Self Help in Uganda has provided a vital conduit to transmit the knowledge and technologies being developed in the country’s Agricultural Research Institutions, to the farmers on the ground.
Virus resistant, early maturing and other varieties of improved quality seed stock being developed at research centres is being disbursed by Self Help to thousands of Ugandan farmers under revolving seed fund systems operated by the organisation.
The activity provides a graphic example of the valuable partnership that has been forged between Self Help and the country’s Agriculture Ministry at all levels – and provides a vital bridge between the researcher and the farmer.
‘There were many examples where technologies devised by agricultural researchers never found their way out into the fields because of the limitations on the resources of the government agencies. What Self Help has been doing is to work in partnership with these institutions, and has been providing the improved seed to farmers on the ground’, explains country director Nelson Wajja Musukwe.
‘Equally importantly, our staff are in a position to report back to the researchers on how different crops perform in the farmer's fields in different soil types, climatic conditions, altitudes and such like’.
Alongside the seed distribution programme, Self Help provides training and promotion in cost effective and efficient growing methods.
Nelson Wajja Musukwe reports that cassava is a vital crop for small-holding Ugandan farmers, as it can provide them with food security at times of crop failure. Because tubers can be kept in the ground until needed, or can be cut and dried for future usage, the crop, while of only limited value in the marketplace, is a vital staple in the diet of many rural Ugandans.
Across each of Self Help’s African countries of operation there are examples of similar links between agriculture research and the projects. It is a natural link, considering the fact that many of the organisation’s key staff members are graduates of such agricultural institutions. On a practical level, this link makes perfect sense as it is largely due to the tests and trials in research conditions that virus resistant, early maturing and higher yielding crops are discovered in the first place.
Nelson Wajja Musukwe states that seed stock which produces higher yields for the small holding farmer can make a huge difference, and in some instances can even be the difference between surpluses and hunger.
‘The current ‘Nigeria’ strain of cassava is producing far higher yields than the older and more traditional varieties, and to date it has not been susceptible to viruses. We expect and anticipate that situation to change, so the next strains of cassava have already been developed, and will be available when they are needed’, the Self Help director explained.
The seed is distributed to farmers under a ‘revolving seed fund’ basis, meaning that first year beneficiaries return two times the amount of seed stock to the project at the end of their first harvest – enabling that seed to be distributed to two other local farmers.
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