By Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi
A centre to train farmers on organic and urban farming has been launched in Masaka City.
St. Jude agricultural research center at Busense, in Masaka City has been a center of excellence in areas of research for some time. The centre is now to do research for an organic intensive farming including urban farming in areas of crops like banana, coffee, pumpkins, potatoes, cassava, maize, beans, and ground nuts. Others will be vegetables and fruits grown without using synthetic fertilizers.
Animals at the centre include cows that are now trained for using ox ploughs, goats, pigs, poultry, rabbits which provide organic manure.
The centre will also train farmers to avoid using synthetic herbicides and pesticides but leaves and peppers are used for spray organically.
Former Vice President and now Special Envoy, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi opened the centre last Friday. The function was attended by area MPs; Dr. Abed Bwanika and Juliet Kakande, Masaka City Deputy Mayor Achilles Kiwanuka and Masaka District RDC Teopista Ssenkungu.
Ssekandi thanked those managing the centre and called upon beneficiaries to government programs like Emyoga and the Parish Development programme.
The center also has a seed bank where for our indigenous seeds collected from different parts of Uganda and which endangered by the emergence of hybrids and genetically modified seed are kept.
This project does not only target Masaka city and district alone but entire Masaka sub region including Lwengo, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu, Ssembabule, Kalangala, Rakai, Kyotera and Lyantonde districts.
The centre is presently being funded by the President’s Office and allows visits by farmers every day. It also has boarding and hotel facilities for those who want to spend a night.
Haji Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi is a veteran journalist and a Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Masaka City.
Contact: 256-756/772-836537
hajiahmedkateregga2016@gmail.com
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