Productivity
FARM GUIDE
DAIRY FARMING
Soil fertility is a crucial code toward a smiling farmer
Oil palm growing adds a new dimension to Uganda’s agriculture
Agro-processing boosts market value for Uganda’s milk
Issue 02, August - September 2012 Price Ush 5000, Ksh 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
East Africa
Access to credit is the heart and engine of modern farming
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Quality at a price advantage
Inside... East Africa
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Policy change between 1991 and 1998 returned the dairy industry to the development path and milk production has since increased from a paltry 365 million litres annually in 1991 to 1.8 billion litres today. Dairy development which started in 1967 upon establishment of the Dairy Corporation by the government, so collapsed in the 1970s that the national cattle population also dropped from 8 million to 3.5 million by 1985. However, it has resurged to 11.4 million today.
Agricultural financing Transformation of agriculture requires increased investment to improve productivity by use of better inputs, product quality at both harvest and postharvest time through proper drying, cleaning and storage and value addition across all stages of the value chain from the farmer to the processor or exporter.
Fertiliser application
Farm
Guide
Piggery Use of fertilisers can double farm yields especially in areas where natural soil fertility has reduced due to various causes including poor farming methods and climatic conditions. With the increasing nutrient deficiency in the soil today, fertilisers have become a critical agricultural input to maintain or increase food production and productivity at farm level.
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Dairy farming
Banana production Banana commonly known as matooke in Uganda is grown as a staple food by more than three-quarters of the population. Uganda produces more than 9.5 million tonnes of bananas per year and majority of it is locally consumed at an average of 400kg annually. Matooke has become one of the most high earning crops for Ugandans. Although it is mostly consumed locally by households and commercial eating places or hotels, fresh matooke is now exported to other countries. Its high economic and food value makes it a top crop in the country.
Piggery has become one of the fastest growing and high income generating farming activities in Uganda and worldwide. It brings quick returns on investment within 6-8 months from start of business and pork is one the most popular and consumed meats in the world today because of its diverse nutritional values.
Cabbage growing
Cabbage is a highly nutritious food crop as well as a big income generator which brings returns on investment within 3-4 months. It can grow on relatively small acreage or even rented land and does not require huge capital.
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Oil palm growing Oil palm growing is a new farming activity in Uganda pioneered by Bidco Uganda Limited in Kalangala islands on Lake Victoria. Growing on 6000 hectares of land and is supplemented by small holder farmers. Oil palm growing has changed the economic livelihoods of the farming residents who sell their harvest to the company. This has boosted their household incomes.
Editorial
Editorial
PRoDUctIvItY
Farmers’ platform for
knowledge sharing
T
he East African Agribusiness magazine is a publication focusing on agriculture and agricultural modernisation. It aims at providing informative and educative content to guide farmers on how to increase production, farm productivity and improve quality of crop and livertsock products as a penultimate stage towards transforming agriculture. It’s an unrivalled platform for information and knowledge sharing to support transformation of agriculture from subsistence to commercial farming or small and medium scale to large scale production, agro-processing and marketing whose ultimate objective is to achieve food security, increased earnings and poverty alleviation at household and national level. It seeks to stand out as an authoritative communication m, Our mission is to infor forum for the educate farmers and agriculture highlight outstanding sector. achievements, gaps This is the e and challenges in th maiden agriculture sector edition of the e and provide guidanc East African r cto se for further Agribusiness development. which will be published every two months and circulated in Uganda and the East African region. Our mission is to inform, educate farmers and highlight outstanding achievements, gaps and challenges in the agriculture sector and provide guidance for further sector development.
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FARM GUIDE
Soil fertility is a crucial code toward a smiling farmer
The magazine will regularly publish corporate profiles, supplements and executive interviews to give readers a broader picture of the agriculture sector. Our target audience is the millions of stakeholders in the sector right from the farmers, traders, processors, exporters, agro-equipment dealers/ suppliers, professionals in agriculture, manufacturers of agro-materials for crops and livestock, policy makers and consumers. The publication will offer advertising opportunities, through which the stakeholders can advertise their products and services at cost-effective rates. The publication will offer various types of ads including, but not limited to; Button adverts, Classifieds, Text-based adverts with small graphics, Display adverts, Corporate Profiles and Supplements. With a highly qualified and professional editorial team, the publishers promise to provide the readers with the best industry stories and analysis. Copies of the magazine will be available in supermarkets, chain stores and street outlets in Uganda and through subscription by groups, organisations and individuals. The public is encouraged to subscribe to ensure they don’t miss an issue. We invite all stakeholders and readers to contribute relevant information, articles and views on agriculture and the magazine’s content for enhancement of knowledge sharing to help us improve our product for reader satisfaction. Our gratitude goes to all those who have supported or will support this noble initiative to make the publication of this magazine possible.
August - September 2012
Oil palm growing adds a new dimension to Uganda’s agriculture
DIARY FARMING
Agro-processing boosts market value for Uganda’s milk
Issue 02, August - September 2012 Price Ush 5000, Ksh 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
East Africa
Access to credit is the heArt And engine of modern fArming
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Team Managing Director Jeniffer Nalubega Consulting Editor Patrick Matsiko wa Mucoori Design & Layout Ronny Kahuma Photographer Philip Opio Consultant Godrick Dambyo
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Editorial
In THE last Issue
Farm
Start-up guide to Poultry farming Date
Event
Venue
22nd -23rd August 2012
Agribusiness Development Workshop on: “Leveraging Danish agricultural know how for a sustainable agrobusiness development in Uganda.” Organised by Danish Knowhow, a company offering training and consulting for commercial farmers, agribusiness development and entrepreneurship.
Mukono District Farm Institute
Annual agricultural market information symposium on: “Creating Economic Value from Agricultural Market Information.” Organised by Agri Pro Focus Market Information Services.
Silver Springs Hotel Bugolobi, Kampala
13th – 14th September 2012
Guide
Start-up guide to DAIRY farming
Start-up guide to fish farming
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3
News Briefs Tanzania
Tanzania takes ICT to farming Tanzania has moved to integrate ICT in the modernisation of agriculture. Local farmers countrywide can now use their mobile phones to get the latest information on market prices for their agricultural products under the new mobile technology service funded by SEACOM and NURU Infocomm. In addition to connecting farmers to potential markets through mobile phone Short Messages (SMS), the project will provide information on weather patterns and availability of agricultural inputs. This mobile technology will help farmers get better prices for their products by knowing the rates various markets are offering. The Industry, Trade and Marketing Deputy Permanent Secretary Dr Shaban Mwinjaka said this market information programme will give farmers a bright future through improved returns on agricultural production. The SEACOM and NURU Infocomm funded project is already under implementation in Shinyanga region as a pilot undertaking, but the programme heads for a wider rollout across the country.
Kenya
Israel in agro-pact with East Africa
The River Nile. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel Danny Ayalon visited East African states of Uganda and Kenya to inaugurate two Israeli-partnership projects in agriculture and health. Israel is interested in strengthening agricultural cooperation and collaboration with Uganda. Agriculture and water are becoming the foundation for a new era of Israeli relations with African states. In July, South
Sudan made its first official pact with Israel to cooperate on water infrastructure and technology development. Some of these programmes involve the Nile. Director of the African Division at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Avi Granot, recently said many African leaders visited Israel this year, seeking to revive the ‘golden era’ of close relations with the Jewish country.
Uganda
Korea boosts vegetable growing in Karamoja The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on August 6th 2012 pledged $2m to the World Food Programme (WFP) in support of enhanced nutrition and higher household incomes in Karamoja. “I am very pleased that Korea is taking part in an important programme to assist the Karamoja region through KOICA,” says Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Korea in Uganda, Charge d’affaires Park Jongdae. “I am convinced that the donation will help WFP’s efforts to bring about sustainability while reducing food insecurity in the region.”
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Kang Younhwa, the KOICA Uganda Resident Representative, said the assistance will help sustain vulnerable families in Karamoja and contribute to reducing the risks associated with economic migration. “WFP is grateful for KOICA’s generous contribution, which is its first ever to WFP in Uganda,” says WFP Country Director Sory Ouane. The money will provide 12,000 foodinsecure people with training as well as inputs for production and marketing of vegetables, mostly cow peas, eggplant and cabbage. The 18-month project will
August - September 2012
be implemented through the Karamoja Integrated Development Programme, which seeks to improve human security and promote conditions for recovery and development. It will involve close liaison between WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as well as with Korean experts and local authorities in Karamoja. Demand among communities for this type of support is strong especially with vegetables. Vegetables fetch high prices on local markets, generating income for producers as well as enhancing food security.
Rwanda
Govt starts mechanisation scheme
The agricultural mechanisation programme started in July 2009 is registering tremendous achievements in the country. It’s aimed at increasing the country’s agricultural productivity through mechanised farming and to also ensure mass access to equipment for modern farming. Under the programme farmers acquire mechanisation and irrigation equipment and machine operators are trained. There are hire services of various farm equipment. So far the project task force has acquired 81 tractors and 250 power tillers, 35 rice planters, farm implements such as ploughs, harrows, water pumps, trailers and others. A large number has been sold to farmers, individuals and co-operative groups. As a result of this mechanisation 3210 hectares have been prepared this season by the Task Force and private farmers in various parts of the country. Construction of a modern assembly factory has started in Kigali-Free Trade Zone in partnership with TYM Ltd, a South Korean Tractor manufacturing company.
Kenya
Kenya outs new chicken breed
Kenya is promoting rearing of improved traditional local chicken breeds. Kenya Agricultural Research Institute has introduced a new breed of indigenous chicken in the market. The new breed can produce more eggs and meat and can be reared under free-range conditions. Research findings released in the Organic Farmer Magazine, a publication of African Insect Science for Food and Health, say the new breed adapts well with the local climatic conditions and management systems. If the breed is reared under good conditions, according to the research, a hen can produce between 220-280 eggs a year depending on the management system.
120,000 families get cows under GIRINKA project
The One Cow per Poor Family programme locally known as GIRINKA is making big success towards achieving its set objectives. The programme was set up to reduce child malnutrition rates and increase household incomes of poor families through increased access to and consumption of milk, by providing the households with a heifer. GIRINKA covers all Rwanda’s districts and is steadily transforming rural livelihoods and reducing poverty
The
prevalence. The model is simple, the impact is great. One Cow brings nutrition, sustenance and employment, providing stable income for a family and is a source of soil nutrients via manure to assist small scale crop farming. Today, more than 120,989 families have benefited from GIRINKA. However, many more poor families are still waiting to benefit from the programme. The target is to reach 350,000 Rwandan families by 2015.
Agri Pro Focus (APF)
Market Information Group Invites all Agri Business Stake holders to
Annual
Agricultural Market Information
13th - 14th September 2012
The symposium is being organised by the Agri-Pro Focus Market Information Services (MIS) platform.
Venue: Silver Springs Hotel Bugolobi - Kampala - Uganda Theme: Creating Economic Value from Agricultural Market Information
Participants will include: MIS stake holders
share arn & tices in le e Com est prac ket r b new ltural Ma ices u r ic e r S v Ag ation m r o f In
!
from Private sector, Government, Donor agencies, Research institutions, Financial Institutions & Key Value Chain actors i.e. input suppliers, farmers, traders, processors, bulk buyers, exporters etc
Register NOW
www.2012missymposium.fituganda.com E-mail: t.racheal@fituganda.com For details contact: APF MIS Secretariat at FIT Uganda Ltd offices Plot 175/176 A Kyadondo II Rd. Makerere, Kampala, Tel: 0414 532 393
August - September 2012
5
Pictorial
Nile National Agricultural & Trade Show- JuLY 2012
A demonstration goat farm by ministry of Agriculture.
A modern chicken feeder by Butenga Farmers Chick Star
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August - September 2012
A manual irrigation pump by Davis & Shirtliff, suppliers of agricultural inputs.
Pictorial
A hand tractor from Mahindra company which can be used by farmers to increase production
A PIBID exhibition showing processed matooke (banana)
Zero grazing by Heifer International’s East Africa Dairy Development Uganda Project
Demonstration vegetable plots by Ministry of Agriculture. Eggs and egg packaging by GLS Ranchers Limited
August - September 2012
7
Agricultural
financing
Access to credit is the heart and engine of modern farming By Patrick Matsiko wa Mucoori
100
T
8
80
Ushs (Billions)
ransformation of agriculture requires increased investment to improve productivity by use of better inputs, product quality at both harvest and postharvest time through proper drying, cleaning and storage and value addition across all stages of the value chain from the farmer to the processor or exporter. However such investment needs increased access to credit yet financial lending to agriculture by commercial banks and other financial institutions is still very low in Uganda. For example, of all the lending by private and public financial institutions, less than 10% goes to agriculture. Banks are reluctant to provide agricultural lending because agriculture is perceived as a highly risky sector given its many challenges especially lack of collateral and risk mitigation insurance products to secure the loan as is the case with commercial and business loans. These impediments to financial lending and borrowing have necessitated mitigating interventions by the government, the private sector and other development partners in order to help farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs have increased access to credit. One of such institutions is Agribusiness Initiative Trust (aBi). aBi supports private sector-driven agricultural transformation and its services are not aligned to government. Agribusiness Initiative Trust offers both financial services and business development services in the value chain of especially coffee, maize oilseeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables. The Trust supports
60
40
20
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Source : Agricultural Finance Yearbook 2011 market driven agribusinesses to increase productivity and quality at every stage of the value chain- from productivity on farm to processing and export- in order to bolster competitiveness of the agricultural products on the local and export markets. The aBi is working with banks to open up new branches in rural areas in order to deepen access to rural financing. It offers grants to banks and other financial institutions to enable them open new branches and thus increase lending to agribusiness enterprises. The grants help the banks to overcome financial constraints that impede lending to agribusinesses. aBi offers financial lending to agribusiness but does not do it directly with the entrepreneurs. It channels the financing through commercial banks and other recognized financial institutions. According to aBi Managing Director
August - September 2012
Svend Kaare Jensen, the Trust offers credit or loans to the commercials banks at subsidized rates. “It is cheaper for banks to borrow from us and on condition that the banks use them for lending to agriculture,” Jensen told the East Africa Agribusiness. Jensen says aBi also offers loan guarantees to financial institutions for borrowers who lack collateral, a major impediment to financial lending in agriculture. “Financial institutions interested in lending to Agribusiness clients with no collateral can partner with aBi Trust,” says Jensen. The Trust also has a gender-tailored credit scheme to promote youth and women’s access to financial services through the Gender 4 Growth programme (G4G). The youth and women groups are trained in business development skills and gender integration in the agricultural value chain, according to
2011
Agricultural
Mapera House, the new Centenary Rural Development Bank headquarters on Kampala Road. Peninah Kyarimpa, aBi’s G4G Manager. In pursuit of deepening access to rural financing, aBi will support initiatives to boost Branchless Banking where farmers and other entrepreneurs in rural areas can access financial services using their mobile phones through the Mobile Money transfer system. The Trust will also support Mobile Banking initiatives, where a van will be moving in remote areas to provide farmers and other agribusiness people with financial services such as collection of their savings and proceeds from sales. In addition to providing financial access, aBi offers Business Development
Services to agricultural entrepreneurs. Jensen says aBi has set up demonstration farms or plots in various parts of the country. On these plots, farmers are taught good farming practices such as mulching, disease and pest control and fertilizer application to increase farm productivity. The Trust also offers training in Phyto-sanitary and quality management (postharvest handling) across the value chain. This enables Farmer Organisations and Small and Medium scale Enterprises to meet market quality requirements and increase their trade opportunities thus making their products competitive on local and export market.
financing
Jensen says aBi coordinates with agribusiness regulatory bodies such as Uganda Coffee Development Authority for quality standardisation across the value chain cycle. He says the target is to make agriculture a profitable investment for farmers, Farmer Organisations and SMEs at every stage of the value chain. If any of the stages becomes unprofitable, there will be a breakdown in the production and marketing cycle, which would stagnate or affect the whole industry. Current research shows that increased agricultural financing has been reinforced by other players in the financial sector. For example Agricultural Finance Yearbook 2011, a joint effort by Bank of Uganda, Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture, GIZ and aBi, shows that a number of banks and other financial institutions have credit or loan schemes for agribusiness lending with Centenary Rural Development Bank being the lead lender. Others include Opportunity Bank Uganda, Housing Finance Bank, Mateete Microfinance Cooperative Trust. Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations, Savings Groups and Village Savings and Loan Associations also offer agricultural loans especially in rural areas where conventional banking services are limited or lacking. Agriculture is part of Centenary Bank’s major business areas. The bank commits 20% of its loans portfolio to agriculture, compared to the whole commercial banking system’s 7% to the sector. For example, according to Agricultural Finance Yearbook 2011, Centenary Bank’s agricultural loan portfolio was about Shs2bn in 2002 but by 2011 it stood at Shs89bn, which translates into 17% of its total lending portfolio. The bank has created an Agricultural Lending Department and seeks to extend credit access to the entire agricultural value chain and increase its rural outreach to farmers and entrepreneurs through small lending branches countrywide. This is expected to enhance development and reduce the national household poverty count. It has been established that agriculture’s contribution to GDP is twice as effective in reducing poverty prevalence as GDP contributions by other sectors. The writer is a senior journalist.
August - September 2012
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Productivity
enhancement
Soil fertility is a crucial code toward a smiling farmer Use of fertiliser as nutrient boosters can double your crop yields By Aggrey Atuhaire
F
ood production in Uganda is growing disproportionately to the national population growth rate. This implies that our food security is under serious threat unless we apply alternative methods to double food production. Food security is an individual’s or household’s ability to have sufficient safe and nutritious food. More than two-thirds of Uganda’s
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population is food insecure. According to the Economic Policy Research Centre Fact Sheet No. 1 of July 2012, Uganda’s population is growing faster at 3.2% per annum than food crop production at 2.7% per year. This means the food insecurity situation in the country is projected to get worse in the coming years unless there are strategic interventions to boost production and productivity at farm level and increase income at household level. Improving and maintaining soil fertility
August - September 2012
especially by use of fertilisers is one of the critical alternatives to increase food production.
What are fertilisers? Fertilisers are materials which can be added to the garden or soil so as to provide nutrients that are important for proper crop growth and yields. Fertilisers may be artificial/inorganic (manufactured from industries or mined from the earth) or natural/organic such as
Productivity animal manure and compost manure. Artificial fertilisers are usually in form of granules or dust. Fertilisers are usually added to the soil in order to add the necessary nutrients. However it is important for a farmer to know what nutrients are missing in the soil before buying or applying fertilisers. One sure way of establishing that is carrying out soil testing. But it is a complex process for an ordinary farmer to carry out. It is usually done in research institutes like Kawanda or Makerere University. When applied, some fertilisers release one major nutrient like urea or ammonium nitrate which produce nitrogen. Others produce rock phosphate which releases phosphorous. Other fertilisers can release two or more major nutrients such as NPK (for nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium), and DAP (for nitrogen and phosphorous).
How are fertilisers applied? For farmers who grow their crops such as maize in rows, a furrow or line can be dug (10-15cm deep) along the length of the row near the roots. Then fertiliser is placed in this furrow and covered with soil. This method is known as band application, and is suitable for less soluble fertilisers. For crops which are not grown in rows, fertiliser can be spread in a prepared field where planting is going to take place. The fertiliser may or may not be integrated into the soil. The fertiliser should however be uniformly spread. This application method is called broadcasting and is suitable for fertilisers applied at the start such as phosphorous and potassium. A stick can also be used to make a circular furrow around the plant and fertiliser put in this furrow. The furrow should be dug depending on how the roots spread. Fertilisers can as well be poured in a planting hole, covered with a small layer of soil, and then the seed/seedling sown or planted in it. This method is called spot application. Also for plants that are congested or not planted in rows, fertilisers can be dissolved in water and then sprayed on the leaves. This is usually done for nitrogen
fertilisers like urea. This method is foliar application. For large scale or commercial farms like flower farms, the plants receive the fertiliser through irrigation pipes whereby fertilisers are mixed from one central area and sent through the pipes to different plants on the farm. This method is known as fertigation.
When to apply fertilisers Phosphate and potassium fertilisers are usually applied to the soil just before planting or at planting time. The fertiliser may then be incorporated into the soil at a depth of 10-15cm. When fertilisers are applied like this, it is known as starter or basal fertiliser application. Nitrogen fertilisers are usually applied a few weeks after germination. For example in maize crop, nitrogen fertiliser is usually applied when the crop is around 2 feet high, which is often after the first weeding. When fertilisers are applied at this time, it is known as top or side dressing. A fertiliser may also be applied in different portions or at different growth stages of a crop. For example in maize, a nitrogen fertiliser like urea can be applied when the crop is at knee high level and again when the crop is flowering/ tussling. This is referred to as split application.
enhancement
Fertiliser use in Uganda
Uganda is a signatory to the “Abuja Declaration on Fertiliser for an African Green Revolution 2006.� As per the Declaration, the Uganda government is committed to increasing fertiliser usage to at least 50kg per hectare per annum by 2015. However the total consumption in nitrogen fertiliser in Uganda remains low at a 5-year average of only 3,842 tonnes, which is about 5 per cent of the fertiliser application in neighbouring Kenya and 12 per cent of the Ethiopian fertiliser consumption, according to FAO statistics in 2010. Agricultural Finance Yearbook 2011 by Agribusiness Initiative Trust (Uganda) shows Uganda is among the least fertiliser users on the continent. The book, compiled with support from GIZ, Bank of Uganda and Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture, shows that the average fertiliser application in Uganda stands at a paltry 1kg per hectare only ahead of Niger and Mali among the 30 African countries reviewed. Rwanda’s average fertiliser application stands at 8kg/ha, Burundi 2kg/ha, Tanzania 5kg/ha, Sudan 4kg/ha and Kenya 26kg/ha, the highest usage in the Great Lakes region. South Africa is the biggest fertiliser user on the continent with 44kg/ha. The data clearly shows that fertiliser application in most sub-Saharan Africa
A farmer applies fertilizers in his garden.
August - September 2012
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Productivity
enhancement
still falls far below the target of the Abuja Declaration of 50kg/ha. Declining soil fertility is cited in the Agricultural Development Strategy and Investment Plan for 2010/11-2014/15 as one of the major challenges to increasing crop production in Uganda. The size of the fertiliser market in Uganda is estimated at between 16,000 and 20,000 tonnes of fertilizer products annually. However, about half of Uganda’s annual fertilizer imports are procured directly by commercial crop growers. The commercial fertilizer supply system upon which smallholder farmers are dependent consists of five to seven importers, about 15 to 20 wholesalers, and 250 to 300 small-scale rural retail stockists. Importing firms face high costs in transporting the bulky commodity. While the costs of importing fertilizer to Uganda have fallen significantly in recent years due to increased supplies from Kenya, they still remain high compared to prices in the rest of the world. The International Food Policy Research Institute’s Uganda Strategy Support Programme brief No.4 of 2007 and 2008 says Ugandan farmers who use fertiliser are bearing the full weight of the sharp increases in global prices. The Uganda Census of Agriculture (UCA) 2008/09 revealed that most farmers (50%) were not using inorganic fertilisers because they
are too expensive. Other reasons provided for not using fertilisers included lack of knowledge (25%), limited access (14.1%) and the perception that fertilizers are useless (9.5%). Regarding organic fertilisers, lack of knowledge was considered as the major limiting factor followed by high cost. Other factors that influence fertiliser use include low output prices, compared to the fertiliser input prices, poor agricultural advisory services, risky policy environments, poor road networks and weak market information systems. UCA further revealed that only 8% of farm households use inorganic fertilizers and about 26% of households use organic fertilizers in crop production. Central region (34.2% organic and 11.7% inorganic) leads other regions in the proportion of households using organic and inorganic fertilisers while the northern region is the least fertiliser user (9.6% organic and 4.4% inorganic). According to UCA, use of inorganic fertilisers in grain production such as sorghum can increase output by 40-60 per cent. A USAID-funded study carried out by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in nearly 200 farmer fields in Uganda (the second largest producer and consumer of bananas in the world) shows that modest fertilizer use can significantly increase crop yields. In central Uganda, for example, annual yields doubled from
10 to 20 tonnes per hectare with modest fertilizer application. “The application of fertilisers not only increases bunch weight but also shortens the crop cycle so the plants produce more bunches in a year,” says van Asten, an IITA agronomist. Van Asten cautions that fertilizer use has to be very strategic. For example, the practice only becomes more profitable when it is specific to a crop and a region, and targeted at only those nutrients that are most deficient. The above study also estimated that more than 1.5 million tonnes of Potassium (K) are removed (during harvesting) from the rural areas where the bananas are grown and transported to Kampala where most of the markets are. These nutrients are mined by farmers, but not immediately replaced. Over time, this nutrient mining could diminish the soil’s ability to sustain profitable banana production. The need for replenishing soil fertility in Uganda is abundantly recognized. Henao and Baanante (2006) estimate that the loss of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK) in the 2002-2004 cropping seasons was about 66kgs per hectare per year, which puts Uganda the 14th highest loser of soil nutrients among African countries. The land availability, at the same time, is rapidly declining in Uganda. Because of the high population growth rate and slow population movement from rural to urban areas, the arable land per person has declined by half, from 0.6 ha per person in 1960s to 0.3 ha per person in the 2000s (FAO, 2008). It is therefore abundantly clear there is inevitable need for a National Fertiliser Policy to promote agricultural productivity through improved infrastructure, access to credit, creating awareness on fertiliser use, supporting domestic fertiliser production, harmonising policies related to fertiliser use, strengthening research and extension, and others. Although fertiliser application is important, it will not in itself raise the yields. Other agronomic practices such as good field preparation, proper spacing, early planting, use of high yielding and resistant varieties, and adequate watering will need to be integrated so as to achieve better and higher farm yields. The writer is an agronomist
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August - September 2012
Productivity
enhancement
The growing market for bananas calls for higher yields Farmers need good crop husbandry and improved soil fertility. By Elyeza Bakaze
B
anana commonly known as matooke in Uganda is grown as a staple food by more than three-quarters of the population. Uganda alone produces more than 9.5 million tonnes of bananas per year and majority of it is locally consumed at an average of 400kg annually. Here is the yellow dessert banana- the big and small ones. There is also matooke, which most people commonly mistake for plantain. In truth, there are more than a hundred different types of banana in Uganda named according to a particular region, taste, origin and bunch character among others. The edible part of the banana is used not only as food, but also as ceremonial gifts and for making local brew called tonto which is also distilled to produce a gin known as waragi. The banana plant and its various parts have also been used by local people as medicinal remedy to ailments like stomachache, swelling, ulcers and lacerations. Banana plant also helps in pain reduction, burns, inducing labour and expelling the placenta from the uterus after birth, among others. A part from being a food, banana also gives income to the farmers throughout the year, plays a key role in import substitution, provides soil surface cover and reduces soil erosion on steep slopes. It is a principal source of mulch for maintaining and improving soil fertility and improving water infiltration into the soil. Banana also provides feeds for animals. However, despite the above economic benefits, banana is currently threatened by many constraints such as declining soil fertility, environmental degradation that aggravate pest and disease multiplication and social economic impediments. Therefore it is important to know good management practices on maintenance of soil fertility; sustained increase in banana production while maintaining pest and disease-free banana farms.
Establishing a banana plantation Banana requires deep, well-drained loam soil with high humus content, often of volcanic or alluvial origin. Acidic soils are not
A sword sucker that is removed from the mother plant. suitable. Bananas require considerable amounts of nutrients to maintain high yields. This will define the spacing of 3m x 3m for fertile land or wider for less fertile. When planting, the banana should be spaced in a way that there is maximum use of sunlight or across the slope in order to decrease soil erosion. Planting
August - September 2012
13
Productivity
enhancement
FHIA 23 breed
FHIA 25 breed
holes may be small size of about 30cm x 30cm x 30cm, medium of 45cm x 45cm x 45cm,or big size of 60cm x 60cm x 60cm. When digging the holes, black soil should be put on the upper part of the slope and the red soil on the lower part of the slop. Mix the black soil with manure (farm yard manure) and put it back in the hole and allow 14 days when it is raining before planting. Large and deep planting holes allow enough manure addition and roots of future plants to exploit greatest volume of soil and minimize toppling by wind. However holes bigger than 60cm may not be cost effective in terms of labour.
being less infected with nematodes and weevils than larger planting material. The sucker bulb should be pared /peeled to remove all the roots and parts with damage (tunnels formed by weevil larvae or necrosis due to nematodes). To ensure greater levels of cleanness, the pared corms can be subjected to hot water treatment of 52550c for 20 minutes or chemical dipping (a solution of 1.5cc of dursban per litre for 1 hour) to the remaining nematodes and weevil larvae. It is advisable to plant the suckers within a week.
Source and Selection of Planting Material
Planting should be done at the beginning of the rainy season as banana suckers need 4-6 months of vigorously growth without water stress. Banana grows best at optimal mean monthly temperature of 270c. Temperature below 120c and above 370c scorches the leaves. Bananas have high water demand of 25mm per week and annual rainfall of 1500-2500mm that is well distributed such as in Kayunga, Ka-
Clean planting material; free from pest and disease contributes to high yields. Such materials must come from a healthy plant or Tissue Culture plants. The most commonly used planting materials are sword suckers, maiden suckers or corms. The sword suckers have the advantage of
14
Planting
August - September 2012
muli, Iganga, Mbale and others. However, with good water management practices (“Fanya juu, and chini� commonly referred to as trenches, mulching and ditches within the garden) bananas can even grow in areas with mean annual rainfall lower than1200mm such as Moroto, northern Kotido and eastern Kitgum. Make 15cm deep hole containing the mixed manure. Place the corm in the hole and cover it up with a half inch of soil on top if it is raining. If it is not raining, add some light mulch. In the planting hole, the sucker is tilted towards the edges of the hole. If the land is sloping, the sucker should be oriented that the future ratoons emerge against the slope. This will delay the ratoon crop from growing out of the soil exposing the corm, a condition called high mat. (In the next edition read about banana plantation management, disease control and how to increase banana yields in your garden)
Productivity
August - September 2012
enhancement
15
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REPORT FOR JANUARY-JUNE 2012 REVIEW OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED Uganda Communications Commission operates and maintains a complaints handling system to facilitate access to redress by consumers of communications services. Under this, consumers are required to
by the respective service providers, while 27.7% are still pending response/action from the service providers. The following graphical representations illustrate the pattern and trends of various complaints received by UCC for the period January-June 2012.
then can lodge the complaint with UCC.
DEFINITION OF COMPLAINT TYPES
The statistics used in this report represent consumer consumers who claim inability to access the service providers. During the period under review, 72.3% of the total complaints received from consumers were resolved
BILLING: These are complaints relating to presumed over charging for services or excessive deduction of credits, unclear deductions in credit, refunds or bill adjustments. It comprises dropped balance, inappropriate billing, non-crediting of account, and non-delivery of service paid for, multiple SMS and undelivered SMS.
Types of complaints recieved. resolved and pending for the period under review
Monthly breakdown of received and reso
RCD – Received Complaints | RES – Resolved Complaints | Note: Complaints Received refers to all types.
UNSOLICITED TEXT MESSAGES: This refers to unwanted messages sent to consumers by the service provider or content providers. OPERATOR CALLS: This refers to unwanted calls to consumers by the service providers usually promoting a particular product. CALLER RING BACK TUNES: Complaints regarding unsolicited/imposed ring back tunes and unfair deductions for the ring back tunes. QUALITY OF SERVICE RELATED ISSUES: Inaccessibility of lines, general network quality, and nonchalant attitude of Call agents. MISPLACED COMPLAINTS: These are complaints that are not under UCC’s jurisdiction. MOBILE MONEY SERVICES: Complaints regarding mobile money transactions or services NON DELIVERY OF MAIL: Complaints regarding failure of postal couriers to deliver mail. INTERNET / GPRS ISSUES: These are complaints regarding erratic internet services and subscribers not getting the agreed speed and bandwidth. These also include subscribers being disconnected from using internet service prior to expiration of validity days.
olved complaints per operator
AIRTIME LOADING: These relate to when a subscriber has challenges recharging via the interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Unstructured Supplementary Services Data medium (USSD), mistakenly scratches off some numbers from the pin on the recharge card and is barred from recharging after several wrong attempts. PROMOTIONS: These complaints comprise of misleading adverts regarding advertisements that are dubious, untruthful, deceitful etc. e.g. bonus related issues on promised incentives such as free SMS, free calls, extra credit on recharge which is believed to have not been redeemed, breach of contract, etc. BROADCASTING: Complaints on both Television and Radio broadcasting services such as frequency interference and content related issues.
Executive Director
Uganda Communications Commission UCC House, Plot 42-44 Spring Road, Bugolobi P O Box 7376, Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256-41-4339000; +256-31-2339000, Fax: +256-41-4348832 Email: ucc@ucc.co.ug, Website: www.ucc.co.ug
Types of complaints recieved per operator
Productivity
enhancement
Oil palm growing adds a new dimension to Uganda’s agriculture The new farming activity in Uganda was pioneered by Bidco Uganda in Lake Victoria’s Kalangala islands.
U
nder its trading company Oil Palm Uganda Limited, Bidco harvests 73,000 tonnes of palm oil fruits annually and processes 200 tonnes of crude palm oil per day with plans to expand the capacity to 500 tonnes. Although palm oil growing is mainly large scale farming by Oil Palm Uganda on 6000 hectares, the local people too have benefitted from growing the crop on their smallholder farms. Oil palm is one of the most easy yet difficult crops to grow. It requires advanced mechanization and strong means of bulk transportation from the farm to the processing or marketing centre. Therefore if you are growing it at small scale, you need to be near such a large scale farmer and processor like Bidco who can
18
buy your crop from your plantation and transport it to his production unit at his own cost or to whom you can take the produce at low cost because of the processor’s proximity to your farm. You also need to have the source of palm oil trees which are only bred in a special nursery. You cannot simply go to neighbours and get palm oil trees for planting like you can do with ordinary crops. The residents in Kalangala have utilised the advantage of proximity to the Bidco processing centre on the islands to make money from oil palm farming. However, on the other hand, oil palm farming is one of the easiest to start as it does not require expensive land preparation. If the site where you want to set up
August - September 2012
an oil palm garden is a grassland, all you need is clearing the land. If the land has trees, first uproot them before planting the palm trees. Thereafter, plant cover crops to prevent or minimize soil erosion. The cover plants also help keep moisture in the soil and induce nitrogen. It’s advisable to plant the oil palm trees during the rainy season because they need a lot of rainfall of about 1600 and 2400mm annually. A hectare can take between 140 and 150 palm oil trees. They should be planted in a radius of 9 metres from each other. Maturity of palm oil trees takes about four years, after planting, when the farmer gets the first harvest. After planting, palm oil trees do not require chemical spraying like many other crops. Therefore the farmer does not suffer high costs of procuring pesticides and insecticides although he may need weed killers. On first harvest an acre can yield about one tonne per month translating into 12 tonnes annually. However, the yields keep rising with time reaching up to 18 tonnes annually at peak maturity which is usually between 8 to 10 years. After the first harvest, a farmer starts harvesting palm oil fruits every 10 days throughout the year. This ensures regular and steady income for the farmer. Oil palm trees take 25 years before re-planting. At the current US Dollar exchange rate, Bidco is paying about Shs425 per kilogram of oil palm fruits. This means a farmer harvesting one tonne of palm fruits a month gets Shs420,000. This translates into at least Shs5m to the farmer every year. Another advantage with oil palm farming is that you can get full funding from planting to harvest time under the IFAD-Uganda Government partnership after registering with the oil palm growers’ trust. Although oil palm farming is not fertilizerintensive, as is the common case in modern farming, fertilisers remain an important component in oil palm growing. The farmer needs to apply fertilisers in case of some nutrient deficiencies in the soil in order to achieve or maintain higher yields. However this fertility reinforcement is done after doing soil testing to establish the deficiency of nutrients. On average a palm oil tree needs 7kg of fertiliser a year and you can apply fertilisers about six or more times depending on the soil nutrient requirements in your garden.
Farm
Farm Guide | Piggery
Guide
Start-up guide to PIGGERY August - September 2012
19
Farm Guide | Piggery
Pig rearing has potential to cure household poverty By Dr Eneku Wilfred
P
igs are relatively small-sized animals with high reproductive potential and generation cycle. They are omnivores and therefore can be fed on a large range of feeds. Pig rearing involves about 6 different aspects: Housing and related
20
infrastructure; feeds and methods of feeding, type of breeds and breeding methods; healthcare and disease control measures; routine management practices and marketing.
Housing Before you construct a pig house,
August - September 2012
you need to have a careful study of your area to make a good farm layout. Careful sitting of pigsties right from the start is important to avoid future inconveniences from smell and drainage from pigsties. The house construction should take care of adequate ventilation, space allowance per pig, heat
Farm Guide | Piggery reduction measures for adult pigs, drainage and guard rails/crates in farrowing units. The house should provide easily cleanable floor, drinkers and feeders. You should include physical disease control measures right from the time of house construction such as water baths with disinfectants at the entrance of the pigsty, fence around the unit to restrict unauthorized entrance into the pig units and limiting access of pigs to the drainage channels. A waste management unit should be incorporated when constructing the house as pigs excrete a lot of dung.
Feeding Before introduction of pigs into the rearing system (pigsty), a farmer should mobilise large feed reserves to ensure uninterrupted feeding of the animals so that the intended objective is achieved. Feeding forms the largest cost of all inputs in raising pigs. Fortunately, they can survive on a variety of feeds ranging from commercial feeds (very expensive option), root tubers to pastures with quite good performance with optimum supplementation. While feeding, one should achieve the basic nutrient requirements of the particular age group of the pig. Several feeds like maize bran, broken maize, wheat bran, millet, rice bran, brewers waste, cassava meal, sweet potatoes, vegetable culls, molasses, fruit culls, incubator waste, ruminants slaughter wastes, sugar cane bagasse, bakery waste and forages are some of the feeds that can be found in Uganda. Other feed sources include soybean meal, sunflower cakes, tree leaves and stems, palm kernel meal, meat and bone scrapings, blood meal, fish meal, whey and mineral premixes. However, be careful not to use feeds from contaminated sources where you may introduce a disease like African Swine Fever into your herd. Also do not feed pigs with moldy feeds like spoilt bakery wastes because they are toxic.
managed.
Before you construct a pig house, you need to have a careful study of your area to make a good farm layout. Careful sitting of pig-stys right from the start is important to avoid future inconveniences from smell and drainage from pigsties. Breeds
Choose a breed that grows very fast and produces large litters (offspring) under optimum management. You can get this information from local veterinarians or fellow farmers. Popular breeds in Uganda include Landrace, Large white, Camborough, Berkshire and Durocs all with their advantages and disadvantages. Keep a correct breeding ratio when practising natural mating but artificial insemination is available in pigs though practised on small scale as of now. Breeding males and females should be carefully selected and
Healthcare and disease control Carry out regular deworming and parasite control on the skin. Clean all drinkers and feeders regularly. Permanent concrete feeders without drainage on them are quite difficult to clean when they become dirty. Consider options of movable wooden or metallic feeders where necessary. Ensure that your pigsty is not readily accessible to any stranger and scavenging pigs. Avoid feeds from restaurants that prepare pork/pork products for they may contain pig infections. Common pig diseases around include African swine fever, Piglet colibacillosis (cause of newborn diarrhea), Worms, Mange and some other suspected causes of reproductive failures. Avoid African Swine fever by all means possible because it has no effective treatment and no vaccine yet. Do not allow workers to bring pork products to your farm, it’s the commonest recipe to African Swine Fever.
Routine management Keep records on pig performance (numbers dead/living, various age groups-starters, weaners, fatteners,
Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation
August - September 2012
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Farm Guide | Piggery pregnant sows, boars, lactating sows etc) of each pig/unit, all expenditures and other relevant information. Daily care for pigs like feeding, hygiene and handling should be followed strictly.
Marketing You can procure piglets from various farms but ensure that you buy from a farm of quality breeds. Some of the places
where you can get good pig breeds is MUVA Farm. The farm also sells pork and pigs for pork. One of the advantages of pigs is that their waste can be converted into biogas for lighting, cooking and brooding chicks on the farm. You can start selling the piglets at between 2-3 months. Pigs for pork are ready for slaughter at between 6-8 months of age. It’s of no much economic value to keep them longer than nine months when they are intended
for slaughter. Beyond this age, there is marginal return on investment. There is marginal weight gain compared to the amount of feeds you give to the pigs. This is the right time to sell the pigs. Global demand for pork is growing, which means piggery will be a lucrative business in the coming years. Eneku is a veterinary doctor with MUVA farm in Muduma along Mityana Road.
Nutritional value of pork It is recommended that for healthy living a person should take two to three servings of meat and or alternatives a day.
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Vitamin/Mineral
Recommended Benefits Daily Intake
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
22%
Helps release energy from food Promotes the growth and repair of tissues Maintains healthy skin and eyes
Thiamin (Vitamin B1)
65%
Necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates Essential for the growth and repair of nerves & muscles Helps maintain appetite
Vitamin B6
24%
Essential for the metabolism of protein, carbohydrates and fat Promotes normal functioning of the central nervous system
Pantothenate
10%
Essential for the formation of strong bones and teeth Transports nutrients in the body Regulates energy balance
Iron
9%
Heme iron (found in meat) is absorbed more readily than non-heme iron (found in vegetables, breads, cereals, fruits, eggs, and supplements) Prevents nutritional anemia Builds hemoglobin in red blood cells Helps with energy production.
Zinc
36%
Essential for the healthy development and maintenance of the immune system and bone structure Can improve resistance to infections Can enhance bone formation in children and young adults Appears to protect against bone loss in older adults
August - September 2012
Farm
Farm Guide | Cabbage
growing
Guide
Start-up guide to Cabbage growing August - September 2012
23
Farm Guide | Cabbage
growing
Cabbages can give you economic and dietary dividends
Michael J. Ssali
F
or anyone with some land measuring as little as just an acre and eager to make quick money, growing cabbages is not a bad idea to try out. Cabbages may even be grown on hired or borrowed land. With a relatively small amount of money to invest, it is possible to reap big profits. Cabbages in Uganda generally grow fast because of the favourable climate and naturally fertile soils. We have three common types of cabbages in the country: Gloria, Copenhagen and Drum Head and all of them may be grown and harvested within just four months or less. The farmer will however need to understand a few facts about each type of cabbage before deciding which one to grow. It is also good to know why he or she wants to grow the cabbages. If the reason is solely to have cabbages for personal consumption in a household setting, then it might not matter so much whether the cabbages are compact or heavy. The weight, compactness and shelf life after harvest seem to be more important to a farmer growing cabbages for sale. Henry Kawesa, Training and Youths Co-ordinator at Kamenyamiggo District Agriculture Training and Information Centre (DATIC) in Masaka District, has been teaching farming skills to young people for a long time. He says cabbages
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August - September 2012
require plenty of water to grow well. It is important to plant the seedlings at the beginning of the rain season unless there is a provision for irrigation. “Gloria is the most tolerant to poor rainfall conditions of the three types of cabbages and it may be ready for harvesting in about one hundred days after planting,” Kawesa says. “It makes a characteristic sound when a slight tap is made on it as an indication that it is mature and compact, which makes it preferable to most buyers because they perceive it to give them value for money. Gloria cabbages are normally heavy, each one weighing an average of two and half kilograms. Since some schools and hotels buy them in kilograms, they are not a bad choice to grow for someone doing business with such institutions. Their other advantage is that, since they are compact, they may not take up so much vehicle space during transportation. For a farmer intending to make his or her own cabbage nursery, a fact to bear in mind is that a seed packet for Gloria cabbages costs around Shs10,000 compared to about Shs4000 for that of Copenhagen or Drum Head cabbages.” Kawesa says that Copenhagen takes a shorter time to grow, being ready for harvesting within about 70 days after planting. Like Gloria, it has a compact head and is about the same average weight but it has a disadvantage of its head bursting rather easily on the farm if not harvested in time. Its leaves also wither quite fast after harvest --- a big drawback
Farm Guide | Cabbage EAST AFRICA AGRIBUSINESS PHOTO
A model cabbage garden at the Nile National Agriculture and Trade show in Jinja in July 2012. to most market vendors. Copenhagen, like Drum Head, requires constant rainfall and any rain shortages will reduce yields. The Drum Head, Kawesa says, takes longest to be ready for harvesting. It takes as long as 120 days or 150 days to harvest after planting. Given that it requires plenty of rainfall to sustain a good crop of Drum Head, the farmer must strictly plant at the beginning of the rain season. If the rain is insufficient the head is likely to be rather hollow and soft and thus affects the weight. “However no farmer should be so lazy as not to water his cabbage crop especially if his farm is located not too far from a water source,” he says. “Modern and affordable rain water harvesting and irrigation systems are now in place -- a topic for another day-which can make cabbage farming successful no matter what variety a farmer may choose to grow, rain or no rain. The advantage of growing cabbages during the dry season, for farmers who can afford irrigation, is that the farmer will get better prices since cabbages are scarce during this time, which makes demand for them very high.” A cabbage farmer may have to contend with pests and diseases that attack the crop. The common disease,
growing
Health benefits of cabbage ■■ Fresh, dark green-leafy cabbage is highly nutritious and low in fat and calories. It provides 25 calories per 100g. ■■ It contains many phyto-chemicals like thiocyanates, indole-3-carbinol, lutein, zeaxanthin, sulforaphane and isothiocyanates, which are powerful antioxidants and known to help protect against breast, colon, and prostate cancers and help reduce LDL or “bad cholesterol” levels in the blood. ■■ Fresh cabbage is an excellent source of natural antioxidant, vitamin C. Provides about 61% of RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance/intake). Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals. ■■ It is also rich in many essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential for body replenishment. ■■ It also contains good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is required for the red blood cell formation. ■■ Cabbage is very good source of vitamin K, provides about 63% of RDA levels. Vitamin-K has potential role in bone metabolism by promoting osteotrophic activity in them. So enough vitamin K in the diet gives you healthy bones. In addition, vitamin-K also has established role in curing Alzheimer’s disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in their brain.
August - September 2012
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Farm Guide | Cabbage
growing
Damping-off, is normally controlled by the farmer spraying the cabbage seedlings when still in the nursery with such fungicides as Indofil, Mancozeb and Greenzeb obtainable in most agro-shops. Other herbicides which are more effective are: DithaneM-45 and Victory. Some people use a mixture of cattle urine and hot pepper and ash to fight the pests. Other diseases that may attack cabbages include Downy Mildew which appears in brown patches on the cabbage leaves; Dry Rot, a fungal disease, which is normally prevented by quickly getting rid of the crop residues after harvesting. It is always advisable for the farmer to be in regular collaboration with the area agricultural extensions services provider for guidance on how to go about fighting whatever diseases and pests may come up. A cabbage nursery bed, according to Kawesa, is supposed to be in a shade and should have no hard pieces of soil. It is advisable to mix a bit of organic manure in the fine soil and then let it settle for two or three weeks before planting the seeds. The seeds should be gently cast over the soil and then lightly covered with more soil and left under the shade until the seeds germinate after some 10 or more days. As the seedlings grow, they should gradually be exposed to sunlight. The watering of the garden should also gradually be reduced to prepare the seedlings for the rough conditions of the vegetable field under direct sunlight. However as the seedlings mature and get to about two or three inches they may be generously watered so that the soil gets soft to allow gentle and smooth uprooting of the seedlings for onward transplantation on the garden or farm. If the soil is not fertile enough, a farmer is advised to apply some organic manure at the time of planting. One or two handfuls of compost or animal manure placed in a hole, some 10cm deep, just before planting should be enough to sustain the cabbage plant throughout the growing season. Agriculturalists advise spacing of two by two feet (2ftx2ft) in the case of Gloria; two and half feet by one and half feet in the case of Copenhagen variety and three by two feet for Drum Head. On an acre a farmer may grow as many as 11,000 cabbages. Even if the farmer sold each harvested cabbage at a minimum price of Shs400, it would translate into Shs440,000. It’s a good return on investment and a sufficient reason for the farmer to smile.
Green cabbage
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Purple-red cabbage
August - September 2012
Nutritional value of cabbage Nutrient
Nutrient Value
Recommended Daily Allowance/intake (RDA)
Energy
25 kcal
1%
Carbohydrates 5.8 g 4%
5.8g
4%
Protein 1.3 g 2%
1.3g
2%
Total Fat 0.1 g 0.5%
0.1g
0.5%
Dietary Fiber
2.50 mg
6%
Folates
53 mcg
13%
Niacin
0.234mg
1.5%
Vitamins
Pantothenic acid
0.212 mg
4%
Pyridoxine
0.124 mg
10%
Riboflavin
0.040 mg
3%
Thiamin
0.061 mg
5%
Vitamin A
98 IU
3%
Vitamin C
36.6 mg
61%
Vitamin K
76 mcg
63%
Sodium
18 mg
1%
Potassium
170 mg
3.5%
Calcium
40 mg
4%
Iron
0.47 mg
6%
Electrolytes
Minerals
Magnesium
12 mg
3%
Manganese
0.160 mg
7%
Phosphorus
26 mg
3.5%
Zinc
0.18 mg
1.5%
Phyto-nutrients Carotene-A
33 mcg
--
Carotene-B
42 mcg
--
Lutein-zeaxanthin
30 mcg
--
Savoy cabbage ( loose wrinkled leaves)
COMMITTED TO GROWING THE REGION WITH FRESHNESS
Since 1967, , Fresh Dairy has empowered the Ugandan farmer with quality education on the best farming practices. This has enabled us to provide more than fourteen countries with the freshest taste and nourishment from milk produced by the best livestock in the region. Over the years, this relationship has played a great role in building the dairy industry to what it is today. Thank you, Uganda. We shall always stay committed to this great relationship.
Dairy Farming
The start, collapse & revival of
Uganda’s dairy industry By William Matovu
F
ormal dairy development and organised milk marketing in Uganda began in 1967 with the establishment of the Dairy Industry Act that led to the establishment of Uganda Dairy Corporation (UDC). The UDC was responsible for dairy development, dairy products marketing and dairy regulation in the country. Initially the performance of UDC was very good. Potential areas for milk production were identified and dairy farmer marketing cooperatives and milk collection centres were set up. Furthermore, milk processing plants were established in Mbale and Kampala to handle milk from the Eastern, Central, South-western and Western Uganda milk sheds. Subsequently associated modern farming practices such as use of artificial insemination, animal disease severance and control, extension systems and development of the required human resources to support dairy development were done. However in the following decade, the UDC performance suffered a rapid decline with destruction of the economic infrastructure due to civil war, economic mismanagement, expulsion of the Asian community in 1971. The breakup of the East African Community in 1977 exacerbated the situation. For instance the national cattle population declined from 8 million in the 1970 to 3.5 million by 1985. The governmentcontrolled cooperative marketing structure collapsed due to the civil war and mismanagement. Equally, the Dairy Corporation milk collection infrastructure became obsolete thus affecting the country’s milk processing capacity. The young but promising dairy sub sector crumbled.
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To revamp the sector, government instituted the National Rehabilitation and Development Plan of 1986 -1990 which was later extended to 1992. Rehabilitation of the dairy industry was made a priority in order to make Uganda self-sufficient in milk production by restoring production on dairy farms, improving milk marketing and strengthening dairy extension services. Between 1986 and 1992, a rehabilitation programme supported by the government and several development partners such as Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African Development Bank (ADB), World Food Programme (WFP) and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). The rehabilitation focused on ensuring that the destroyed cold chain and processing capacity was reinstated and that milk was available for consumption for the improved nutritional status of the population and to create a milk drinking culture. In this regard, with the support of DANIDA to the Uganda Dairy Corporation, milk collection centres were rehabilitated across the country. The WFP also provided $26.6 million in skimmed milk powder and butter oil for recombination from 1981 to 1988 for milk consumption. Extension and farmer training was conducted for farmers by partners such as Heifer International, Send-ACow, UK and farmers benefited from dairy animals provided by FAO and UNDP. The spirit of farmers cooperating (mainly in south western Uganda) was also revived. In 1989, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) issued adocument; “Livestock
August - September 2012
Catlle graze at Mzee James Kamomo’s farm in Kinyogoga, Nakasongola district. His milk production has increased since he changed from traditional cattle to cross-breed herd after advice from extension workers.
and fisheries policy and development programmes towards the year 2000” whose aim was “to increase productivity of the livestock resource on a sustainable yield basis within the framework of sound environmental limits”. The general strategy provided for incentives and removal of bottlenecks by controlling animal diseases, promoting incentive pricing, developing infrastructure and marketing channels, preserving natural resources and developing productive capacity. The rehabilitation programme thus laid a critical foundation towards rebuilding the dairy subsector that had collapsed and stimulated confidence for farmers to invest in dairy farming. In 1987 the government began economic reforms to facilitate rapid economic development through liberalization of markets to break market monopolies and make a free-market economy. In1993 the government, with assistance from DANIDA, liberalised the sector following recommendations in the Dairy Master Plan. The Master Plan had recommended liberalisation of milk marketing; creation of the dairy board to oversee the liberalised dairy industryand privatisation of the Dairy
Dairy Farming
Corporation. Following recommendations of the Dairy Master Plan, the 1967 Dairy Industry Act was repealed in 1998 and a new Dairy Industry Act enacted in 1998. This led to the creation of the Dairy Development Authority (DDA) and privatization of the Dairy Corporation. DDA took over regulation and development in 2000 while Dairy Corporation was leased to Sameer Agriculture and Livestock Limited in 2006. The policy change in the dairy industry between 1993 and 1998 left a gap in regulation and coordination of dairy developmentactivities as the new dairy authority only came on board in 2000. This led to thriving of the informal milk trade in urban markets. Milk processing companies that had started business in the liberalised industry suffered the brunt. Out of 10 processing companies established, five collapsed (Ra-milk Ltd, Western Highland Creameries Ltd., Dairy Bell, Country Taste and Sunshine Dairies). Despite these initial challenges, liberalisation encouraged private sector investment in milk collection,transportation processing, milk distribution and marketing.For instance by the time of liberalisation, there were only three government owned processing plants with installed capacity of 160,000 litres per day. However, from 1993 to 2006, fifteen medium to large scale processing plants were setup which increased
the total national installed capacity to about 400,000 litres per day. Though, most of them were operating at 45% capacity utilisation. Furthermore DDA estimates that national milk production grew from 365 million litres in 1991 to 1.8 billion litres by July 2012. However, the sector has also been largely operating informally especially in the marketing of milk. About 80% of sold milk goes through informal market channels. The above achievements notwithstanding, there are still teething policy issues that affect effective transformation of the dairy sector. There is inadequate regulatory capacity and thus limited adoption of code of practice on quality milk production and handling.
William Matovu
This makes locally processed dairy products uncompetitive with similar imported products on both the domestic and international market. This affects effective competition of the sector within the East African Community and international markets. Identification, registration and recording for breed improvement, traceability and trade related diseases are vital. Other areas that need redress are; animal feed standard and poor quality inputs such as fake animal drugs. A robust extension system is also needed. Fortunately the challenges raised above can be addressed if efforts by the government (through Dairy Development Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and other actors) are synergized with those of development partners. For example, to improve the quality of raw milk in the informal milk market, the East Africa Dairy Development and DDA are working on a training, certification and accreditation scheme to improve hygiene and quality standards for trade in raw milk in the dairy value chain. Heifer International through its East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project has mobilised farmers to form cooperative groups in various milk producing areas. These farmer groups now collect milk from various farmers to one collection centre where processors come and buy. This has brought many advantages. Because of the organised bulking (selling in large quantities), there is ready market for milk since processors like Sameer Livestock and Agriculture come and take all the collections from one place. Through the EADD project, farmers have been linked to the buyers through close and regular market interaction. It has become easy for farmers to acquire milk coolers, generators and other equipment from processors at friendly terms to ensure quality standardisation and increased production of milk. For example, with support and guidance from East Africa Dairy Development project, Kinyogoga Livestock Farmers Cooperative Society in Nakasongola acquired two milk coolers with financing from the Micro Finance Support Centre (MSC) with a combined capacity of taking 8000 litres every
August - September 2012
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Dairy Farming day. The Cooperative which started with 180 members in 2008, has 500 today and serves over 1,300 people who sell their milk to the society or receive other dairy services like farmer education on improved breeding, disease control, pasture improvement and milk production enhancement. The Cooperative members have started adopting modern methods of farming such as cross-breeding and they are already seeing and reaping the benefits. Mzee James Kamomo, the chairman of the Cooperative Society, told East Africa Agribusiness that he used to have 200 head of cattle. But despite such a large herd, he was producing only 20 litres of milk daily. When he changed from traditional to improved livestock breeds, the change in milk production was immense. “I had 200 cattle but I would get 20 litres of milk a day. I sold them and bought cross-breed cows. I now have 10 but I get 50 litres of milk daily. I now get more milk with fewer cows,� he said with pride. The Cooperative Society has acquired equipment which tests the quality of milk at the collection centre before it is accepted for chilling. It is now easy for the coop members to access credit from financial institutions using their business stock as collateral. The Coop Society has also set up an agro vet shop at the centre which supplies farmers with agro-vet inputs and services.Farmers sell their milk to the Coop and their sales data is entered into the records. They collect their pay at end of month. They use their milk sales to acquire credit from the Coop when they have immediate farm needs such as drugs and other essentials. The loan is recoverable from their milk payments at the end of month. The Cooperative also has an extension worker who provides services to the farmers. The Coop society has created many other benefits including employment. Many youths have bought motorcycles and are engaged in transportation of milk from farmers deep in the villages to the collection centre. It has also created business for those who buy milk from much remoter areas and bring it to Kinyogoga for sale at a profit.
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Contribution of dairy industry to the economy
T
he dairy sub-sector contributes 9% of the country’s GDP. This means that if sufficient investment is made in the dairy industry, it has potential to contribute significantly to economic growth and development. Farmers have been left to struggle on their own and thus survive on the whims of middle men. Access to extensions services and inputs is appalling. This scenario has denied farmers maximum benefits of livestock keeping despite the fact that dairy farming has great potential to reduce poverty, drive economic growth and enhance livelihoods. Thus, to provide hope and contribute to transformation of the lives of smallholder farmers , a value chain development approach is the answer. Development partners like Heifer International with its East Africa Dairy Development project (EADD), funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have demonstrated that by organising farmers into producer cooperatives, farmers can access markets easily and thus be able to get affordable, good quality inputs and extension services and financial services. The initiative is referred to as the Hub Dairy System. Hubs can effectively connect rural farmers with business services, industry knowledge and, most critically, to formal and improved raw milk markets. A chilling-plant hub typically starts with100-500 farmers, but can grow to 2,000 farmers. They are organised and registered as a single dairy farmer business association or cooperative to build and operate a chilling plant or major milk collection centre and develop other associated hub services. A minimum of 3,000 litres a day are needed to be selfsustaining and profitable milk cooperative business. Milk chilling is essential for formal market access by dairying smallholders as their geographic location does not permit them to sell milk in major markets without bulking, cooling and transportation. Without a chilling plant, farmers have the raw milk market as their only option for sales, limiting their distribution to neighbours or markets within a two-hour or 60km radius, in which un-chilled milk can travel
August - September 2012
without spoilage. To be efficient and profitable, chilling plant operations require the farmer group and plant management to have business management skills. These two management teams set and maintain milk quality standards that are largely absent or not enforced at the national level. Raising the quality standards of milk determines the potential for dairy industries to establish viable national and international markets. Processors can only develop valueadded dairy products if quality milk is available. As the market agent, the plant management must develop skills in negotiating with processors and meeting supply contracts. Using information and communication systems, management can serve farmers with relevant market information. The chilling-plant hub includes dairy enterprise inputs, commercial and financial services required for farmers to grow their business.These business development services (BDS) are developed by training providers in small-business delivery and management and by educating farmers about advantages of using these services. Service providers include breeders and artificial inseminators, agro-vet shops and community animal health providers, feed suppliers, credit and financial institutions. Through such organised initiatives, the project has been able to support 45,000 small holder farmers to bulk over 60 million litres over two years. Besides, 31,120 inseminations of proved genetics have been performed. Such initiatives are promoting confidence among farmers to believe that with more effort and investment, they can significantly change their lives. However, this hope needs to be amplified with support from government and other value chain players. No doubt, the future belongs to the organised; sector transformation can only be achieved by organising value chain players into a collective business force. William Matovu is an Agribusiness practitioner with focus on the dairy value chain development.
Dairy Farming
The production chain at Sameer Agriculture and Livestock factory in Bugolobi industrial area.
Agro-processing boosts market value for Uganda’s milk By Our Writer
O
ne of the key drivers of the dairy transformation is value addition at each stage of the milk production chain. At the farm level, it is important to have healthy high milk yielding cows especially the improved breeds. Better animal husbandry improves both milk production and quality. This value chain continues up to the processing and export level and the final market. However, there has been limited value addition after the farm level in Uganda’s dairy industry. Most of the milk produced is sold in raw form. For example, currently Uganda produces about 1.8 billion litres of milk annually, according to the Dairy Development Authority, but 85% of this is sold as raw milk. By 2008,
this accounted for $160m, according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Only 15% was sold as processed milk through the formal marketing channels, yet this small amount of processed milk fetched $108m, far more than half of the earnings realized from the 85% of unprocessed milk. This means that processing will give Uganda’s milk higher value to fetch higher prices on both local and international market. With the growing demand for milk in the region and beyond, Uganda will reap huge local and foreign earnings by increasing her milk production and agro-processing base. The entry of agro-processors like Sameer Livestock and Agriculture, Pearl Dairies, Jesa and others into the dairy industry has tremendously increased Uganda’s milk production, quality and
competitiveness. Thus, farmers and other entrepreneurs are now getting better earnings and benefits than before. The growing agro-processing industry has also guaranteed farmers ready market for their milk. These motivations have encouraged farmers to change from subsistence farming of traditional cattle to commercial farming with improved livestock breeds, which has bolstered the national milk production. For example, Sameer has increased its processing capacity from 130,000 litres of milk per day in 2006 to 500,000litres today although it processes 180000 litres daily. This means it has unutilised capacity which can absorb further 320,000 litres of milk from farmers. Sameer’s Managing Director Anoop Sharma told the East Africa Agribusiness
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Dairy Farming
A man checks water content in the milk at Kinyogoga Livestock Farmers Cooperative Society in Nakasongola in August 2012. The Coop carries out the water tests before the milk is accepted for chilling to ensure quality. magazine that the company increased collection of raw milk from farmers from 9 million litres in 2006 to 68 million litres by end of 2011. The company has also increased the number of farmer cooperative societies or organized farming groups with milk cooling infrastructure or equipment from 76 to 168. Besides the south-western traditional milk shed, Sameer has opened 36 milk collection centres in the central region. Sharma said there are plans to open similar centres in the eastern region soon. Opening of collection centres across the milk production regions has expanded the milk market to the farmers. Through these milk collection centres, farmers have organized themselves into groups, which has enabled Sameer to provide them with extension services, technical
inputs and veterinary support at affordable prices using their milk supplies as security. The number of farming households has more than trippled from 5, 500 in 2006 to about 20,000 today. “To improve local demand, we have so far provided free of cost 103 milk selling kiosks equipped with chilling equipment to the unemployed urban youth, thus ensuring milk availability in all corners of Kampala. We plan to roll out more such initiatives in the coming year to ensure Fresh Dairy products are available at an arm’s length,” Sharma said. The company’s milk exports have also increased from a negligible amount in 2006 to 31.1 million litres today. This proves that value addition increases demand for milk and its byproducts,
thus creating greater opportunities for the dairy sector entrepreneurs. Encouraged by the growing regional and international market for milk, Sharma says, Sameer is now spreading its reach to more than 15 countries in Africa and beyond such as South Sudan, Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Syria, Egypt, Dubai and India among others. However several challenges still constrain the dairy sector. Over-reliance on rain for enough pasture and water for livestock is inhibiting farmers’ ability to consistently supply the required amount of milk throughout the year to meet the processors’ output targets. Sharma said Sameer is training farmers on the best farming practices such as silage preparation to address theproblem. The company is also setting up a model farm where farmers will be given further training in livestock husbandry. The above constraints notwithstanding, Uganda’s organic fertile soils with favourable climate and her strategic location in the COMESA region still give her greater opportunities to tap into the regional market and transform her dairy industry. Critical to the realisation of this dream is establishing the right infrastructure, developing appropriate collection, processing and marketing systems for dairy and other agricultural products, investing in the right technology and developing capacity to increase farm production and productivity. This will fetch higher revenues for farmers and all other entrepreneurs engaged in the whole cycle of the value chain. Thus, in aggregate, it would increase the dairy sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP and eventual poverty reduction.
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Feature
UNRA after 4 years U
ganda has a comprehensive road network, currently comprising of National Roads (20,000kms), District Roads (13,000kms) Urban Roads (2,800kms) and Community Roads (about 30,000kms). These roads serve to interconnect communities and districts and link land locked Uganda to neighboring countries. As part of institutional strengthening of the road sector, Government created the Uganda National Road Authority (UNRA) which is responsible for the management, operation development and maintenance of the country’s classified road network. The Uganda National Roads Authority Act was passed by Parliament in 2006. By statutory instrument, in December 2006, UNRA became a legal entity. UNRA is responsible for the management of approximately 20,000 km of National roads of which approximately 3,500 are paved and 16,500 km are gravel or earth roads. While UNRA’s core business is the management of the road network in terms of implementation of maintenance and development works, the Authority is also responsible for the management of ferry services and axle load control. Additionally, the Authority is mandated to provide appropriate technical advice to other road agencies as and when required.
Since its formation in July 2008, UNRA has taken a big step in the provision and maintenance of National Roads in a more efficient and effective manner. As you travel upcountry, you can see observable evidence that our roads are getting better and Uganda National Roads Authority has started delivering on its mandate. UNRA is determined to contribute to national development through better and safe roads. There are over 1000km of major roads currently under construction. These include Kabale-Kisoro (100km),) Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara (300km), Phase two Kawempe-Kafu road (166km), Fort Portal-Bundibugyo (103km), Nyakahita-Ibanda-Fort Portal (208km), Soroti-Mbale-Tororo (140km), Mbarara-Kikagati (75km), Gulu-Atiak-Nimule (104km), Vurra-Oraba (92km), Mbarara-Katuna (154km), Malaba/Busia-Bugiri (82km), Ishaka-Kagamba (35km), Hoima-Kaiso-Tonya (77km) Mukono-Jinja (80km), and Jinja-Kamuli (69km).
Completed major projects Jinja-Bugiri Road (72km): This is a key link on the Northern Corridor Route linking Uganda to the sea. The project was funded by European Union and Government of Uganda. The road was completed in October 2009. Kampala—Gayaza – Zirobwe Road: The section from Gayaza to Zirobwe was upgraded to tarmac. The section from Kampala to Gayaza has been upgraded and expanded. Kampala to Kalerwe Bypass roundabout has been turned into a dual carriageway. The road was completed at the end of 2011.
From Left - Right Dr. Umaru Bagampadde, Eng. Kasingye Kyamugambi, Mr. Ishmael Magona, Dr. Were Higenyi, Former Chairman Dr. Wana Etyem, Hon. Abraham Byandala, New Board Chairperson -Ms.Angela K. Kiryabwire, Ms.Christine Nabirye, Eng.Peter Ssebanakitta
Masaka-Mbarara Road (148km): Masaka-Mbarara road has been reconstructed with additional works such climbing lanes and widening of curves. The first 90km were completed and handed over to UNRA in November 2011. The entire road is expected to be handed over to UNRA by the end of September 2012. The road is jointly funded by the European Union and the Uganda Government.
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33
Feature
A completed Masaka-Mbarara road Kawempe – Kafu Road (166km): The first phase of rehabilitation of this road was completed in 2010. The second phase which involves application of another asphalt overlay will be completed in December 2012. Soroti-Dokolo – Lira Road (123km): Soroti – Dokolo-Lira road was completed and handed over to UNRA in 2010. This is one of the best performing projects in the last four years and was completed months ahead of schedule. Kampala Northern Bypass: This is a new road intended to decongest Kampala City by diverting transit trucks heading to western Uganda, Rwanda and eastern D.R Congo. This project is funded by European Union & Government of Uganda. The first phase road was completed in 2009. The second phase for widening the entire road will commence at the end of 2012. Matugga – Ssemuto – Kapeeka (41km): The tarmacking of Matugga-Semuto- Kapeeka road (42km) was completed in March 2011. The road starts at Matugga on the Kampala-Luwero-Gulu road about 18km from Kampala City centre. The road passes through Semuto town and ends at the roundabout in Kapeeka town. Kampala – Mityana (57km): The reconstruction was done under 2 contracts (Busega – Muduuma and Muduuma – Mityana). The Kampala-Muduma section was constructed by Spencon Services Ltd in JV with Stirling Civil Engineering Ltd. The Muduma-Mityana section was constructed by Dott Services. The road will handed over to UNRA at the end of July 2012. First Phase Kampala – Masaka (124km): Phase one of the reconstruction of Kampala-Masaka road on the Busega- Nsangi (11km) and Kamengo-Lukaya (51.6km) sections was completed in May 2012. Physical works involved reconstruction and widening of the entire road to 11m carriageway road including
34
August - September 2012
The new Soroti – Dokolo – Lira Road shoulders. The project is funded by the Government of Uganda. Resealing works completed on about 300km of National tarmac roads Major works on these roads involved spot rehabilitation of severely distressed areas, resealing of the carriageway, and repairing/resealing of shoulders. Works on these roads were completed in 2011. ■■ Lira – Kamudini - Karuma a total length of 111.5KM. ■■ Masaka – Kyotera road (38.3 km) and Nyendo Villa Maria road (10.4 km) with total length of 48.7 Km. ■■ Mbarara-Ishaka road (58.8 km) and Ishantu-Bwizibwera road (20km) and Mbarara-Katete (3.9km) with total length of 82.7 Km.
Ongoing major projects Kabale-Kisoro-Bunagana/Kyanika Road: This road is a continuation of the Northern Corridor Route linking Kabale through Kisoro to the Rwanda border at Kyanika and D.R Congo border at Bunagana. The overall progress by the end of May 2012 was estimated at 90%. The project is will be completed before the end of 2012.
Feature will be completed at the end of 2013. Kawempe-Luwero-Kafu (166Km) Overlay Construction: Having concluded the initial phase of staged rehabilitation works, a contract for the second and final phase comprising overlay works commenced in May 2011. This involves applying another layer on the existing road, road marking and installation of road signs. This work will be completed at the end 2012.
A completed section of Kabale-Kisoro road Works on Fort Portal-Bundibugyo road Fort Portal – Bundibugyo-Lamia Road (103KM): The upgrading of Fort Portal – Bundibugyo-Lamia Road (103KM) started in 2010. The road project starts from Fort Portal town and descends through the foothills of Rwenzori mountains through Bundibugyo town to Lamia the border post with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The road is scheduled for completion in 2013. Nyakahita – Kazo – Kamwenge-Fort Portal road (208km): The works under this project are being executed under three separate packages Nyakahita - Kazo
section, Kazo-Kamwenge section and Kamwenge-Fort Portal section. Contracts for the first two sections commenced in May 2011. Kamwenge-Fort Portal will commence in early 2013 Jinja-Kamuli and Tororo- Mbale- Soroti (156Kms): Works on the above road corridors are being implemented following a staged approach that involves the recycling of improved existing pavement materials to restore the road pavement. Work on these roads started in 2011 and
Construction of Atiak-Moyo-Afoji Road (Phase 1: bridges, box culverts and ferry landings): The first phase for the upgrade of this road to tarmac will involve construction of bridges and box culverts. This contract was awarded and works are ongoing. Mbarara-Katuna Road: The Government of Uganda (GoU) has obtained grants from the European Development Fund towards the cost of reconstruction of the priority section of the Northern Corridor route (NCR) from Mbarara through Ntungamo and Kabale to Katuna. Physical works involve reconstruction and widening of the entire road to 11m carriageway road including shoulders.
Other ongoing major projects The roads below are ready for construction. These projects will commence in 2012.
Road maintenance When UNRA started operations in July 2008, it immediately launched an operation to get rid of potholes on the national paved roads network. It is worth noting that this operation has been largely successful in reducing potholes on the paved National road network. For many of the old roads like Mukono-Jinja, Kafu-Karuma-Gulu and Tororo-Mbale-Soroti this has been a continuous process. These roads have outlived their life span and are either under construction or under procurement for total reconstruction. Currently road maintenance is being done through 2 methods; contracting out to the private sector and force account (“in-house”). Force account involves using
Road Name
Length (Km)
Remarks
Mbarara – Kikagati
75.0
Ongoing works
Gulu-Atiak
73.0
Ongoing works
Vurra – Arua – Koboko –Oraba
92.0
Ongoing works
Malaba/ Busia – Bugiri
82.0
Ongoing works
Mukono – Jinja
52.0
Ongoing works
Ishaka – Kagamba
35.0
Contractor Mobilising
Kaiso-Tonya-Hoima
85.0
Ongoing works
UNRA staff and equipment to maintain the roads. Over 150 routine mechanized and periodic road maintenance contracts have been let out over the last three years. Over 100 contracts covering the additional network taken over from the Districts have also been let out since 2011.
Upcoming Major Projects During this FY 2012/13, UNRA will procure contractors with the capability to
organize funding for road development projects supporting the primary growth sectors. The selected contractors shall be responsible for organizing funding for construction works for the roads in the Lot in which the company will be short listed and for execution of construction works. The roads covered under this programme include the following: ■■ Mukono-Kyetume-Katosi (74km) ■■ Buwaya-Kasanje-Mpigi-Kibibi-Mityana
August - September 2012
35
Feature (90km) ■■ Kayunga-Bbaale-Galiraya (88.5km) ■■ Mpigi-Maddu-Ssembabule (135km) ■■ Villa Maria-Ssembabule (48km) ■■ Hoima-Butiaba-Wanseko (111km) ■■ Kyenjojo-Kabwoya (105km) ■■ Musita- Lumino –Busia/Majanji (104km), ■■ Kamuli – Bukungu (64km), ■■ Rukungiri – Kihihi –Kanungu/ Ishasha road (74km)
(208km), ■■ Muyembe-Nakapiripirit/Moroto-Kotido (193km) ■■ Kitgum-Kaabong (140km) ■■ Tirinyi - Pallisa - Kumi / Pallisa – Mbale (69km), ■■ Namagumba - Budadiri – Nalugugu (30km), ■■ Mbale – Bubulo– Lwakhakha border (41km),
Other upcoming projects
Road Name
Length Km) Remarks
Atiak – Bibia-Nimule
37.0
Under procurement – Works to Commence in 2012.
Moroto – Nakapiripirit
90.0
Contract Awarded – Works to Commence in 2012
Kampala-Entebbe Highway
51
Contract Awarded – Works to Commence in 2012
The roads below are ready for construction. These projects will commence in FY 2012/13.
Mbarara-Bypass Expansion of Kampala Northern Bypass
17
Under procurement – Works to Commence in 2013.
KAMPALA ENTEBBE HIGHWAY PROJECT
Ntungamo - Mirama Road
35
Under procurement - Works to Commence in 2013
The Government of Uganda secured a loan from the Chinese Government to construct a new road linking Kampala Metropolitan to Entebbe airport. The construction is supposed to commence in October 2012. The proposed Kampala – Entebbe Highway is a 51Km long dual carriageway that starts at the Busega junction on the Kampala Northern Bypass and proceeds southwards to Entebbe. The route crosses the Masaka – Kampala Road and passes through Kaboja, Kasanje, Kinaawa and Kazinga. It continues southwards through the eastern Nkungulatale and Sisa across the Nabingirwa Swamp and eventually joins the existing Kampala - Entebbe Road at Mpala. From thereon the highway follows the existing route upto Entebbe International Airport. The project includes a 13Km long spur from Kajjansi to Munyonyo. The spur heads in an easterly direction intersect with the existing Kampala – Entebbe road and continues through Lweza, Kitiko-Birongo, Mutungo Central, Kigo-Lunya and Ziranumbu, Kawagga Swamp to Munyonyo. The proposed new Nile Bridge at Jinja. The Government of Uganda received a concessional loan of about $100 Million US Dollars from the Japanese Government through the Japan Technical Cooperation Agency (JICA), towards financing the new
36
■■ Kabale (Ikumba)-Kanungu-Buhoma (120km) ■■ Ishasha-Katunguru (88km) ■■ Kabale-Bunyonyi (6km) ■■ Atiak-Adjumani-Moyo-Afoji (104km) ■■ Olwiyo – Gulu –Kitgum (167km), ■■ Rwenkunye – Apac – Lira-Kitgum – Musingo (350km), ■■ Kapchorwa – Suam (77km) ■■ Soroti - Katakwi - Moroto –Lokitanyala
Contract Awarded – Works to Commence in 2012
The proposed new Ntinda junction on Kampala Northern Bypass. The expansion of Kampala Northern Bypass is expected to commence at the end of 2012 River Nile Bridge at Jinja. Construction is expected to start at the end of 2012.
FERRIES UNRA is operating and Maintaining six ferries/ crossings as summarized below: ■■ Laropi Ferry: across the Albert Nile between Laropi (Moyo District) and Umi (Adjumani District). ■■ Masindi Port Ferry: across the Victoria Nile between Masindi Port (Masindi District) and Kungu (Apac District). ■■ Wanseko Ferry: across the Lake Albert between Wanseko (Buliisa District) and Panyimur (Nebbi District). ■■ Nakiwogo Ferry: across the Lake Victoria between Nakiwogo (Entebbe Municipality) and Kyanvubu (Wakiso District). ■■ Bukakata Ferry: across the Lake Victoria
August - September 2012
between Bukakata (Masaka District) and Luuku (Kalangala District). ■■ Kiyindi Ferry: across the Lake Victoria between Kiyindi (Mukono District) and Buvuma (Mukono District); New Ferries to start operations in 2012 a) A ferry across the Nile river from Mbulamuti in Kamuli District to Nabuganyi in Kanyunga District. b) A ferry to run across the Albert Nile between Obongi (Moyo district) and Majii (Adjumani District). The ferry was delivered and testing of the ferry is ongoing. c) A new ferry Nakasongola ferry is currently being assembled in the country and will start operations in 2012
This ferry will start operations between Kamuli and Kayunga
Comment
We can change farming even with little funding By Morris Rwakakamba
R
oman author, lawyer, orator and politician, Marcus Tullius Cicero 106 BC-43 BC argued that “The National Budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn’t want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” The foregoing brings out two important lessons: a) that a National Budget should focus on growing internal capability to generate local revenues to finance itself and thus reduce dependence on aid. Indeed, that we incurred $5.31 billion on importing goods and earned only $4.1billion from export of goods and services in the last financial year is a trend that Uganda has to reverse. b) That citizens should not expect government to provide everything but rather people should work to develop themselves and their country- a budget should not make people dependant on the state. A state is only a regulator and enabler. Will the 2012/2013 agriculture budget enable the sector to grow and gain competitiveness in the region? Hereunder are my thoughts on Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka’s budget speech. Allocation to the agriculture sector: A Shs150 billion increment to sector allocation from 434.1 billion last financial year to 585.3 billion this financial year is a positive move in a right direction. Considering the importance of the sector to food and nutrition security, creation of jobs and raw materials, agriculture should get even a bigger share of the pie. But what should concern farmers and those that are concerned about them is the efficient utilisation of the allocated money to transform lives of farmers and country. Therefore, farmer groups, community leaders and barazas, should develop mechanisms to follow up this money. At national level, the Uganda National Farmers Federation should coordinate budget implementation monitoring efforts. Farmers must organise to engage and turn budget in their favour.
Clear targets and outcome indicators should be put in the budget speech. For example, the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NAADS) got Shs52.9 billion. Will this increase the percentage of farmer households that are visited by an extension worker from the current 14% to at least 30% by next financial year? What will be the percentage of this on real agriculture productivity growth? How about the allocation of Shs48.9 billion to the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO)? Will this allocation lead to development of, for example, coffee and banana wilt resistant varieties by next financial year or a report on progress? What is the projected figure of farmers that will receive wilt free planting materials? The selection of flagship commodities like coffee, tea, maize, beans, market fruits, vegetables and fish is good for both export earnings and food and nutrition security. Remember beans and posho (maize flour) have guaranteed food and nutrition security in most schools for many years. But what is our target tonnage for beans, maize, fish this financial year? Targets will be the only way we can follow and determine our performance come the reading of our next budget. The power of leverage and smart budget applications. The budget can also stimulate innovations and investment from the private sector. For example, unlike the last financial year where hoes were prominent, this financial year Shs500 million shillings have been provided for tractors. Indeed with increasing scarcity of labour resources in the rural areas and the cost of opening up arable land for production are increasing at a geometric rate with the piece rate averaging at Shs3500 shillings. This is a good move. These tractors, once used, collectively will provide a great relief. But some interesting options to consider; if we offered a tax holiday incentive to a tractor assembling company and removed all taxes and duties on tractor spare parts, we could have a cartel of interested com-
panies that will provide tractors to farmers and farmer groups across the country at affordable rates. The same would also work for irrigation. There are companies such as Davis and Shirtliff that produce handy and intermediate irrigation equipment, can a tax incentive make their equipment affordable to many farmers? It is indeed viable. How about such companies working with Uganda Industrial Research Institute to spur innovations in intermediate and high end irrigation technologies? Allocation to Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA). UCDA has been doing a good job. They scientifically realized that the reason for slumping coffee productivity and plummeting exports was due to coffee wilt, old coffee trees (above 30 years and can’t be productive), harvesting of green unripe bellies and poor post-harvest handling. UCDA has been on strong campaign- distributing clean planting materials and doing some progressive work on the other above challenges. UCDA should have been rewarded with a bigger pie within the agriculture sector budget. I hope they can mobilise money from other sources to keep the campaign and momentum going. We are reaching a time when agriculture sector cannot be ignored. Budget figures alone will not eliminate supply and demand constraints facing the agriculture sector. But rather integrity in delivery of agriculture services will be the anchor to unlock the sector potential. This is a role we can all undertake in our communities and other spaces. I agree that community and church leaders at the grassroots should get back to work and monitor service delivery and mobilise people to work. By laws that stop people from alcohol consumption at 11 am at those village trading centres should be enforced. A mix of enforcement and the market should work as pull factors to transform the rural areas. Lipton, 2005, argues that there are virtually no examples of mass poverty reduction since 1700 that
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Comment
Make farming economically attractive to the youth By Enoth Mbeine
R
ecently, Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II called on the youth to remain in the rural areas instead of migrating to cities in search of elusive opportunities. The king’s call could not have come at a better time than now as youth unemployment is at alarming levels. The youth migration to towns has left behind ageing farmers and declining traditional agricultural systems. Currently, the youth and young people constitute about 78% of Uganda’s population. According to a World Bank report of 2008, youth unemployment in Uganda is at 83%, ranking only second after Niger in the world. One way of addressing this employment crisis is coming up with strategic interventions to attract the youth to agriculture. The call for the youth to return to villages will make sense if the youth are encouraged to get more engaged in farming. To do this, agriculture must be transformed from subsistence to commercial farming, where farmers undertake agriculture as a business that can help them earn enough income to prosper. There is an urgent task at hand and this requires a multidisciplinary approach. Agriculture development practitioners, policy
makers, the private sector, agricultural government agencies and other professionals must articulate a new vision of agriculture that is attractive to the young people and align with their aspirations and interests. The first step is to change the perceptions about agriculture in the face of the youth. Agriculture, in particular farming has a negative image among the public especially the youth. Portrayed as a low-income, high-risk career, public perception of the industry and farming must be improved to entice more youth to choose agriculture as a career or enterprise for economic advancement. The youth need to be educated about today’s farming. Agriculture has significantly changed. Farmers are now educated, business-savvy entrepreneurs who possess some extensive training and knowledge. There are currently many formally employed people who are abandoning their lucrative jobs to engage in farming. The positive aspects of choosing farming should be emphasized to the youth. One of the reasons the youth are aloof to agriculture is because they are seen as a neglected lot by government line institutions that promote agriculture. The youth
are usually excluded in policy discussions about access to agriculture and rural market development. The policies at national level also rarely feature the concern or issues of the young on the future of farming, food security and development. The Ministry of Agriculture can, for example, set up a Youth Advisory Committee to look into various ways of attracting and retaining the youth in the agricultural sector. The committee may comprise mainly the youth engaged in agriculture to act as role models. The main mandate of the committee would be to meet regularly to develop and provide recommendations regarding youth attraction to and retention in agriculture. To make agriculture attractive, the government should strengthen and maintain agricultural institutions for extension, research and innovation, credit, agro-processing and marketing in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of farming enterprises. Access to affordable credit is another key factor in making farming attractive to the youth. The young people tend to have fewer chances of obtaining capital or credit. Access is often tied to availability of collateral, which is usually land that the
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Comment
Uganda’s new club of entrepreneurs By Enoth Mbeine
young people do not have. It is therefore important that appropriate affordable financial packages are put in place by financial institutions involved in agricultural lending. To further attract the youth into agriculture, agri-support agencies must undertake deliberate efforts to make inputs such as good seed, fertilizers, basic mechanization and agricultural market information available and affordable. The agriculture curriculum in universities should be reviewed to ensure it attracts the youth and also translate the research activities into direct action on the field for the benefit of farmers. More emphasis should also be put on creating more vocational agricultural training centres for the youth. Agribusiness support agencies should play a key role in interesting the youth in agriculture. They can do this by highlighting in their interventions, a criterion for youth involvement in the programmes they intend to support. The agricultural subsectors that have potential to increase employment of mainly the youth should be supported. When agriculture becomes a truly viable venture, we are more than certain that the youth will be enthusiastic in taking it up. In a country where university graduates are prepared to work as night guards, street vendors etc, profitable farming can be attractive. The challenge we must take up, as leaders, facilitators, policy makers and private sector in Uganda’s agricultural development is to build the capacities of the youth and equip them to address the emerging requirements of an attractive agriculture and non-farm rural economy that offers prospects for viable incomes and good quality of life. Enoth Mbeine is Senior Consultant, Business Development Services FIT Uganda
L
eaving a well paying corporate job to go into farming may sound crazy, but that is exactly what Jeff Kimbugwe aged 39 did. From his savings, he acquired 25 acres in Mukono and is now into commercial farming. “Although I was earning a good pay, I was unhappy and dissatisfied with the daily routine of work. But now I am seeing many opportunities ahead,” says Kimbugwe. Together with his wife, they have identified lucrative markets for their produce in the neighbouring schools, hospitals and supermarkets in Mukono and Kampala. “I am now looking at tapping into European markets to take advantage of specialty and niche markets.” Simon Isingoma, aged 41, also resigned his job two years ago. Together with his wife, they bought three acres of land in Nakawuka, Wakiso District. They are currently running a successful poultry project. “I should have left my former job long time ago. I am enjoying what I am doing. I have managed to turn my hobby into a cash making venture,” says Isingoma. The examples are many. These people represent a new vision of dynamic and hopeful generation that is helping to change the face of agriculture in Uganda. Many people, especially the youth associate this sector with stigma of poverty and lack of education. Farming is becoming attractive for people who have been working in corporate organisations as they are normally filled with ambition and drive. “The farming sector is now ripe. Running a farm is a lot of fun. I feel that there is more security in running my own operations. I also now have more time for my family,” says Rosemary Namubiru, a farmer in Kasangati, Wakiso who resigned from her NGO job three years ago. Many other new agricultural entrepreneurs are venturing into value addition through processing and packaging.
Promoting value addition not only enhances export competitiveness, but also helps farmers to fetch high incomes from their products. Some of the sectors with value addition opportunities include grains and their products, dairy and dairy products, meat and meat products and coffee among others. Many private companies have invested in production of quality seeds and fertilizers, food processing, establishment of agricultural market information systems such as INFOTRADE and financial products, which are a perquisite for value addition. Starting an agricultural enterprise, like other businesses, has its own risks. Agribusinesses are complex enterprises that integrate agricultural production, valueadded processing, packaging, distribution and marketing activities. They entail greater risk than simple farming and require specific skills and experience. But the rewards are immense especially with the growing demand for food in Uganda and the East African region.
So are you planning retirement? Are you in a state of uncertainty at the workplace due to increasing number of layoffs? You can use your current employment to mobilise savings and together with the real world corporate experience, you can begin to plan joining this emerging trend when the time is ready. Government, private sector and support agencies involved in agribusiness development should embrace this trend by vigorously taking on various initiatives to create access to opportunities for this new generation of entrepreneurs. This type of more business-oriented agriculture and the development of small agri-business sector is an important driver of food security, export expansion and consequently economic growth and development. Enoth Mbeine is a senior consultant, Business Development Services FIT Uganda
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Comment
Uganda @ 50yrs lacks effective land use policy By Dr Majwala Meaud
E
very morning, newspapers, TV and radio stations are talking about escalating land grabbing and land quarrels. Most recent is the Eviction of about 10,000 people in Namatooke trading centre in Buvuma District to pave way for the Buvuma Palm Oil Project handled by Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) under the Agriculture Ministry. For the project government is supposed to secure 6500 hectares of land and lease it to Oil Palm Uganda for oil palm growing. Yet there is a need for more 3,500 hectares of land for out-growers schemes out of the only 22,000 hectares of land that comprise Buvuma Island. Such a big project is now in balance because of poor planning and management of land resources in Uganda. The first phase of this project led to the clearing of thousands of hectares of forest cover in Kalangala District. These and many other problems in land use and management show that we have not done enough in the last 50 years of independence. It is a courageous undertaking to celebrate the golden jubilee, but where is our destiny? The bite is in our mouth-even if we carry our head in the clouds amidst celebrations, we cannot square the circle. We need to put our heads into it to handle the tasks ahead. World-over land is almost an exclusive source of food for both humanity and animals. Land has often been identified as a primary resource from which wealth is derived, as we all live and work the land. Unfortunately, land tends to decrease with the population increase over the years. This leads to the decrease in the means of subsistence. Land resources are under increasing pressure to produce food, fuel, oil minerals and wood to support the increasing population. Demand for land is ever increasing yet its supply is fixed. One of the important components of any land use or farming systems is the land tenure systems. The institutional ar-
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rangements under which a person gains access to land largely determine, among other things, what crops he can grow, how long he can till a particular piece of land, ability to use it as security for a bank loan or his ability to undertake long term improvements/investments on the land. Hence the land use policy measures must acknowledge the wide range of stakeholders with an interest in land and its role as an economic and socialpolitical asset. Most of the problems that exist in our land use, ownership and management are a result of circumstances beyond our own making. Lack of the land use policy has been detrimental to our development in the last 50 years. Two years ago, the World Bank carried out a multi-country survey of existing investment projects to analyze “land grabbing” from its own perspective. The first report, published in September 2010, acknowledges the ‘real danger’ of “uncompensated land loss by existing land users and land being given away to “investors or perceived investors” well below its true economical and social value”. The study found out that many investments failed to live up to expectations and “instead of generating sustainable benefits , contributed to assets loss and left people worse off than they would have been without the investment”. What is not covered in the report, however, is that the World Bank itself has played a role in driving global land deals and “resource restricting“ in the decades of neo-liberal economic policies that destroyed African agriculture, especially through imposition of conditions that obliged withdrawal of government controls and support mechanism to provide farmers easy access to land, credit, insurance, inputs and cooperative organization. Since independence, almost all African countries have been undertaking land reforms in one guise or another to promote economic growth, increase access
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and ownership, reduce poverty and encourage more formal and sustainable management of land. In some instances, land has acquired symbolic power value within the political life of Uganda such as the need to be seen to redress a great historical wrong of the 1900 Buganda Agreement and other proceeding land laws in colonial and post-colonial Uganda. This explains the continued momentum behind the unending land reforms in Uganda. The problems that exist in the land laws we have today cannot be adequately be solved by the level of thinking that created them. Therefore our land use policy should be conscious of social justice, transparency and ethical challenge, accessibility to the poor, rights and ownership, environmental concerns and the complex dynamics of land use in industrial/urban systems. After 50 years of “independence”, let’s cut our coat according to our cloth size. Since land is a primary means of both subsistence and income generation in developing economies, access to land and security of land rights, is of great importance to the eradication of poverty and food insecurity. We therefore need to adopt a human–centred approach to land use and ownership by stimulating patterns of development which are pro-poor. This demonstrates that changes to land tenure do not just involve a change in legislation. They require a much broader view of how the law relates to public interests as well as institutions available to implement the provisions of the law. There is no quick or easy fix, it calls for a consultation process with a consensus methodology to ensure full participation and involvement of different stakeholders. The writer is the President of Sustainable World Initiative-East Africa Email: majormeaud @gmail.com
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