Agriculture
Busia County government through the Department of Agriculture targets to plough more than 20,000 acres of land per year to ensure the county is food secure. This will be a positive deviation from the last season of 1,000 acres and it will give a lifeline to farmers engaging in different varieties of crops to ensure the aggregation pack at Nasewa has enough raw material.
According to Mr. Patrick Makio, the engineer in charge of the agricultural mechanization center in Bumala since February, the department has been offering subsidized ploughing at Sh2500 per acre to farmers across the county down from the market price of Sh4500 per acre.
Makio noted that the county is matching the cropping calendar with their activities by ploughing farms in the upper side of Busia County which includes Teso North and Teso South sub-counties before moving to other parts of the county.
“For the second ploughing season, we are trying to match the cropping calendar with our activities and from the previous ploughing we did little in Teso North the reason we are starting with the region before Teso South to Bunyala and the rest of sub counties,” he noted.
He said through the agriculture sector-driven ward-based economic revitalization, the county, through the Department of Agriculture, aimed at assisting farmers in lowering the cost of production by offering subsidized plowing services. “One of the approaches we are taking to help farmers is to reduce the cost of production by lowering tractor hire services to plough at a lower rate and increase their profit margin,” he said.
The initiative comes at a time the country through agriculture extensions officers is rooting for diversifying and promoting cassava farming across the county. Cassava farming is crucial in the face of climate change due to its resilience, adaptability, and significance for food security besides acting as an important source of sustenance for communities vulnerable to climatic impacts.
According to Scovia Ofafa cassava farmers from Bunandi village, Ageng’a Nanguba ward, lack of market linkage and awareness of proper cassava varieties and brokers in the market were some of the challenges they faced as cassava farmers.
The ability of cassava to thrive in challenging weather conditions contributes to agricultural biodiversity which could be an essential source of income for small-scale farmers supporting sustainable farming practices. The farmers were advised to use certified cassava cuttings, hermetic bags for preservation, a form of farmers’ aggregation center, and embrace economies of scale.
One area of interest in Governor Dr. Otuoma’s manifesto was on food security and manufacturing with intentions of improving the livelihoods of Busia residents. Thus, the leadership has embarked on reviving cassava farming to mitigate the economic impacts of extreme weather and fluctuating agricultural conditions.