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

Wheat is a crop with mixed fortunes. In the last 5-15 years it had gained a lot of prominence to the
extent that there was a wheat improvement program and a wheat mill built at Kabale. Resulting
from the wheat improvement program, two soft wheat varieties were released namely Kenya
Kiriku and Pasa as well as Nkungu which is a medium hard variety. However, these succumbed to
the yellow rust diseases. There are now 2 promising elite lines namely UW 309 and UW400.
Both are resistant to loose smut, and are high yielding (2.5 to 3.0 MT/ha) varieties compared with
the farmers’ varieties (500 kg/ha under farmer conditions).
However, the crop faces an uphill task because the farm gate price is low. Hence most of the soft
wheat is imported. The farmers in the whole country produce only 5 % of the requirement and
feel that the price offered is too low. Indications are pointing to a poor marketing strategy which
makes the local mill dependent on imported wheat. Hence there is need to develop market
strategies, provide market information and the need for stakeholders to come together and work
out strategies to realize benefits from improved wheat production.
Irish Potato
Irish potatoes thrive best under cooler climate and are a typical highland crop that cannot be
produced well under lowland conditions. It is a major cash crop in Kisoro and Kabale Districts.
There is potential to expand its production in the region especially in Kanungu, and the higher
altitude areas of Rukungiri, Ntungamo, Bushenyi and Kasese. The current concentration of
production seen in Kabale and Kisoro is mainly due to the proximity of the Potato Research
Station at Kalengyere. Seed multiplication schemes initiated by NGOs and government
departments have significantly enhanced the availability of clean and improved planting materials
in kabala district. If efforts are intensified it could equally become important in the rest of the SW
highlands. Government is supporting increased potato production as one of the seven priority
investment areas of the PMA.
Local varieties not in the potato production improvement activities include Sutama, Rwamakonde,
Kataikome, Mbumbamagara, Matare, Kabera and Viri. There are others with local names which
are grown by farmers. These are grown mainly for subsistence because of good local taste, high
tolerance to late blight & bacterial wilt.
Cotton
Cotton in the SW is mainly grown in the Cotton belt lowland of Kasese (Kasese transition zone
(31) and covers close to 5000 ha). In Uganda’s cotton production strategy, this area is very
important because represents the first site of multiplication in the cotton seed wave after the
nuclear seed from research at Serere Agricultural and Animal Production Research Institute
(SAARI). Hence it always has the latest variety. For example, at the time of the study (December
2001) it was growing BAP 2000 cotton variety. It is also where farmers in the whole country are
realizing the highest yields of 2500 to 3000 kg per ha compared to the 300 to 500 kg per ha in
other regions. Some of the reasons for this, is that they receive the purest high quality seed cotton
from research. They also have adopted improved technologies like spraying and optimum
spacing. There are however, some technologies like inter-cropping and controlling plant height
using chemicals that they are not using.
In the southwest cotton it is also grown in Bushenyi at Bunyaruguru. The yields are equally high
as in Kasese. The southwestern region provides a high potential for increased cotton production
especially in areas within the Western Rift Valley. Government has also selected cotton as one of
the seven investment areas to increase its production. This is aimed at taking advantage of the
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