Mr. Vanilla: His life hangs on the vine

Jul 04, 2011

<b>My Way: Christopher Ndugga</b><br>He continued growing the ‘‘green gold’ even when other farmers had abandoned it because of the low market prices.

By umar nsubuga and joshua kato

My Way: Christopher Ndugga
He continued growing the ‘‘green gold’ even when other farmers had abandoned it because of the low market prices.

VERY few people in Katete Nakifu village know a farmer by the names of Christopher Ndugga. But everyone knows Mr. Vanilla, the man whose life revolves around the vine of the aromatic crop.

You only have to ask for Mr. Vanilla, and little children will eagerly volunteer to lead you to the home of the prominent vanilla farmer whose real name has been overshadowed by the crop he has excelled at cultivating.

According to Nakifu village residents, Ndugga earned the Mr.Vanilla title when he continued growing the crop when everyone else was abandoning it due to low market prices.
His persistence paid off.

How he started
Before venturing into vanilla, Ndugga used to grow bananas. He took up vanilla to diversify his farming enterprise and boost his earnings, since vanilla at the time was commercially viable.

“I wanted a high value crop, in addition to the bananas I had been growing for a very long time.” Ndugga explains.

With some advice from friends Ndugga established his first vanilla garden in 1998. The returns from the first yields were encouraging; he decided to expand the enterprise.

To do so, however, he needed more knowledge about growing ‘green gold’. This is when he became friendly to other vanilla growers, also members of Uganda Vanilla Growers Association (UVAN). “Because I lacked the knowledge, I sought technical advice from other vanilla farmers and friends,” he says.

Ndugga’s vanilla plantation covers 10 acres now, one of the largest single banana shamba in the country.

To raise capital to finance his project, Ndugga sold off some of his property, including part of his land.

Challenges
There are both natural and artificial challenges to vanilla growing. For example, when it rains soon after pollination, the pollen falls off and this affects the yield.

Vanilla is also a labour intensive project especially at the time of flowering. “Vanilla involves so many activities such as digging, pegging, weeding and mulching, so if you do not take care of the crop, you cannot get the benefit,” says Ndugga.

When there is much sunshine the beans lose water.
Also because of its high value, if you do not fence off your garden or hire guards the crop will be stolen or eaten/destroyed by animals.

Ndugga says a vanilla farmer will require tools and knowledge of how to treat the crop.

“Many workers demand pay even before they begin work. This is another problem because I depend on the gains from the crop to pay the workers. Sometimes I do not have this money,” he says.

Successes
Ndugga is currently a major supplier of vanilla to UVAN and because of his success in growing and trading in vanilla, he was awarded a 100cc motor bicycle, as the best vanilla farmer in the country.

His competitors included other prominent farmers especially from Kayunga and Mukono districts. The contest was organised by UVAN.
He also uses his motorcycle to transport his children to school.
“It is like saying, if vanilla was not there, how would I have done all this,” he says.

Ndugga has been able to educate his children and they realise the value of the crop because they are always helping in the farm whenever they are at home.
“UVAN chairman, Aga Ssekalala, has really encouraged me so much to grow vanilla and it is a big achievement to me,” he says.

Because of his hard work many in the community are proud of his effort. Ndugga is happy because of his popularity. Ndugga says that he is also proud because even university students come to his farm to learn more and carry out research.

Vanilla is easy to maintain and has few pests and disease at the moment.

Growing vanilla does not effect production of companion crops like bananas and coffee. It can, therefore, be grown as an additional crop to the main crops on the same piece of land.

Pests and diseases
Conditions like excess water, insufficient drainage, heavy mulch, over pollination and too much shade are a recipe for disease in vanilla growing.

If you are to prevent pests and diseases, the root systems should be managed carefully by looping and mulch.

If diseases or viruses are found on a plant, the plant should be immediately removed from the field and destroyed.

Fertilisers
The garden is supposed to be mulched three times annually with compost or dry materials. Any plant material including coffee husks can be used.

Future plans
Ndugga plans to buy a pick-up to help in the farm especially for transporting fertilisers. He also hopes to purchase more land to expand his vanilla plantation. He plans to employ more people to help him during weeding and harvesting. He also plans to invite the president of Uganda, because many have visited him a part from President Yoweri Museveni.

Facts about vanilla
Vanilla is harvested twice a year due to the two annual dry seasons. The Ugandan vanilla is a superior quality product and it is naturally produced.

The vanilla flowering and pollination for the major season is between September and October with the harvesting occurring in June and July the following year.

In the early and mid 90s, vanilla made history in Uganda when it became the most expensive cash-crop in the country ever.

At the time, a kilogram of vanilla rose to as much as sh150,000 and soon, it was referred to as ‘black gold’.

Some farmers thought that the price would permanently remain high however, the international price rise was largely due to poor harvest by regular vanilla growing countries like Madagascar.

By the end of the 90s, the price had dropped to as low as sh3,000 a kilogram, making farmers incur losses.

“Many of the farmers cursed the day they had ever ventured into this enterprise,” says Aga Ssekalala. Gradually, however, UVAN started promoting the growing of the crop again. At the moment, a kilogram costs between sh5,000 and sh10,000.

Vanilla grows best under hot humid climate from sea level to an elevation of 1500m. Most of its production is done 10 to 20 degrees above and below the equator. The ideal growing conditions are moderate rainfall, 150–300cm, evenly distributed through 10 months of the year. The optimum temperatures for cultivation are 15–30 °C (59–86 °F) during the day and 15–20 °C (59–68 °F) during the night.

Soils for vanilla cultivation should be loose with high organic matter content and loamy texture. They must be well drained, and a slight slope helps in this condition. Mulch is very important for proper growth of the vine, and a considerable portion of mulch should be placed in the base of the vine.

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