Charles Kakamwa
13 October 2008
Kampala — JAPAN plans to increase aid to Uganda to boost agriculture, the deputy ambassador, Kazuaki Kameda, has said.
Addressing district leaders from the east at a workshop at Mbale Resort Hotel recently, Kameda said the programme would include doubling of rice production, development of irrigation schemes, introduction of new crop varieties and capacity building.
He said Japan was contributing to the modernisation of agriculture in Uganda by focusing on rice production, small-scale farming and the livestock industry.
"The objective is to contribute to increased food security, opportunities for employment and income generation," Kameda said.
The embassy said in a statement that Japan started the project in eastern Uganda in 2003 with the introduction of a new rice variety, NERICA.
"The cultivation of NERICA in Uganda has increased from 6,000 ha in 2003 to more than 35,000 ha in 2007. Approximately 2,000 farmers and stakeholders have received training to raise their technical knowledge," the statement said.
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