The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has bought food worth over US$50 million from Ugandan farmers last year, the aid agency said on Wednesday.

WFP said in a statement that the purchases were lower than the previous years due to low production and post-harvest losses.

It said post-harvest losses of as high as 40 percent in some areas and a lack of proper stores, drying and cleaning equipment have largely contributed to low agricultural production in the East African country.

WFP country director Stanlake Samkange said in the statement that despite a scarcity of beans last year, WFP bought close to 120,000 metric tons of food in Uganda.

He said the agency bought about 8,400 tons of beans worth over US$4.6 million, over 101,000 tons of maize products worth nearly US$40 million and 9,800 tons of enriched blends for children at over US$6.4 million.

The 2009 purchases were US$3 million less than what was purchased the previous year, and some 50 million dollars less than what the agency would like to buy from the country annually.

"WFP would like to buy US$100 million worth of food annually in Uganda. I encourage Ugandans to grow more quality food in order to benefit from the market opportunity," said Samkange.

WFP buys food in Uganda to support local operations as well as others in the region.

An estimated 61 percent of the food bought in 2009 was used locally. The rest was used in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Tanzania.

According to the agency, buying food locally not only helps it reach needy people faster by avoiding costs of shipping food from abroad but also boosts the country's economy.

(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2010)