Платформа знаний о семейных фермерских хозяйствах

Promoting Indigenous Maize in Bugiri District, Uganda

In surveys conducted by the Organisation for Rural Development (ORUDE) from 2010 - 2012, maize stood out as the second most important food and cash crop in Busoga after sweet potatoes. Due to climate change, farmers desired to have drought-tolerant seed varieties, However, lack of formalized maize seed supply systems made it difficult for resource-poor farmers to access good quality seeds for planting. Before the 1990s, farmers in Bugiri District in Uganda used to have control over the quality and variety of the seeds they would plant. With the emergence of new technologies, indigenous seed was disregarded and a decline in seed security among rural communities emerged. Farmers were convinced that they could earn more income quickly from fast-maturing hybrid maize seed varieties than from their indigenous maize seed varieties. In a system that was unregulated, the market became flooded with hybrid seeds which were at times not viable and gave poor yields. The expected higher returns on hybrid seeds did not materialise in a climate change environment. Unsuspecting rural farmers made losses in the long run. Accessing genuine seeds on the market was complex, leading to a decline in the volumes of maize yields in Bugiri District in Uganda, which resulted in household food insecurity and decline in income streams. With traditional maize seeds, however, farmers are always assured of returns regardless of harsh climatic conditions. Farmers have also testified that traditional varieties are more nutritious, tastier, heavier and more easily marketable than the hybrids. The solution was to equip farmers with technical skills on maize seed selection, multiplication, storage and replication within the communities.

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Организация: Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)
Другие организации: Organisation for Rural Development (ORUDE)
Год: 2013
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Страна/страны: Uganda
Географический охват: Африки
Категория: Тематическое исследование
Язык контента: English
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