Farmers from Rukoki Sub-county in Busongora County South, Kasese district have appealed to the government to prioritize the improvement of prices of agricultural produces so that more people are motivated to engaging themselves in farming activities.
The farmers, mostly coffee and vanilla growers, argue that they are not happy with the manner in which the prices of agricultural goods have allegedly kept changing negatively from one season to another.
The trend according to them has forced many farmers to become reluctant since they don’t earn good money from agriculture.
Mr. Rashid Kabotire, a resident of Buhaghura Parish says as government pushes for the growth of more coffee, the price of the cash crop should be increased for the benefit of the farmers.
He says the shillings 10,000 per kilogram that was given to them is not motivating because they inject in a lot of money for maintaining their coffee plantations.
Mr. Johnson Musangyi, a farmer who owns a vanilla plantation says they became motivated when a kilogram of the once lucrative cash crop was being bought at shillings 300,000 and later became disappointed when the prices dropped to shillings 8,000.
According to him, the current prices have demoralized them, forcing a section of the farmers to cut down their vanilla plants and replace them with food crops.
ENDS