Farmers receive agricultural inputs

Busoga Forestry Company Ltd. (BFC) through its community development program has adopted an intensive approach as part of its strategy to create an enabling environment for farmers to improve productivity and enhance food security, one of the biggest challenges faced by rural populations in Uganda, especially in the Northern part of the country.

In March 2017, over 300 farmers in 17 villages surrounding our Kachung Forest plantation, Dokolo district, were provided with agricultural inputs including fertilizers, drought resistant, high yielding and fast growing maize and cassava cuttings. Cassava is one of the food crops that are able to survive in the dry season and it creates a variety in diet as it remains an only fresh food. The local cassava variety is not doing well in terms of yields, due to cassava diseases.

Farmers have been trained at various stages that is, at pre-planting, pest & disease control as well as weed management. This will be followed by training in post-harvest handling and marketing. One of the beneficiaries noted that, “although we have had a challenge with the army worm, all efforts are being employed to combat the pest’s effects. Although rains are little and unreliable, the crops are flowering in 80% of the gardens planted.

25,000 seedlings of Pine (Pinus Caribaea) were distributed to community members in Agwata Sub-county. Every year, BFC distributes free tree seedlings to communities & institutions surrounding its areas of operation to enable them establish private & community woodlots aimed at improving their livelihoods and providing an alternative source of wood fuel.