Technologies for intensification in SW Uganda ... - Foodnet - cgiar

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Retail Price 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Figure 2.7: Weekly Prices in Kasese 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 ο Market access Week Jan-Dec Banana Cassava S. Potato Maize Prices are very important, but farmers main concern is whether they can sell at all. Southwest Uganda is no exception to most other places in Africa in that market integration is weak. Weak integration means that when production increases in one area and is above the level that is locally demanded, there is no guarantee that the surplus can find outside markets. We encountered such a situation in Kasese District where maize production was very high. Farmers and district officers both lamented that there were no buyers for this excess. Kasese is a good example of how market integration is also not uniform across the southwest. Kasese key informants complained that it was caught between two major market routes, one that reaches Fort Portal to the north, but does not extend southward to Kasese. Similarly, another major market route passes up to Bushenyi District but does not extend northward to Kasese. This pattern points to another factor in market integration. It appears that the private sector responds very well to supply opportunities for matoke, the major staple food of the urban centres. These transporters then of course take advantage to deal in other valued commodities along these routes. Attracting this level of attention in the other areas appears to be a major unresolved issue. As for the strength of local markets, we were not able to get solid quantitative evidence on this. However, it is obvious that farmers do have differential access to markets, as measured by proximity to major market centres. Some interesting data being collected by some districts is the amount of revenue generated from market trading centres. From this, it is possible to assess the relative size of markets within a district. It is not be possible to compare across district without more knowledge on tax rules and rates. Figure 2.8 indicates the location, by sub-county, of the largest markets in Bushenyi District. Some of these locations are well known for production of 18
matoke, for instance. Aside from such obvious cases, the team did not have sufficient time to determine reasons for variation in market activity in other locations. We were able to assess the shortage and glut situation of major commodities for the Kasese town market, using data collected by Foodnet. Table 2.3 shows this for some commodities. It can be seen that different commodities follow different patterns. Some products are often in glut (e.g. matoke and maize), others often in deficit (milk and soybean), while for others there is high seasonal variation (e.g. beans). Gluts and shortages corroborate the earlier statements of poor market integration, particularly in Kasese District. The relatively high number of shortages also suggests that timing of marketing is critical and thus the scope for gains from storage or irrigation could be significant. Commodity Number of Balanced Markets Number of Market Gluts Number of Market Shortages Matoke (cooking banana) 11 23 13 Beans 13 18 16 Maize 17 27 3 Soybean 5 11 31 Milk 11 0 36 Table 2.5: Frequency of Market Gluts and Shortages in Kasese District, 2000 (n=47 weekly observations) ο Quality of the products Traders on the other hand experience problems, such as high transport costs, low international prices etc., the low and varying quality of the products affecting the marketability of the commodities. A case at hand is an area in Bushenyi District, Burere subcounty, where farmers reported no markets for their passion fruits. When traders and horticulturalists were contacted it became obvious that it was the low quality of the fruits that hampered traders’ interest in them. There is a clear need to shift emphasis of farmers’ towards quality and to support their work through technologies that guarantee uniform and high quality of the products. Another example is tea. One tea factory manager in Bushenyi noted that increasing the average quality of tea was a major concern. Farmers suffer for this too – it appeared that farmer prices for tea were 40% of those received by farmers in Kenya. 19
Page 1 and 2: REPORT ON A SURVEY TO IDENTIFY SUIT
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 5 and 6: LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Area and
Page 7 and 8: 1. Introduction 1.1 Background USAI
Page 9 and 10: the intensification of agriculture.
Page 11 and 12: development options to support deve
Page 13 and 14: 20: Rwenzori Footslopes and Fort Po
Page 15 and 16: Wood products from forests, plantat
Page 17 and 18: Table 2.3: Food crops in Southweste
Page 19 and 20: The intensity of agricultural exten
Page 21 and 22: years, reported by Bolwig et. al (2
Page 23: movements as other areas. This may
Page 27 and 28: o Input availability, costs and kno
Page 29 and 30: ange of niches for production of co
Page 31 and 32: Description is a brief description
Page 33 and 34: personnel, and farmers. Data on mar
Page 35 and 36: Enhanced productivity Quantity Qual
Page 37 and 38: Cash inputs required Land inputs re
Page 39 and 40: 4. Technology inventory To generate
Page 41 and 42: Table 4.2: Annual crops in SW Ugand
Page 43 and 44: Improved maize varieties are availa
Page 45 and 46: African Growth and Opportunities Ac
Page 47 and 48: Coffee (arabica) This crop thrives
Page 49 and 50: o Citrus: can best be grown at alti
Page 51 and 52: A major problem is lack of continuo
Page 53 and 54: o Many interventions in natural res
Page 55 and 56: in the southwest, but it is used pr
Page 57 and 58: Description Technology Environmenta
Page 59 and 60: Description 1. Contour hedgerows Te
Page 61 and 62: Description Wetland farming Farm wo
Page 63 and 64: delineate areas where new technolog
Page 65 and 66: Overall, there is little scope for
Page 67 and 68: • Local leaders and farmers are a
Page 69 and 70: 5.2.4 What next ? To make options f
Page 71 and 72: These biological conservation measu
Page 73 and 74: We did observe examples of these du
Page 75 and 76:
• Dual-purpose goats (produce mil
Page 77 and 78:
ulking and distribution while with
Page 79:
NARO 2001: Scientific Conference
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