Michael J. Ssali
1 July 2009
Masaka — Construction of a plant clinic has started at Kamenyamiggo District Agricultural Training and Information Centre (DATIC) in Masaka.
Mr Vincent Ssempijja, the Masaka District Chairman was the chief guest at the ground breaking ceremony on June 22. The clinic will be used to study and fight crop diseases and crop pests that break out within the Masaka Region, according to Ms Prossy Mutumba, the District Agriculture Officer.
The Plant Clinic is expected to become functional in September this year.
Mutumba said the clinic will be used to identify nutrient deficiencies in the soil from different parts of the district so that advisory service providers will be in a better position to advise to farmers on what fertilisers or inputs to apply.
The clinic will also be used to determine which types of crops are best for which soil in the district.
"In the past, we have had to refer all crop diseases and soil deficiency problems to Makerere University or Kawanda Research Institute but now we shall be able to deal with some of the cases ourselves," she said.
"This is not to say that we are taking over all research work which is carried out at research institutes like Kawanda or Makerere. We don't even have that mandate! What we want to do is deal with some of the cases and where we fail, we will then refer to the bigger institutions. We are cutting costs and making it easier for our farmers to access expert advice."
Mr Ssempijja said the plant clinic was a welcome development especially now that the district is set to modernise agriculture. "We had to allocate Shs47m from our Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture grant to the construction of the facility and our choice to locate it at Kamenyamiggo DATIC is a clear indication that we want to uphold the services of the centre which our partners, Danida have stopped to support financially."
Ms Mutumba revealed that Danida had actually provided Shs3m for the training of the personnel to run the plant clinic when it becomes functional.
"We all along have had a Plant Protection Officer at the district but this time, we are taking the officer and some other two or three people who will work as plant nurses for some specialised training at Kawanda Research Institute," she said.
She added that the clinic will be open to farmers from other districts and added that a fee will be charged for the services. "We will need money to replace the chemicals and any usables or breakables, to sustain the place, and to earn some income for the DATIC."
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