A group of small and medium enterprise (SMEs) businesses under the KCB Business Club are set to benefit from a networking and learning trip to South Africa that will equip them with knowledge on how to commercialize agriculture.
The seven – day trip is to allow the SMEs in the agricultural sector have an opportunity to benchmark with international best standards in agriculture, especially in the use of technology for farming, Joram Kiarie the Bank’s Managing Director, said, without putting a figure on the cost of the trip.
“This is an opportunity to visit various agro processing companies in Johannesburg as well as greenhouse technologies where you will learn and experience modern farming methods,” Kiarie said at the function held to see off the group.
He added: “Opportunities to invest in agriculture in this country are massive and through this trip to South Africa, we are hoping that through the various interactions that the SMEs will have with large scale farmers in South Africa, they will get more ideas and opportunities for investing here in Uganda.”
Uganda’s economy remains agriculture-based with 75% of the people depending largely on agriculture, while farming contributes 85% of export earnings, and also accounts for 29% of Uganda’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Though the overall poverty rate in Uganda has fallen in recent years, farmers – about 4 million households – who are practicing subsistence farming remain poor, reflecting the weak state of the agriculture sector, a report indicates.
