Government advises farmers to ignore the scattered rains

Government has asked farmers to ignore the scattered rains advising them to only plant if the rains are consistent for at least two weeks.

While addressing the media in Kampala, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, the minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries said farmers maybe tempted to plant crops with slight showers of rain being received in different parts of the country.

"Fellow farmers, we are experiencing some rains in most parts of the country in this period which is usually expected to be hot and dry.These rains are not reliable for planting crops,"he said.

He noted that the rains are a spill over from the previous season as reported by Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA).

He advised farmers to complete harvesting of the previous season crops especially the cereals as soon as possible while observing proper harvesting and post-harvest handling practices.

"Farmers are advised to prepare their fields by clearing, slashing and first ploughing. Second ploughing Should be carried out 14 days after the first ploughing for the case of those using tractors,"he said.

He noted that the ministry developed a tamper proof label for ascertaining quality of certified seed.

"Farmers are therefore, advised to look out for seed that bears a MAAIF Tamperproof label which is either blue or green in colour attached to the seed packs,"he said.