LOCAL FARMERS CAPITALISE ON RAINS AS DEMAND FOR AGRO-INPUTS RISE UP

By Joy Patience Onyiru

Arua city

Due to the recent rains in Arua City, the business people dealing in seeds and seedlings have been smiling as they now have enough customers who are coming through to buy seedlings and seeds for the rainy season.

These people lost their customers and were facing challenges in their sells due to the previous dry spell that hit the region of Westnile

According to Topista Lekuru, a seedling sales person in Arua City, they only operate seasonally when there is rain because this is when they get a good number of customers,

“We sell these seedlings in seasons, during rainy seasons we get a lot of customers but during dry season customers usually they don’t come. Our customers who want these seedlings during dry season call us and make orders and that’s when we deliver to them but since it’s now raining we are getting customers” Topista said.

Similarly, Mercy Ayikoru, a sales agronomist at Omia Agribusiness in Arua stresses that since the rains came back, people are now buying agro inputs,

“Right now as the rains have now come back, the sales are now okay. People are buying seeds, chemicals, and fertilizers. Though the price of fertilizers have gone high, most of the seeds are still in their usual prizes” says Mercy

The seed and seedling business thrives during the rainy season because farmers are passionate to maximize soil moisture and early planting.