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UNBS simplifies key agricultural value chain standards to increase awareness

  12th July , 2019 ,       Hits: 431

Kampala, 12th July 2019 - Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and other stakeholders, with support from the Commonwealth Standards Network program (CSN) have embarked on a process to simplify standards in key agricultural value chains that include rice, pineapples, avocados, shea nut and soy beans.

A survey undertaken in the agricultural sector as one of the activities under the CSN indicated that whereas standards for fruits and vegetables and other agricultural products exist at UNBS and guidelines too exist at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, there is limited awareness among the various value chain actors.

The survey further revealed that farmers, traders and handlers don’t know that the standards exist and that those who know, do not know what is required of them. It is upon this that UNBS embarked on developing easy to understand dissemination materials for farmers as a means of ensuring increased compliance to standards.

As a pilot, the simplified guidelines are to be translated to six local languages; Shea nut – Acholi, Soy bean – Itesot and Langi, Pineapples – Luganda, Avocados – Runyoro-Rutooro, Rice – Luganda and Lumasaba. The developed materials will initially be disseminated to farmers in the Acholi, Lango, Teso, Buganda, Tooro and Mbale regions for Shea nut, Soy bean, Pineapples, Avocados and rice respectively.