TIME IS NOW TO SEE THE AGRICULTURAL SHOW GROUND PUT TO MAXIMUM UTILITY FOR THE COUNTRY

THE 19th SOURCE OF THE NILE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL & TRADE SHOW TO TAKE PLACE FROM 18th TO 24th JULY 2011
The Uganda National Farmers’ Federation (UNFFE) is to present the 19th Source of the Nile National Agricultural & Trade Show at Jinja Show Ground starting 18th to 24th July 2011.
The theme of the Show is: “Promoting Agricultural Commercialization to Access the East African Common Market”

The Uganda National Farmers’ Federation (UNFFE) welcomes all to the 19th Source of the Nile Agricultural and Trade Show at Jinja Show Ground.

The National Agricultural and Trade Show started in 1993. The Show ground is a 16 hectare piece of land where Agriculture trade and service sectors are exhibited. The Show is a platform for displaying and identifying innovations by local and foreign organizations which can be used to improve technologies for better production and marketing.

The National Agricultural & Trade Show is opportunity for those players in Agriculture to learn from others better methods of production as well as innovations as a whole that can boost agricultural productivity for earning income hence the welfare of the players in Agriculture as an enterprise.

Uganda being an agricultural based country, time is now to utilize to the maximum the Agricultural Show Ground a 16 hectare piece of land. In this drive; the players in the Agricultural sector can come up with a strategy to see this workable. 2ndly, the phased out industries in Jinja can be replaced by a better planned strategy to boost the country's agricultural sector with the focus being the Agricultural Show Ground as a centre for the activities.
Training can be done in a number of areas; this could be on-farm innovations to the targeted farmers or training to players in the agricultural sector including the extension personnel. When on visits the gardens of most farmers; one thing which is badly managed by the farmers is soil erosion. It is not clear whether the Agricultural Officers are reaching out to the farmers over this issue. There is no reason why the show ground cannot be the area where to find all the technology innovations developed by various players in the country. Why can't we have an agricultural library where all information concerning the growing of crop enterprises in the country can be found. Why don't we develop videos which can explain a to z of managing various enterprises. All the Agricultural Research stations in Uganda should be represented at the show ground so that whatever concerns agriculture in the country including better seed varieties can be got from the show grounds and sold to interested parties. There is talk about water harvesting, the various designs should be found at the show ground and training in a cross section of innovations in agriculture should be undertaken at this place, after all there is land where demonstration gardens can be put, yet water is readily available to irrigate throughout the year.
I am of the opinion that the players in Agriculture can really put much more value to the Jinja Agricultural Show Ground instead of just hosting a National Agricultural Show every year.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka

Below are photo impressions when His Highness the King of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi closed the Show at Jinja.