Agricultural extension service providers in Masaka district are worried that the high costs of agro-inputs may affect food production this season. Farmers are currently preparing their gardens for the next planting season after receiving some rains following a long dry spell that has adversely affected plantations.
Disan Muwanga, the Buddu County Coordinator of Agricultural extension services in greater Masaka districts is worried that farmers may not effectively utilize the new planting season because some farmers cannot afford the required agricultural inputs due to the high costs.
He explains that many subsistence farmers cannot afford agricultural inputs that include herbicides, improved seeds, and fertilizers in their required quantities and as a result, they will not grow enough food for their survival.
Apparently, a packet of 2 kilograms of treated hybrid maize seeds costs Shillings 17,000, more than double the price of last year. The same quantity of bean seeds is going for an average of Shillings 12,000 up from Shillings 5,000 last year while a 1 kilogram of Phosphate fertilizers also rose to Shillings 5,200 from 2,200 in the same period.
Muwanga explains that the abnormal increase in the price of inputs has come at a time when farmers’ incomes were severely affected by the long drought, which resulted in
general crop failure.
Muwanga says that some farmers got frustrated and are now hesitant to invest in agriculture for fear of suffering similar losses resulting from this year’s long dry spell.
He is afraid that if the government doesn’t step in and support the farmers with appropriate guidance and inputs, the country may suffer a prolonged food shortage as a result of low yields.
John Tamale, a member of the Kingo Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Lwengo district, says that besides the existing perennial crops, many farmers are yet to get seeds for seasonal crops.
According to Tamale, many farmers are still waiting on inputs from either the government or leaders. Tamale foresees a situation where farmers will resort to poor-quality seeds, eventually resulting in very poor yields that may worsen the food shortage in communities.
Paul Kiyemba, the Kalungu District Production Officer confirms that they are aware of the challenge of the high cost of seeds, which became inevitable after farmers registered very low yields in the last season and adjustments in the operations of the National Agricultural Advisory Services-NAADS program.
“Government has been directly supporting some farmers with inputs through the NAADs and Operation Wealth Creation, but the challenge now is that all these resources were withdrawn to finance the Parish Development Model program,” he noted.
To beat the challenge, Kiyemba advises farmers to seek agriculture extension services providers at sub-county levels, to guide them on the appropriate seeds that will yield them much to compensate for the cost. URN
