Planning and allocating resources to agriculture must follow five principles and 20 interconnected actions COMMENT | MILDRED BARUNGI | “A world where food is nutritious and accessible for everyone, in which natural resources are managed in a way that maintains ecosystem functions to support current and future human needs.” This …
Read More »WORLD BANK: Agriculture key to ending poverty in Uganda
✳ Discontinue the fragmentation of districts (if possible, consolidate to reduce administrative costs). ✳ Government’s outsized role in the agriculture sector leaves little room for private sector participation. ✳ Technical inefficiencies pervade delivery of subsidized inputs, procured by the NAADS and distributed by the OWC to farmers. ✳ Rather …
Read More »Tractor protest sparks ‘biggest’ Dutch traffic jam
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Thousands of Dutch farmers drove their tractors on Tuesday to a huge protest against government climate policies, causing the country’ biggest ever traffic jams, officials said. The farmers travelled from all over the country to The Hague for the four-wheeled demonstration, saying they had …
Read More »Benin counts the cost after Nigeria shutters border
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Dozens of baskets brimming with newly-picked tomatoes gently rot in the sticky heat, becoming the latest casualty in a bout of trade tension between Benin and Nigeria. On August 19, President Muhammadu Buhari unexpectedly closed Nigeria’s borders to goods trade with Benin and Niger, declaring the …
Read More »MUSEVENI: Makerere should be Africa’s number one University
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has said Makerere is on track to regain its past glory. He has challenged Vice Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe to aim for the number one position among African universities. “I heard Makerere was ranked 5th best university in Africa. I challenge the …
Read More »American interest in Uganda’s GMO law
How U.S. funding for science set up a clash between parliament and Museveni Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE AND ISAAC KHISA | When President Yoweri Museveni rejected the Genetic Engineering Regulatory Bill 2018, for the second consecutive time, his action left the Ugandan public polarized between local and international interests …
Read More »Gov’t to revive district farm institutes
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries under the Directorate of agricultural extension services is fast-tracking the revival of District Farm Institutes to boost agriculture. The initiative which is part of the broader objective of transforming farmers from subsistence to commercial agriculture has been …
Read More »Lack of transport hindering agriculture extension works in island districts
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The absence of sufficient transport means for agriculture extension workers in Kalangala and Buvuma districts is hampering the promotion of good agricultural practices in several outlying islands. The Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Ministry, has purchased 72 double cabin vehicles and 1200 motorcycles …
Read More »Forty-six new US Peace Corps Volunteers start work in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The US Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac has presided over the swearing-in ceremony of 46 United States Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). This newest group of 21 health and 25 agribusiness volunteers brings the total number of Peace Corps Volunteers currently serving in Uganda …
Read More »Dependence on agriculture sign of backwardness -Museveni
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has said the high number of people depending on agriculture is a sign that Ugandans are still backward. Uganda is a highly agricultural country and about 70 percent of the country’s population is employed in the agricultural sector. But while …
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