Farmers in the Greater Masaka area are recycling low-yielding seeds following delays in the delivery of agricultural inputs by the government.
For close to a decade now, the government has been directly distributing farming inputs that include improved planting materials and fertilizers through Operation Wealth Creation and the National Agricultural Advisory Services-NAADS.
This was part of the strategic interventions aimed at increasing the production and productivity of various crops for purposes of improving household incomes and food security.
But this financial year, the budget meant for procuring the inputs was withdrawn and instead, channeled towards financing the Parish Development Model, another government strategy for delivering public and private sector interventions for wealth creation and employment generation at the parish, as the lowest economic planning unit.
The change has now left farmers stuck without planting materials, and many of them confirm to have planted low-yielding seeds in this planting season after they waited for government inputs in vain, Wilberforce Mucunguzi said. Mr. Mucunguzi on seeds….
Research by the Food and Agricultural Organization indicates that there is usually a progressive yield decrease of recycled seed varieties, and the practice is described as backward. End.