Government of Uganda has developed and launched revised agricultural manuals to help maize and beans farmers shift from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.

The educational and informational materials were created with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Feed the Future’s Uganda Enabling Environment for Agriculture Activity. USAID created the materials in response to growing concerns by beans and maize farmers about inconsistencies in training content delivered by extension workers training farmers on better practices.

Speaking at the launch event USAID Mission Director Joakim Parker said, “Uganda, which is largely an agricultural country, is improving its global competitiveness, particularly in commodity crops like coffee and vanilla.
However, farming communities must be educated and prepared to adjust their agricultural operations within the context of globalization, responding to trends and consumer tastes in Uganda and beyond. This responsibility largely falls on the national agricultural extension system that must adapt to cope with international standards.”

Beans and maize are two of the 12 strategic commodities prioritized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries as part of the government’s Vision 2040 plan to transform Ugandan into a modern and prosperous country within 30 years.

In 2016, Uganda produced 2.6 million and 600,000 metric tons of maize and beans respectively. The government aims to produce 10 million metric tons of both maize and beans by 2020. Critical to achieving these production goals are strengthened extension services, mechanization, and improved post-harvest handling practices.

The U.S. government’s Feed the Future Initiative has worked hand-in-hand with the Ugandan government and the agricultural sector to boost incomes and support a food secure future for Ugandans. The materials and manuals launched today are vital tools for delivering skills, knowledge and technology to farmers.

Feed the Future is the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative which supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth and trade that increase incomes and reduce hunger, poverty and under-nutrition.

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Rwanda High Court has ordered the release on bail of political critic of President Paul Kagame, Diane Rwigara following her arrest and detention in October 2017.

High Court judge ruled that Ms Rwigara, who was arrested along with her mother last year, would be released immediately but that they were not allowed to leave the capital Kigali without authorization from Court.

Rwigara and her mother were jailed on charges of incitement and forgery that were widely seen as politically motivated. Kagame is praised for restoring stability in Rwanda and for rapid economic progress after a genocide in 1994.

But rights groups say he has muzzled independent media and suppressed opponents. The government dismisses those accusations as false.

Justice Claire Bukuba said in the court’s ruling that Rwandan law “provides that the defence can request bail, dismissing the prosecution’s claim that the defendants are a risk to the country’s national security.

As she read the ruling to the courtroom which was packed with diplomats, journalist and relatives of the two women who were wearing light pink prison uniforms, the room erupted into cheers and several people shouted “Praise to God,”.

The 37-year-old businesswoman and activist has repeatedly accused Kagame of stifling dissent and criticised his Rwandan Patriotic Front’s near total hold on power since it fought its way to office to end a genocide in 1994.

Rwigara’s sister Anne, who is a US citizen, was also charged last year with incitement though she was later granted bail. After the ruling, Anne told Reuters: “This should not have happened in the first place. They should not have been incarcerated. I don’t know if it is the end of harassment but we hope it is,”

A spokesman for Rwanda’s top prosecutor said that the court decision was based on law and must be respected. “We will consider whether to challenge it or not and of course continue to prepare our trial,” Faustin Nkusi said.

The court’s ruling comes several weeks after Rwanda freed Victoire Ingabire, an opposition leader who had served six years of a 15-year jail term, after Kagame exercised his power to grant a pardon.

After attending Friday’s court hearing, Ingabire said she was very happy that the two Rwigara women had been released. She called on the government to release members of her political party who are still jailed and to release all other political prisoners in the country.

“I hope this is the beginning of the opening of political space in Rwanda”, she said.

Ingabire leads an unregistered opposition party, the FDU-Inkigi, and she was freed along with several other prisoners, including singer Kizito Mihigo, jailed in 2015 for plotting to kill Kagame.

Also last month, two opposition MPs won seats in the country’s 80-seat parliament for the first time. The legislature is tightly controlled by Kagame’s ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), which fought its way to power to end the genocide.

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