Exposure to new technologies greatly impacts on sesame farmers in Northern Uganda
Hellen Ogwal is the Chairperson of Agikdak Farmers Group in Agikdak village Amolatar district in Northern Uganda. Although she has been cultivating sesame and other crops in her village for over 20 years, she had never been able to harness the potential of the resource adequately due to low yield harvests and poor market for crops in her community. With limited crop farming knowledge and poor storage facilities for produce, most of her agricultural products were ruined by the increasing drought in the district and devastating crop pests and diseases. According to Hellen, the local sesame varieties they planted on large acreage (over 20 acres) yielded less than what one would expect from such a large field. The crop often succumbed to gall midge and webworm on top of being highly vulnerable to the climatic changes in the region. This posed a consistent threat to produce, highly affecting its quality.
With support from the Netherlands, crop scientists and researchers from Africa Innovations Institute and consortium partners implementing the Stabilizing Sesame Yields and Production in the Lango Region, Northern Uganda project have supported many sesame farmers and farmer groups similar to Hellen through the development of drought tolerant varieties of Sesim 2 and Sesim 3 that are also highly resistant to pests and diseases. For a long time, Sesame farmers like Hellen had been expressing concern over yield losses and in 2015, the project has since worked to address these challenges through techniques that can effectively manage them. To date, Sesame farmers in Lira, Otuke and Amolatar districts in Northern Uganda are now better off growing sesame since they were introduced to and readily availed the improved varieties to grow. They have been trained on good agronomic practices/farming methods to reap formidable amounts from their farming investments.
Hellen says, “Before the project came, our group was focused on farming sesame and other crops the rudimentary way. We did not plant in rows and rarely monitored the crop in the gardens. On top of ll this, we planted the local seed that was highly vulnerable. It was difficult to see any benefits. One time, we planted about 25 acres of the sesame local seed and lost a lot of yield due to drought and other set backs”.
Hellen and fellow member of Agikdak Farmers Group winow the sesame harvest before storage
“Personally, as a sesame farmer, i highly appreciate the project because a lot has changed for my family, but also the community at large. Am very influential in the community, being a woman in leadership because my role as the group chairperson has enabled my stature among other women who look up to me, and, many have since taken up leadership roles in churches and other community groups. Whenever I mobilized and engaged farmers from within and neighboring communities on teachings related to what the project extended to us, i was increasingly building my stature as a model farmer,” she adds.
“The project has been a real blessing because through it i have gained skills and knowledge in proper crop management, accessed improved sesame varieties for higher yields and i have practiced this knowledge with my family. My very supportive husband and i plan to expand our gardens, plaster and finish our family home and also buy a motor cycle since we currently have a bicycle. We shall also continue to cater for the children’s school dues, as well as enjoy other benefits from the Sesame proceeds,” Hellen happily states.
The Ogwal family infront of their family home in Agikdak, Amolatar district
Hellen is 48 years and lives with her husband, Robert Ogwal of 52 years at their home in Agikdak Village, Amolatar district, Northern Uganda. The couple is blessed with 8 children of their own and took into their care, 3 children. Aside from sesame, the couple also grows cassava and currently own a 15 acre garden of the NAROCASS 1 improved variety. They intend to become one of the largest Sesim 3 variety multipliers as they move to commercialization and explore value addition to Sesame.
The couple belongs to Agikdak Farmers’ Group that comprises 37 members. This year, 2018, the group plans to plant 100 acres of the sesema 3 improved variety.
Some of the members of Agikdak Farmer group, Amolatar pose for a photo
Crop scientists initiate climate smart innovations to improve simsim (sesame).
Sesame has small nutritious seeds, is a very important oil crop, and is valued for its high quality oils (44% to 52%). However, despite its high value and potential, sesame has received less development attention with its Production characterized by low yields and low productivity. This is as a result of the impact of frequent extreme weather events (droughts, unpredictable seasons, or too much rainfall). Use of traditional varieties and management practices, Poor pests and diseases control practices, declining soil fertility, Pre and post-harvest losses are other factors affecting the crops productivity.
In Uganda, about 250,000 smallholder farmers are engaged in sesame production with about 101,000 Mt from an area of 176,000 ha. The biggest percentage of this production, 93.7% is realized from northern Uganda.
It is therefore against such background that crop scientists led by the Africa Innovations Institute (AfrII) formed an alliance to introduce the Sesame Project dubbed -Stabilizing Sesame Yields and Production in the Lango Region- Northern Uganda, that aims at improving livelihoods of the Simsim (Sesame) farmers.
Through this research focused project, drought tolerant sesame varieties have been evaluated and released and also innovations in gall midge and webworm control have been effected. The released clean materials are taken to farmer’s fields for comparison with the farmer seed/local variety.
“When you compare, Yield, from the released varieties outstands that from the local farmers’ variety. The local variety also succumbs very much to webworm which is why our research on the Sesame crop is very important because the improved varieties are tolerant to drought and also resistant to pest and diseases” says the Sesame Project Coordinator, Mr. Francis Alacho from the Africa Innovations Institute (AfrII).
Experimental trials have been conducted and released varieties of Simsim2 and 3 (Sesim 2 and 3) distributed to farmers to give them chance to select among the released varieties which is most suitable for them. They are then to compare the performance and make a selection that they will adopt basing on the crop yield and resistance to pests and diseases.
Photo: The released SimSim 2 (Sesema2) variety that is drought tolerant
“We have extended our research on the Simsim (Sesame) crop to the farmers so that they can own it for their benefit. When they are part of the whole process, they get to appreciate and embrace new technologies and innovations for better farming. They will also closely monitor the performance of the crop when on the field and see what it in turn gives them, when they harvest” adds Mr. Alacho
8 host farmers for the experiments that were conducted mid 2016 last year, were selected from the different parts of Otuke, Lira and Amolatar Districts, the Project operation areas.
On the different trial plots, some were treated with fungicides (spray) while the fertilizer trials were for evaluating different fertilizer rates to establish which rates/ combination of fertilizer gives better /high yields (these different fertilizers are used at different combinations).
The Sesame project is a consortium comprising of the National Semi Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI), Uganda Oilseeds Producers and Processors Association (UOSPPA), FICA Seeds Ltd and Africa Innovations Institute (AfrII) as the lead implementer.
