A law that will regulate organic agricultural production in the country is in the offing, the State Minister for Agriculture, Fred Kyakulaga has revealed. He disclosed this at the National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda-NOGAMU’s organic fertilizer dialogue agenda held in Kampala Wednesday.
Kyakulaga, says that although the government formulated a National Organic Agriculture Policy in 2019, there is a need for a supportive law to operationalize it and make it more effective. He says that the decision is driven by the growing trends in the sector, which show statistical increases in organic agricultural production both for local consumption and exportation.
According to Kyakulaga, although the formulation of the law is in the preliminary stages where technocrats are still assessing problems that need to be solved, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries-MAAIF has committed to expediting the entire process for the good of the sector to match its rapid growth.
He explains that the promotion of organic agriculture production especially the inputs doesn’t mean abolishing inorganic inputs despite the fact that they are disadvantageous compared to organic ones. “Synthetic fertilizers are not bad, but they should be used in an informed manner, test the soil to know what is lacking then apply just that, which is lacking. We know that phosphorous is for a good rooting system, potassium is for good fruits and nitrogen is for good leaves when you apply what is needed, there is no problem. What is wrong is the use of these fertilizers anyhow,” he said.
Information from the Ministry of Agriculture indicates that the total land area for organic cultivation increased to 565,944 hectares from 313,144 hectares in 2018. Within the same period, the number of certified organic farmers grew to 404,246 from 210,352. According to NOGAMU, the number of exporters increased to 78 in 2021 from 23 in 2018, large-scale growers grew to 135 from 65, and processors increased to 116 up from 48 within the same period.
Rukia Nakadama, the 3rd deputy prime minister, who presided over the dialogue, said that Uganda is now home to some of the best organic innovations in agricultural inputs, including fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, saying the government intends to support the sector to promote its works.
“Government appreciates the significance and potential of organic agriculture in delivering social, economic, and environmental benefits. We approved the national organic agriculture policy launched in 2020 which has been disseminated in all regions of Uganda. However, we realize the urgent need for us to develop the organic agriculture law to operationalize this policy,” she said.
Charlton Namuwoza, the CEO of NOGAMU, said the meeting was aimed at developing strategies that will increase access to organic agricultural inputs to the producers in Uganda, especially at this point in the time when the Russia, Ukrainian war is affecting international agricultural supplies.
“Organic fertilizers being manufactured here is now an opportunity to position Uganda as not only a producer but also a supplier of organic agricultural inputs. More than ever before, Uganda has made major breakthroughs at the production level which has been a major challenge. By this we will be able to increase our market share globally from the current 5 percent to more than 10 percent in the next 5 years,” Namuwoza said.
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