazi, noting that despite hailing from a rich family and attending elite schools, Musazi identified with ordinary citizens and fought sectarianism.

‘Musaazi left the comfort of government employment to lead and attract educated Ugandans into the cooperative movement. He traveled around the countryside organizing peasants into cooperative groups at every parish,’ Kivenjinja said.

Besides forming the first trade union, Musazi also formed the Uganda African Farmers Union with the aim of aggregating farmers’ issues and advocating for them with one voice before the colonial authorities.

Elizabeth Musazi, the daughter of the late I.K Musazi said although the name of her father isn’t talked often, he is one of the first black nationalists who lit up the African struggle for self-rule, which led to the final decolonization of the continent.

Who is Ignatius Kangave Musazi?

Born on 8 August 1905 to a Gombolola chief in Timuna village near Wobulenzi, off present-day Kampala-Gulu highway, Musazi was the eldest of nine brothers and thirteen sisters. He attended Mengo Senior School and King’s College Budo for his secondary education, before traveling to England for further studies.

Despite his affluent upbringing and a desire to become a priest that saw him spend several years in a theology college, Musazi changed his mind for political activism, after learning from his West African colleagues that liberation for the African peasant could only be achieved on a political platform, and not in the pulpit.

He went on to organize Ugandan peasants and elites through cooperatives and trade unions, founding the Uganda National Congress (UNC) – the first truly Ugandan nationwide political party in 1952. He died on October 20, 1990.

The post Government Hails Musaazi appeared first on The Cooperator News.