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Home News Govt Distributes Early Maturing Seeds To Boost Food Security

Govt Distributes Early Maturing Seeds To Boost Food Security

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The government has launched a programme to distribute seeds of early maturing crops across the country in a bid to boost the country’s food security.

The measure is expected to start with Karamoja region before being rolled out to the rest of the country, agriculture state minister Fred Bwino Kyakulaga said.

He was speaking on Monday at the Uganda Media Centre ahead of the World Food Day celebrations.

In Uganda, the event will be commemorated on Sunday (October 16) at National Crops Resources Research Institute (NACRRI) in Namulonge under the theme Leave No One Behind: Better Production, Better Nutrition, A Better Environment and A Better Life.

“As you are aware, handouts are not sustainable, so we must come up with a measure that is more sustainable. That is why we have come up with the distribution of early maturing crops,” Kyakulaga said, adding that all the seeds being distributed mature in less than two months.

For the start, the minister said beneficiaries will receive seed for three crop varieties, including green gram (choloco), cowpeas, and white beans.

“For some crops like green gram and cowpeas, you can also eat its leaves as vegetables. So, you can even start harvesting even earlier,” he added.  

Despite having the biggest share of arable land (37.8 percent) in the region, Uganda is one of the countries facing a food crisis.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification for June, 361,000 people are estimated to be experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse.

In a bid to push back, the government has been forced to extend food aid to some parts of the country, including northeast where deaths have been reported because of the acute food shortage.

He also announced that plans are underway to promote fortification of food to increase nutrition and good diet in eastern central, western and west Nile regions. 

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