‘Lack of Proper Knowledge, Information Affecting Agricultural Output’

Lack of proper knowledge and information on dynamics of agriculture is one of the the major problems facing farmers in Luwero and most parts of the region, say agriculture experts.

The agricultural sector in Uganda employs the biggest population in the country.

According to the 2018 Annual Agriculture Survey report by Food Agricultural Organization and Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the agricultural sector employs over 80% of the rural population and about 64.3% of the working population.

While officiating at the Airtel Uganda and EzyAgric Partnership at Sylvia Farm in Katabona Village, Kayonza Sub County in Luwero District, Josephine Okot, the founder and CRO of Victoria Seeds Ltd said that majority of the farmers’ efforts are stalled by the information gap on what to plant and when, as well as how to handle the harvest.

“For many years, farmers have suffered losses because of lack of alignment of information on when to plant, what to plant, where to buy inputs, and at what price,” she said,

“They have also lacked information on how to control pests and diseases, where to sell their products and at what price. We are confident that this partnership will go a long way in bridging this gap,” she added.

With over 70% of the population being employed in the Agricultural sector, Okot said that it is without a doubt that agriculture continues to be among the key drivers of Uganda’s economic growth.

The penned partnership will see Airtel EzyAgric, an Agric-Tech company, support farmers in embracing the use of technology through mobile phones to have access to useful information on agricultural inputs, markets, insurance options, marketing and weather information.

These functions, they said, will help farmers in decision making.

Speaking to ChimpReports at the sidelines of the event, Henry Njoroge, the Marketing Director at Airtel Uganda said that they are committed to supporting the reduction of barriers to social and economic empowerment of communities in which they operate.

“We shall be making continuous investment in affordable and innovative products, solutions and partnerships in the areas of Agriculture, Education and Health. We are proud to be launching this service that allows farmers with feature phones to also access agricultural information to improve their decision making and productivity,” he added.

William Luyinda, the Chief Executive Officer EzyAgric said that technology continues to be instrumental in improving agri-business in Uganda.

“With almost everything being digitalized, it then becomes a worthwhile investment to venture into such partnership like what we have with Airtel Uganda. The farmers will have access to advice from a range of resources that are available through our long list of extension workers within several districts who can speak English, Lugbara, Lumasaba, Runyakitara and Luganda among the other language translations available on the EzyAgric App,” he said.

Farmers, he said, will also have access to information like; the farm/garden mapping, Agric shop, Ezy credits, Farm manager, produce market, Better extension which includes; crop nutrition, diary, news, videos and financial literacy.

They will also access advisory topics for at least 15 crops in horticulture for; cereals, pulses, oilseeds and perennial crops, Plant protection (tips on disease management and control), Seed selection management, Post-harvest handling and Weather information among others.