By Jackie Nambogga
Agro- dealers and farmers have partly been blamed for promoting counterfeit inputs by not adhering to guidelines on storage and planting.
Once the inputs, such as seeds and chemicals are exposed to high temperatures and humidity, Pascal Kahesi, a technical sales manager with Faith agro-inputs, their expected output automatically turn to counterfeits leading to low yields.
“The seeds generate moisture if exposed under the sun and tend to germinate as a result, such cant give better yields,” he said.
Kahesi said at times the public lament of buying substandard inputs when the problem is with the stockists and farmers who don’t store them properly.
This was during a joint press conference of seed firms and Uganda national farmers federation (UNFFE) at the kickstart of the 29th National agricultural trade show in Jinja on Friday.
Taking place at the Source of River Nile, the 10-day exhibition is running under the theme, “fostering resilient agricultural value chains to drive agro-industrialisation.
Kahesi’s comments emanated from Pherezi Kawumi’s remarks after imploring farmers to embrace the show from where they would share and learn the new technologies and innovations at exposure.
Kawumi said it was important for them to know the right agro dealers on top of issuing them with receipts for purposes of
Janet Ajambo, a sales manager with Top seeds advised dealers to always store chemicals separately from seeds to avoid contamination.
Meanwhile Nelson Tukundande the UNFFE spokesperson said the theme rhymes President Yoweri Museveni’s call on Ugandan farmers to add value on their produce and increase on their earnings. “Farmers are getting peanuts from their sweat due to lack of value addition on their produce, this running platform has solutions ranging from a one model farmer,” he urged.
