Posted on October, 17, 2019 at 10:02 am
As Uganda will be joining the rest of the World to celebrate the International Day for Rural Women and also the World Food Day, Agricultural Activists are calling upon the Uganda Government to support Women especially those in rural areas to effectively adopt Organic Farming Practices which they urge are environmentally friendly and cheap to practice as compared to conventional farming.
The Activists under their Umbrella body Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum Uganda chapter {ESAFF-Uganda) say Organic farming can support rural Women to overcome the challenges of poverty since the practice requires farmers to use indigenous Knowledge.
They add that the agricultural products produced through organic farming are highly demanded both on local, regional and international markets.
“The Demand for organic products locally and internationally are high compared to products from Convectional farming practices.
“However our farmers especially those in the rural areas are still ignorant about the Economic potential associated with organic farming.
“It is why the government should come out to promote it since it has the potential to uplift our rural farmers from Poverty,” said Nancy Walimbwa Mugimba the National Coordinator of ESAFF –Uganda in an interview with EABW Digital News.
She added that consuming organically produced foodstuffs has social and health benefits to the citizens as compared to products produced in a conventional way.
“Majority of us know some of the major benefits of consuming organically grown food.
“The reduction in exposure to pesticides and GMOs, the increased intake of nutritional foods and the fact that it tastes better than conventionally grown food,” she added.
To ensure that local farmers especially the rural women appreciate the positive impacts of organic farming, ESAFF- Uganda and its partner organizations have organized the Organic Week in celebration of the International Day for Rural Women on the 15th October and the World Food Day on the 16th signifying the role of farmers especially women in feeding the nation.
The national Organic week will be hosted in Northern Uganda where the Activists alongside farmers will be showcasing Agricultural products produced in an organic way.
Among the key activities to be undertaken during the week include radio Talk shows about organic farming practices, Public Dialogues between sector players and local Government leaders from key selected Districts in Acholi Sub-region.
Why are Activists concerned with the Agricultural sector?
Agriculture plays an important role in Uganda’s economy accounting for 20 per cent of the GDP in fiscal year 2017/2018 and 43 per cent of export earnings.
The sector still faces a number of challenges like climate changes that bring about droughts, floods, mudslides etc leading to crop failure.
This, in the long run, increases food insecurities and malnutrition.
Small scale farmers say that organic agriculture still plays a great role in tackling some of these effects despite the constant pressure to assimilate into modern culture and join the free-market and globalized economy.
Uganda as a country is ranked second to Tanzania in Africa in terms of acreage (standing at 262,282 hectares) while second globally to India in terms of certified farmers (210,352) engaged in Organic farming.
Sustaining this system, therefore, provides Uganda with a comparative advantage to produce healthy food, employment creation, environmental conservation, increased household incomes and economic development.
The Non-State Actors believe that once the Government effectively implement the recently passed National Organic Agriculture Policy (NAOP), more Ugandans will benefit from growing organic foodstuff.