Teso farmers tipped on improving agricultural productivity
SOROTI– Over 100 farmers in Teso Sub-region have been advsied on the agricultural practices they can undertake to improve productivity so as to improve their household incomes as well as fight poverty.
Ag-Ploutos, an agricultural company whose core aim is to strengthen food supply chains through partnerships with various public and private entities, is partnering with Happy Face Holdings in helping farmers, especially in the districts of Serere and Amuria to boost their agricultural production.
Ande Okiror, the project facilitator, noted that the productivity of Teso Sub-region is very low, saying farmers are harvesting between 0.2-0.8 tons of yields per acre, which means they are making losses and therefore unable to meet their basic needs.
He said farmers need to improve productivity per unit area to produce more as opposed to opening to producing less on the expansive pieces of land.
Okiror went ahead to encourage farmers to embrace the use of improved inputs, and diversify production as they produce for the market. “Use improved seeds to increase productivity and reap big,” he said.
He also advised the farmers to use fertilizers, control pests, plant early, and harvest in time, if they are to make more money from farming.
Besides, Okiror said he has helped link the farmers to profitable markets that require the farmers to produce 50,000, 10, 000, 2,000, 5,000, and 5,000 metric tons of maize, beans, soybeans, black simsim and white simsim respectively.
Michael Emadit, Ag-Ploutos coordinator in Amuria urged farmers to cooperate and collectively have one point for storing their produce for easy accessibility.
He encouraged the farmers to plant crops that are good for food production for commercial purposes to increase their incomes.
According to Emadit, farmers should utilise their farmlands well while bearing in mind that there is a need to grow in surplus for self-sustainability.
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