Ephraim Kasozi
1 October 2008
Mr Lawrence Othieno, a resident of Magada Village in Nagojje Sub County is a vanilla and red bud chilli farmer. "These crops have kept me employed and the entire family and our income is promising. I have been able to educate my children in good schools and built a house because I always have a ready market for my crops," he says as he leads me to his vanilla plantation.
Mr Otheino cultivates on a five-acre plot of land and earns Shs1,200 per kg of fresh red bud chilli. He expects to sell over 20,000 kgs of vanilla to Coetzee Natural Products at Shs6,000 per kg this year.
A proud Othieno says that since 2004, he has depended entirely on his farm, on which he also grows coffee. His only challenge is fighting crop diseases.
Farmers who do not use artificial fertilisers and pesticides can enjoy high yields if they properly manage their farms. And they don't have to look for market for their products.
Farmers have been taught that apart from growing food and cash crops, they can also earn from fruits and spices. George Patrick Mulabe, a farmer in Kayunga says fruits and spices from organic farms have the highest demand in European markets.
Mr Mulabe says the products include pineapples, ginger, passion fruits, apples, bananas, paw paws, vanilla, cardamom, back bud pepper and garlic. "Crops are bought in kilogrammes, for instance, a fresh pineapple weighing 1kg to 1.65kg costs Shs600 but prices can go up depending on the season and everything is bought on cash basis.
And these prices are offered to farmers who sell right on their farms," said Mr Mulabe, who is also the production coordinator of Biofresh limited. He says; "Fresh ginger costs Shs2,000 per kg while passion fruits cost Shs1,000 but if farmers deliver to the buying centre, they enjoy higher pay to compensate for their transport costs," he says.
Mr Mansoor Nadir, a farmer dealing in cardamom, black bud pepper and vanilla says the demand and prices for spices is consistently high. He says fresh cardamom costs Shs1,500 per kilo while that which is dried costs between Shs8,000 and Shs10,000 depending on the quality, while vanilla costs Shs6,000 per kg when still fresh while the dried varieties costs between $18 to $30 per kilogramme.
Crops like vanilla and cardamom (above) have a high demand both at home and in foreign markets.
According to Mr Nadir, cardamom, an Indian originated crop is used to make curry powder, tea masala, pilao masala and mouth freshener while black bud pepper is also used to make food preservatives and spices. "Through organic farming, I now work with 300 organic certified people in Mukono District, to produce and be able to raise the required amount.
We have trained people and are now seeking ways to address quality and technical challenges," says Mr Nadir, the general manager of Uganda Crop Industries Limited (Ucil) based in Mukono.
He adds that with assistance from Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa (Epopa), the progressing farmers have also formed the African Organic Exporters' Association to boost their export base.
Mr Nadir says through the association, the farmers are able to fulfil their commitment to raise the required quantities for the market but also monitor quality and ensure great packaging.
"We are currently exporting about 2.5 tonnes of spices but our target is to raise 100 tonnes by 2012 and we are also fighting against low quality and unprocessed goods to increase our (farmers') incomes," he adds.
Mr Edmond Wakulira, an agronomist at Ucil says cardamom takes three years to mature but harvesting from a plant can take over 12 years depending on the management of the farm.
"Harvesting also depends on how much gets ripe on the farm. Black bud pepper takes two years but a plant can yield up to 4kg with one costing Shs20,000 for the unprocessed while the processed goes up to Shs30,000 and harvest goes up to 10 years," Mr Wakulira says.
Currently, Ucil has also developed a seed centre, which is another source of income to develop and distribute the seedlings for the spices. Epopa assistant project leader, John Bosco Mugisha explains that his organisation has trained farmers and field officers in principles and practices of organic farming, standards, internal control system and certification process to develop their capacity for sustainable agricultural practice.
"We regard farming as a business other than a forceful activity for the benefit of local farmers," says Mr Mugisha.
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