CategoriesTips & Advise

How farmers can avoid buying fake agro-inputs

Counterfeit pesticides are something Deus Kamugisha, a farmer from Kabale, had been struggling with for a long time. So, he decided to come to Kampala to buy directly from agro-chemical dealers. Counterfeit pesticides are something Deus Kamugisha, a farmer from Kabale, had been struggling with for a long time. So, he decided to come to Kampala to buy directly from agro-chemical dealers. “I made sure that every package was sealed in my presence,” he recalls. “Among the purchases were 50 boxes of Mancozeb for my tomatoes. I entrusted the packages to a courier and returned to Kabale.” Unknown to him, the courier has liaised with unscrupulous dealers. The boxes were opened in Lyantonde, 220km from Kampala, and the drugs were exchanged for fake ones. Then, the packages resealed.