MASAKA– At least 629 exhibitors including farmers’ associations, district local governments, agricultural research institutions, financial institutions, and agri-business companies have showcased their products and services at the ongoing Buddu-CBS PEWOSA trade fair.
The annual agri-business trade fair, running from October 20-44, 2022, at Masaka-Buddu Ssaza ground, focuses on promoting commercial agriculture, value addition, cooperatives, and environment protection.
Through its initiative known as Project to Empower Women through Savings and Loan Associations [PEWOSA], Buganda Kingdom has been organising such agricultural trade shows in Buganda region in an effort to motivate farmers to boost agricultural production through cooperatives.
The project coordinator in Masaka region, Charles Kasujja said they organised the agricultural show for farmers to share knowledge, experiences, and ideas so that they improve their farming ability through commercial farming, value addition, and formation of cooperatives.
”We want the farmers to build their capacity for value addition of their agricultural products, expand and acquire markets,” he said.
Masaka is one of the agricultural hubs for matooke and coffee in Buganda region but its rural subsistence farmers still lack the managerial skills and knowledge to properly sustain SACCOs or cooperatives in this area.
Meanwhile, farmers in Masaka region asked The Uhuru Institute for Social Development [TUI] to extend to train rural farmers in the region on financial literacy, management, and formation of cooperative societies. This was after they visited TUI’s tent at the trade fair.
TUI’s Mordecai Kamya told the farmers that the organisation, which is a social business enterprise, is committed to training farmers in cooperatives so that they can have bargaining power over their products as well as participate in the governance and management of their cooperatives.
Hajji Ibrahim Katale a coffee farmer at Kasanje village in Nyendo-Mukungwe division said they formed farmers’ SACCOs even though he said they have limited access to affordable loans in banks.
”We think the only alternative is forming farmers SACCOs but farmers are still finding it hard to raise enough funds for purchasing farm inputs which are very expensive such as fertilizers, pesticides, and machines like irrigation systems to water their crops,” Katale said.
He said it was important to have a good relationship organisations like TUI and others since they provide advice on how best members can manage their cooperatives.
Badru Kagga, a cassava grower, said farmers need to buy irrigation equipment to solve the challenge of the prolonged drought, which he said has contributed to the poverty in the farmers’ households.
Masaka district agricultural engineer, Gyaviira Damulira said the district has been badly hit by drought in recent times, leading to low agricultural yields.
However, he said government has designed an irrigation programme for farmers to acquire solar irrigation machines at a subsidised price through co-funding. He said 17 farmers in Masaka have already applied for the machines, adding that the district has received Shs 330 million for the programme.
https://thecooperator.news/kabakas-call-shows-buganda-kingdom-cooperative-ideology-unfaltering/
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