Minister supports modern technologies for grassroot farmers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Monica Musenero has stressed the need for the extension of newly developed modern agricultural technologies to small holder farmers allover the country, which she says will spearhead efforts of improving the quality of their yields in the markets.

Speaking after inspecting different machinery displayed in the national agricultural and trade show in Jinja city on Saturday, Musenero stressed that over the years, scientists have developed affordable technologies aimed at mechanizing the agricultural sector and boosting the quality of farmers’ yields, but they are inaccessible to the target beneficiaries.

Musenero noted that several scientists are good at incubating accurate technologies ranging from seeding to machinery, however, very few of them have the proper means of selling these innovations to the farmers. But now a team of experts from the science ministry has devised a strategy for addressing these communication gaps between the developers and their desired markets.

Musenero further reveals that there are scientists who acquired grants to develop affordable mechanized agricultural equipment, readily affordable for grassroots farmers, however, these innovators continue to display specimen pieces without providing complete products, which has since contributed to delays in the crop production chain.

She adds that, the science ministry experts have interacted with developers who are currently stuck with their innovations and a select committee will be assigned the task of documenting viable solutions to the challenges deterring them from accessing the markets.

Musenero further stresses that experts within the science ministry have streamlined efforts of liaising with different government ministries within the agriculture value chain, to ensure that interested farmers are granted easy access to modern machinery through subsidized agri-credit facilities, which will systematically revolutionize the agricultural sector.

Meanwhile, Dorcas Najjembe, a sales executive from Cooper Motors says that they have partnered with Postbank Limited in a project aimed at distributing New Holland tractors to interested farmer groups on credit basis, with the loan structured basing on farming seasons and payable in a period of four years.

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