Poor message package failing sustainable agriculture, says Tumwebaze

The minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze has said inappropriate packing of messages is failing sustainable agriculture which he said is a great concern of every farmer in the country.

Tumwebaze made the remarks as Send a Cow Uganda, which has worked with farmers across different parts of the country for 25 years relaunched on Thursday as Ripple Effect Uganda. 

The rebranding is part of the organisation’s ambition to expand its impact on poverty and hunger in rural areas. Ripple Effect Uganda plans to reach 800,000 more people by 2030.

Tumwebaze commended the organisation for having promoted sustainable livelihoods through a program of exchanging livestock among group members to create a socially inclusive wealth creation ecosystem.

He, however, noted that climate-smart technologies which are sustainable agriculture is becoming a concern of every farmer, adding key issues that the farmers need to know are not properly packed hence scaring them to embrace the initiative.

Sustainable agriculture is defined as agricultural practices that sustainably increase productivity and system resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“The messaging should not be do not farm in the wetlands but it should be let us utilize wetlands in a sustainable manner. We need to come up with what needs to be done in the wetland and what should not be done,” he suggested.

He noted harmonisation of the process will help the farmers to get the right message hence easing compliance.

“We should really tell people what is allowed and what is not allowed and this can be achieved if we all work together,” he said, appealing to the sector players to coordinate their efforts in the agricultural space. He said he is ready to provide the platform for coordination.

He also called for utilisation of technology in the agriculture sector, noting that there are huge benefits there to leverage including market access among others.  

“I am sure now that the middlemen are in trouble in the value chain because people know the price of coffee because they have everything in their phones but now how can we make this better?” he queried.

The Director of Ripple Effect Uganda, Pamela Ebanyat said access to extension services, the issue of quality seeds and climate effects are some of the challenges they are facing in the sector.

“Our farmers are not able to have quality seeds and there are many times they plant and still the seeds fail. We know climate change is a very big issue. It is not only the issue of a community but it is a global issue,” she said.

Officials said the new name will enable the organisation to build on the depth of valuable experience it has developed since 1988.

Ripple Effect has sector-leading expertise in three areas of work including enterprise development, so that farmers generate income, start small businesses, and build positive futures, the gender and social inclusion, ensuring that everyone benefits from rural development: women and men, young and old, and people with different needs and abilities

Others are: sustainable agriculture, focused on agroecological principles that have a climate-positive impact, making land highly productive and biodiverse