Frank Mugabi

23 July 2009
Kampala — SOME farmers in West Nile are selling their crops from the gardens before they are ready, the state minister in the Vice-President's office, James Baba, has revealed.

Baba said selling of food from the gardens was not only exacerbating the current food shortages but also against the Government's campaign of value addition.

"Apart from the rains failing, whole fields of cassava, maize, beans and groundnuts have been sold off to outsiders even before harvesting, leaving us desperate," Baba explained, adding that the practice must stop.

Baba, who was speaking at the launch of the regional export information point in Arua town on Tuesday, opposed those calling for a halt of produce exports because of the current famine.

"On the contrary, we must gear ourselves to produce more quantities to meet the ever growing demand," he noted.
Baba said all commodities should have additional value so as to fetch higher incomes.

The Uganda Export Promotions Board's executive director, Florence Kata, said their partnership with the West Nile Private Sector Development Centre was aimed at making business in the region easier by providing vital trade information.

She said West Nile had a comparative advantage over others because it borders Southern Sudan and DR Congo, which depend on Uganda for most supplies. Kata said they would come up with training programmes for businesspeople in the region so as to build local capacity.

The Arua export information centre was the last among the four that were opened across the country.
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