UNFFE’S 25th National Agricultural Show Opens Today
By Joshua Besigye
The Uganda National Farmers’ Federation has today opened its 25th National annual agricultural show at the source of river Nile in Jinja town. The show will be on between today, 17th and 23rd September, 2017.
The show which they have branded the silver jubilee is organized under the theme, Managing the challenges of Climate Change for Sustainable Agriculture.
It will be a platform for all the attendees for displaying and identifying innovations made by local and foreign companies and farmers.
The farmers will also have an opportunity to interact with the policy makers and learn a lot from each other.
Recently the Ministryof Agriculture praised the UNFFE for being able to feed over 30 million Ugandans overtime. Speaking as Chief Guest at the Launch OF UNFFE’S youth wing, Muwhezi Deus – the Commissioner for Agricultural Investments in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) commended the Federation’s effort to address the effects of Climate Change by encouraging modern farming methods and Irrigation and providing platforms to export food to earn Uganda an Income.
The UNFFE’S Chief Executive Officer, Augustine Mwendya spoke to Red Pepper during a telephone interview and shared details of how set the Federation is for this event. He said, “We are prepared because the ground is cleaned and set, we were there recently and by last Wednesday exhibitors were already putting up the tents.” He continued; “We have finalized the roofing of the main building and the gates, because we are opening one extra gate in addition to the ones we had previously.”
Mwendya further disclosed that this year’s event is going to be different and much more improved than the previous event. He said that besides celebrating the Silver Jubilee in style, they shall remove the destructive activities such as noise, petty traders, hawkers and traders of non-agricultural items.
This year’s show is strictly agricultural. The show goers shall be presented to a number of trainings in key enterprises such as banana growing, piggery, poultry, mushroom production, coffee among others. The Organizers have also improved in service to reduce counterfeits for example, unlike before, this time the exhibitors will be issued with electronic tickets, which is also a new initiative. UMA has done it before and it was a great innovation.
Mwendya went ahead to clear the rumor that Jinja municipal council was threatening to cancel the show on grounds best known to them. He disclosed that they had floored this group of people that circulated the rumor.
He said,“We had meetings with the Jinja local government council and agreed that we would hold our show as before, even on Wednesday last week we had a security meeting with the Resident District Commissioner and other security organs in the district and they all assured us of tight security. But otherwise the municipal council and lc5 gave us a go ahead as opposed to the earlier reports.”
What it takes to participate;
If you are coming in as an exhibitor, the exhibition must be related to agriculture. The space where you can put stalls are hired as follows; 6x6m space goes for shs 700,000/- a space of 6x12m is 900,000/- 12x12m goes for shs 1,500,000/- there will be private companies which will be hiring out tents, tables and chairs on the ground.
Water and electricity will also be readily available in fact; the respective companies shall be present. The show goers shall pay shs 4000/- at the entrance, minors will pay half price. Lastly all exhibitors are required to have exhibitors’ cards that are issued at the cost of only shs 10,000/-
Government ministries, departments and Institutions like OWC/NAADS, agro-chemicals, feeds and seeds companies, Research Institutions like NARO, ILRI and Universities, financial service providers and Heavy machinery stands like JOHN DEREE and CAMCOhave are attendance.
The exhibitors should expect a conducive noise free environment to exhibit their items and other exhibitors from Brazil, Cairo, Kenya, Tanzania among others.
“The show goers will have a whole lot of new agricultural principles and practices to learn, nobody will travel back home the same.” Mwendya assured.