Office of the National Chairman (ONC) Manager Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo Uzeiye has called for a major review of Uganda’s agricultural input support system, saying farmers are struggling to access quality and affordable planting materials.
Speaking during a press conference at the ONC headquarters in Kyambogo, Kampala, Namyalo said concerns reaching her office through the ONC coordinators’ network show that farmers, community leaders and farmer groups in different parts of the country are facing difficulties obtaining quality seedlings, particularly coffee seedlings, at the right time.
“Uganda’s farmers are ready to produce. They need an enabling environment that makes production economically possible,” Namyalo said.
Namyalo argued that farmers should have access to affordable, climate-suitable and quality planting materials during the appropriate planting seasons, warning that limited access could undermine efforts to increase agricultural production and household incomes.
She urged the Government to strengthen existing agricultural input support programmes and consider, where necessary, strategic distribution of affordable and quality seedlings and other essential inputs.
The ONC manager also linked improved access to agricultural inputs to the Parish Development Model (PDM), saying farmers need practical support that can help them move from subsistence production into the money economy.
According to Namyalo, agricultural support should go beyond simply distributing inputs and ensure farmers receive planting materials capable of supporting productive and commercially viable farming.
Her call comes amid continued concerns from farmers over the cost, availability and quality of agricultural inputs, particularly as Uganda seeks to boost agricultural productivity and household incomes.
