Ugandan greenhouse tomato farmers have vowed to ‘chase’ foreign tomatoes out of supermarkets in the country soon. At the moment, leading supermarket chains like Uchumi, Nakumatt and Shoprite sell tomatoes from Kenya and South Africa.

Charles Byanyima, who currently produces at least 250kg of tomatoes every week, says if all greenhouse tomato growers united, they would have the potential to take over the local market. A survey across major supermarkets shows that most of them are selling imported tomatoes and other vegetables.

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Cotton farmers are questioning the feasibility of government’s proposed cotton price stabilisation fund meant to regulate fluctuating prices.

Farmers who talked to Prosper said a similar setting dubbed – the cotton fund- has been around for the last two years, but it has not shielded them from meeting sharp losses from unstable price.

Mr Matias Osege, a prominent cotton farmer in Sere village in Tororo district, said the ginners deducted Shs600 per Kilogramme from last season’s sales to raise funds that would cover them when prices drop.

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Kampala, Uganda — The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) has advised that food insecurity and the critical issues affecting the agricultural sector can be addressed through enhanced sustainable use of resources and regional collaboration.

“We should come up with science based, social and policy solutions through a forum for developing a shared vision and shared goals to enhance sustainable agriculture,” ASARECA Executive Director, Dr. Seyfu Ketema advised.

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The government has intensified operations to end illegal fishing on major fresh water lakes in western region where thousands of tonnes of immature fish and illegal fishing gear have been destroyed.

The number of people arrested and prosecuted on suspicion of taking part in the illegal activity has eclipsed 100 since the beginning of the year, the police said yesterday.

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Small Medium Enterprises engaged in growing various types of crops in the country will soon benefit from an European Union initiative that has staked an equity fund to boost their agricultural productivity.

European Union is slated to contribute Euro 15 million towards the fund while the government of Uganda and financial sectors like banks are expected to make a contribution in order to come up with a total figure of between Euro 30 million and 40 million as the overall total for the initiative.

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