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Uganda: The Chance That May Pass Us By
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The Monitor (Kampala)
EDITORIAL
4 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
In his Labour Day speech, President Museveni attributed the rising food prices in Uganda to increasing wealth that is making people consume more, emergence of a regional market in places such as South Sudan, and the steady rise in fuel prices on the international market.
He then concluded that the rise in food prices is a blessing for Uganda, an overwhelmingly agricultural country.
The President is right. But what he seems to forget is that opportunities can only be taken by those who are prepared.
As a big and modern cattle farmer, the President is benefiting from high beef demand in South Sudan as he said. But how many people in Uganda farm cattle on the scale the President does?
Obviously, he was careful not to give any other example of a farmer making a killing from the high demand for beef. There are not many such people.
The President can hire a truck to take the beef to South Sudan, not so for a small player. Small players get scammed instead by unscrupulous middlemen and women, which explains why farm-gate prices have barely changed despite the roaring demand of food crops.
The President should have gone on to outline the immediate steps his government is taking to make sure Ugandans reap from the windfall staring us in the face.
For example, he should have said he is going to help farmers increase yield per acreage by providing free or cheaper fertilisers and seeds and that the feeder roads that often get washed away after just one downpour will be fixed so that produce can move quickly to the market.
Much as international fuel prices are rising, we make the effect worse by not fixing impassable roads.
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Such roads ensure trucks use a lot more fuel. And then there is the wear and tear. Transporters pass on those costs to the poor farmers.
Long term, the President would have explained how he is going to make sure the National Agricultural Advisory Service does actually provide expert advice, how he is going to make sure irrigation is a reality in parts that need it, the pace of resurrection of co-operatives so that farmers as a united force can organise better, share information, and consistently produce high quality crops to meet the market demand.
Short of aggressively addressing these issues, these fantastic opportunities will come and go and we shall remain poor.
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