Uganda, farmers decry low prices of vegetables

By ANDREW NAKHABOYA Farmers, who grow vegetables at Bumusse Irrigation Scheme in Manafwa District, have decried low prices of their products. The farmers attributed the drastic fall in prices to closure of weekly markets and the ban on inter-district travel. The government early this month imposed the restrictions in a bid to contain the surging cases of coronavirus in the country. In an interview with Daily Monitor on Monday, Mr Fred Wekesa, a farmer, said they currently sell a sack of cabbage at Shs15,000 down from Shs30,000. "The prices have dropped for instance, we are selling tomatoes at Shs 500 a kilogramme yet we used to sell them at Shs1,500," he said. However, Mr Gideon Nate Israel, a pump operator and farmer, said despite the low prices, the scheme has improved their livelihoods. He said before the scheme started, he used to grow cabbages and tomatoes, which would fetch him not less than Shs900,000 a year. "But now I earn more than Shs1 million just in one season and ...