By Sunday Amandi

Arua city

As the dry season is approaching, the demand for vegetable seeds in Arua city is on a rapid increase as farmers are preparing for growing vegetables as a way of earning a living during the season.

Dry season vegetable production is a high priority in Uganda's largely rain-fed agricultural systems, and Off-season vegetable supplies are currently inadequate to meet human nutritional needs due to their high demand in the market.

Currently, the agro input dealers in Arua city are reaping big from the sale of the Vegetable seeds as the demand rises every day.
Amina Driciru, a sales agronomist with the African Shepard limited confirms this. “The ones that are on a high demand are African egg plants, tomatoes, egg-plants and green vegetables” Amina confirmed. Farmers mostly grow these vegetables for both business and home consumption.

But Michael Econi, an extension officer with Omia agri- business says, market research is essential for those who venture in to vegetable farming as most of them are perishable, and need ready market. “Many farmers are trying to venture into vegetable production, but as a farmer, before you venture in to the production, you should fast carry out market research in terms of the varieties the market is wanting, “Econi said.

Vegetable farming is one of the many ways which farmers in Uganda are earning money silently even those that just have a backyard. Many homes in Uganda currently consume vegetables on a daily basis creating a ready market for the various types of vegetables grown in the country.