PEOPLE IN WEST NILE ARE CALLED TO TAKE UP COMMERCIAL FARMING TO TAP OPPORTUNITIES

By Sunday Amandi
Arua city

The people in West Nile are called to shift from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, so as to benefit from the currently available business opportunities in the region.

West Nile imports food items like tomatoes, onions, Irish, beans, and others form the other regions, losing a lot of money annually to these imports, and yet the region has the potential to produce its own to tap the currently abundant business opportunities.

Al-haji Isa Kato, the former mayor of Arua municipality calls on the people in the region to resort to the believe in hard work, which the region had in the past,
“We have our homesteads but we are doing nothing, for example, some one can grow Indian local chicken at a certain level and sales at 15,000 shillings, you buy these chicken and keep them, you can sale at 50 to 80,000 shillings, you get a lot of money, the Lugbara were hard working people in the past”, Kato said.

Alice Iren Badaru, the environment officer for WENDA says, the region can still thrive well in commercial agriculture, given the fertile soils it has, and the market for agricultural produce within and outside,

“For food right now a kilo of quality beans goes for 5000 shillings, sim sim goes for 300 shillings at farm price, when it goes to the market, it is at 4000,6000 a kilo,……..” said Irene.

Walter Akena, the research officer for the advocates’ coalition for development and environment urges the local governments in the region to develop cooperatives for farmers, so as to equip them for effective commercial agriculture.

Commercial farming leads to increased food production, contributing to food security and the availability of diverse products in the market.
It is motivated primarily by profit and aims to meet the demands of national and international markets.