By Flavia Ajok
More than 80 percent of the agro input shops in Masindi district are at the risk of being closed for illegally operating.
The district agricultural officer, Job Byaruhanga while briefing the journalists at his office on Tuesday noted that out of the over 50 agro input shops in the district, only 10 are registered with the ministry of agriculture after obtaining operating certificates from the same ministry allowing them to operate agro input businesses.
He explained that after realizing that many agro input shops in the country are operating illegally, the ministry of agriculture was forced to start enforcing the Agrochemical Control Act of 2006 that requires one to have a certificate in safe agrochemical use to be given a certificate to operate an agro input shop.
He revealed that in order to allow proprietors of agro input shops to acquire certificates in safe agrochemical use, the ministry in partnership with the district is organizing another one-week training for those willing to get operating certificates from the ministry.
Byaruhanga added that later, the ministry will mount operations to close the agro input businesses without operating licenses, arrest and prosecute their owners.
The agriculturalist cited health risks and the losses the farmers incur resulting from unsafe use of agro chemicals due to the lack of knowledge about the chemicals by the operators as some of the dangers of the illegal operation of agro input shops in the country.
