Wednesday, July 23, 2008
New Vision (Kampala)
22 July 2008Posted to the web 23 July 2008
Joshua Masinde: Kampala
MANY farmers have become self-reliant and their productivity has increased, thanks to the Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Programme (APEP).
The five-year USAID-funded project was launched in November 2003. It aims at expanding rural economic opportunities and increasing household income in the agricultural sector by increasing food and cash crop productivity and marketing.
Speaking at a workshop at Serena Hotel in Kampala recently, Charles Mpawulo, a farmer from Kamuli district, said: "We used to sell our produce to middlemen and our income was very low. But since 2004 when APEP came to our area, our livelihoods have changed. We now use ox ploughs and buy farm inputs."
To help farmers shift from subsistence to commercial farming, APEP, through its countrywide network, trains farmers on how to enhance their productivity and helps them find market for their produce.
Another farmer, Jackson Ndapweing, from Kabarole district, said APEP helped farmers in Rwimi village increase upland rice yields.
"Within two years, farmers' groups sold 878 metric tonnes of rice, worth sh400m."
Ambassador Phillip Idro urged farmers to embrace APEP financing to develop.
