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

o Seed and planting material for the
new varieties are often only available
at the research institutes near
Kampala, which are usually beyond
the reach of local farmers. With the
exception of potato and climbing
beans where attempts have been
made to support informal farmer
based seed multiplication and
distribution systems in Kabale and
Kisoro. The seed companies are
reluctant to engage in highland
varieties because of the limited land
and demand that constrain markets
for highland varieties. In Kasese
farmers multiply improved seed for
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the Uganda Seeds Project but this is for the warm mid altitude areas.
o Where materials are made available it is often not accompanied by information on their
agronomic and other characteristics. This prevents farmers from using them successfully.
o The potential for improvement however is great, as most farmers seem to be interested to
experiment with new technologies.
Table 4.1 shows the main crops grown in southwestern Uganda. Obviously, most subsistence or
food crops are also marketed by most farms in times of surplus production or to satisfy urgent
cash needs, but their primary aim is to meet the family’s food demands. While the table shows a
wide range of options, discussion in section 2 revealed that banana, beans and maize cover close
to 3 /4 of the cropped land. This limits diversity and probably contributes to overproduction and
flooded markets during parts of the year. Few crops can be considered as solely for subsistence.
The dominant crops of southwestern Uganda: banana, bean, maize, potatoes and sorghum serve
dual purpose: food and cash.
Among the cash crops, official markets and support services are reasonably well developed for
tea, cotton and to some extent coffee. Farmers in Kasese are served by a permanent buyer for their
vanilla, while farmers in Kabale do contract farming for a pyrethrum processing company which
is now also extending its work to Kasese. Sorghum and beer banana are used for brewing and the
products find ready markets. Irish potato is an interesting example of a cash crop for the national
and regional markets that benefits from a particular niche, the cool climate of the highlands. They
have good markets in the major urban centers lying at lower elevation where potatoes cannot be
grown economically. Temperate fruits, which are currently being researched at Kabale, could take
advantage of this same comparative advantage of the highlands. Markets for most other cash
crops, fruits and vegetables as perishable commodities in particular, are fragile. For example, a
vegetable (mainly tomato) and fruit (passion fruit) processing facility was only found in Kasese.
Table 4.2 and 4.3 provide a brief and broad overview on the technologies and a first assessment of
their potential to improve livelihoods and the environmental situation. Investment decisions will
require much more detailed analysis.
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Banana
Beans
Cassava
Potatoes
"
Maize
S potato
Wheat
Coffee
Cotton
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