By Gladys Nanyombi
The minister of Relief, Disaster preparedness and Refugees, Hilary Onek has asked the world food organization to stop importing food from other countries
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Center, Minister Onek said that purchasing of food from other countries should end and start valuing the works of Uganda’s farmers.
“We have many farmers in Uganda who fail to sell their produce in the markets because of the continuous importation of food from other countries. These farmers put in a lot of efforts to see that they provide up to standard products but we instead let them down by consuming imported products,” said minister Onek.
He however noted that food donations are still highly welcomed and appreciated and should not stop coming in.
The UN Coordinator H.E Rosa Malango earlier said that Uganda’s food is not of good quality in other words it is of poor post-harvest handling by Ugandan farmers which forces the importation of food.
“Ugandan farmers have not had enough training when it comes to issues concerning urban farming and post-harvest handling of crops and this is the main problem leading to importation of food”, said Malango.
She however urged the government to put in much effort in training farmers by equipping them standard tools and also provide them with fertilizers that will help them yield positive results.
