Agriculture

UN FAO launches free database on agriculture, food and hunger

   The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has launched the world’s largest and most comprehensive database on food, agriculture and hunger for free to the public. Those willing to access this database in the past were required to pay an annual subscription fee. Hafez Ghanem, FAO’s Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development, […]

Uganda wants to borrow 100 billion from IFAD to fund second phase of vegetable oil project

The government of Uganda has sought the permission of Parliament to borrow 108 billion shillings from the International Fund for Agricultural Development to finance the second phase of the Vegetable Oil Development Project. The project which was conceived in the 1990’s to reduce Uganda’s heavy reliance on imported vegetable oil in its first phase has […]

Ugandans asked to take advantage of WFP’s Purchase for Progress

Farmers in Uganda have been called upon to plant maize, beans and other cereal crops that are bought by the World Food Programme in order to benefit from the agency’s new initiative to purchase food commodities directly from farmers. Stanlake Samkange, WFP Country Director in Uganda says under Purchase for Progress WFP is buying commodities from […]

Uganda minister advises farmers to form groups

The Uganda state minister for agriculture Bright Rwamirama has appealed to Kabarole district farmers to form groups in order to benefit from Uganda government agricultural modernization programmes. He says farmers in groups can also easily access bigger markets because they have bigger products to sell to the market and can easily access loans and machines […]

Uganda Government urged to provide more funding to agricultural value addition

The Uganda Member of Parliament for Kibaale County in Kamwenge district Frank Mwebaze has urged the Uganda government to inject more funds in agricultural value addition so that rural farmers standards can be uplifted inform of increased household incomes from sale of agricultural produce. Tumwebaze who is also the former Chairman of Uganda National Farmer’s […]

Uganda president Museveni calls for more investments in agro-processing

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has appealed to the Executives of Albatros Energy Company, to encourage other investors to come and invest in Uganda’s agro-processing sector to help improve Uganda’s household income and reduce hunger. Uganda remains pre-dominantly an agricultural country. The Uganda agricultural sector employs over 80 percent of the country’s labour force but poor […]

Challenges and Opportunities of reporting and communicating agricultural and rural development issues in Uganda

Insights from a research paper By Gerald Businge and Risdel Kasasira presented at CTA Media Conference in Brussels, Belgium in October 2009 on The role of the media in agricultural and rural development of Africa Caribbean and Pacific countries. Introduction: Media Coverage of Agriculture and Rural Development Issues This paper is informed by findings of […]

Pests attack Kayunga, destroys coffee plantations

Pests have attacked Kayunga district, destroying hundreds of hectares of coffee plantations sending area coffee farmers in panic according to the Uganda Ministry Agriculture. The Commissioner in charge of crop protection in the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Bulegeya Komayombi told journalists today (25th June 2010) that the pest is moving at […]

Smallholder farmers expect more from World Food Program Purchase for Progress

Elias Simuntu is today one of the most successful farmers in Uganda. Apart from being assured of stable income every farming season, Simuntu leads a farmers group that sells food commodities to WFP and other major food buyers. But not all farmers are able to sell to WFP even after it launched the Purchase for progress to buy direct from farmers.

World leaders urged to prioritize food security, change development approach

Leaders of rich countries under the G8 and G20 have been called upon to adopt a smarter, more innovative, better focused, and cost-effective approach to reducing hunger and halving global poverty. The International Food Policy Research Institute in a new policy report released on Wednesday said a new approach is needed to achieve the first Millennium […]