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|  | | Research Links, Uganda | | Self Help in Uganda has provided a vital conduit to transmit the knowledge and technologies being developed in the country’s Agricultural Research Institutions, and 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 researcher and the farmer which sometimes had been missing in the past.
‘There were many examples where technologies devised by agricultural researchers never found it’s 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 making available the improved seed to farmers on the ground’, explains country director Nelson Wajja Musukwe.
‘And equally importantly, our staff are in a position to report back to the researchers on how different crops perform in the farmers field 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, and promotes planting in rows – which enables farmers to plough, seed and weed their fields with greater ease.
Nelson Wajja Musukwe says 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 - and it is a natural link, given that many of the organisation’s key staff are graduates of such agricultural institutions.
On a practical level the connection makes perfect sense too, as it is the tests and trials in research conditions which usually find the virus resistant, the early maturing, and the higher yielding crop types in the first place.
Nelson Wajja Musukwe says 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. |
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| Citing cassava production as an example, the Self Help Ugandan director explains how the project is always working just a few steps ahead of the viruses which after a period invariably mutate, and will cause devastation to whatever variety is being grown.
‘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. But 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 Nigeria variety of cassava which is currently being distributed is a higher yielding and early maturing variety of the crop, meaning that it has a shorter growing period, and is thus less vulnerable to crop failure resulting from drought.
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. | | Related Topics | | | | | |
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| | | | | Self Help Africa is a limited liability company. Company number: 105601 Charity No. 6663 (Ireland)
The organisation has offices in Ireland at: Annefield House, Dublin Road, Portlaoise, Co. Laois Tel: 00 353 (0)57 8694034 - Fax: 00 353 (0)57 8694038, and in the United Kingdom at : Second Floor Suite, Westgate House, Dickens Court, Off Hills Lane, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1QU. Tel : 0044-(0)1743 277170
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