Posted on October, 19, 2016 at 10:32 am
KAMPALA, UGANDA - Uganda Legume Seeds Pilot, a five year project designed to improve Ugandan farmers access to government certified and quality Legume seed varieties has set a target of adding 7000 metric tonnes of legume seeds to the current volumes of about 2000 metric tons annually.
According to Boniface Mugisa, the Team Leader, Legume Seeds Pilot at Lutheran World Relief, the pilot seeks to give prizes to seed companies to stretch production of legume seeds over and above current levels, which will contribute to a diversified formal seed sector by increasing the proportion of Legumes of soya beans and beans in the improved Seeds portfolio which is currently dominated by maize seed varieties.
“When the above objectives are met, the cumulative benefit to participating seed companies and to small scale farmers in the pilot area may reach approximately$2.5 million and $30.4 million respectively,” Mugisa said in an interview with East African Business Week.
He said the problem is in Uganda, demand uncertainty, barriers to working capital and funding challenges have constrained seed companies from producing increased volumes of high quality Legume Seeds, thus limiting farmers’ ability to grow Legumes.
The pilot project targets improved smallholder Ugandan farmers access to quality government certified Legume Seeds of beans and Soyabeans over the pilot period.
This project, which is managed by the Lutheran World Relief, is designed to test out effectiveness and efficiency of an alternative development approach called a pull mechanism in comparison with the traditional approaches called Push mechanism in promotion and uptake of innovative Agricultural Technologies.
The seed varieties to be mainly piloted are those that are carried out at Kawanda Research Station but have not been highly absorbed by the seed companies with regeneration capabilities.
Source: East African Business Week