IRIN – Eastern Uganda’s mountainous district of Kapchorwa has huge agricultural potential, but farmers perennially suffer crop losses due to vermin, poor or non-existent storage and drying facilities, and lack of transport, say officials.

“This area can feed the entire northern Uganda and southern Sudan because with proper handling, a farmer can produce up to 4.2 metric tons of cereals from an acre [0.404 hectares] of land,” said Wilson Chemsto, chairman of the 3,000-member Kapchorwa Commercial Farmers’ Association.

Official district statistics indicated that about 51,000 tons of cereals were produced in 2008, but 40 percent was lost to vermin or became rotten because of poor storage facilities and humid conditions.

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