<em>Moringa:</em> No Deal Yet
Jul 20, 2003
PROMOTERS of the moringa tree (Moringa Oleifera) are hoodwinking farmers into cultivating it as a cash crop, on the pretext that the tree has a great export potential.
By Gerald Tenywa
PROMOTERS of the moringa tree (Moringa Oleifera) are hoodwinking farmers into cultivating it as a cash crop, on the pretext that the tree has a great export potential.
The problem has been attributed to some promoters of moringa products who say that as much as $120 per kg can be earned from the seeds on the international market, which is five times the normal price.
But pundits have warned that an export market does not exist and insist that moringa would benefit local people better, through small-scale nutritional and water purification projects.
Dr. Martin Price in a recent publication of ECHO Development said that if there is a famine somewhere, NGOs could buy large quantities of leaf powder to cater for the emergency.
“As for it being a cash crop, a good rule for farmers is never to plant a seed until they know how much they are going to get from it,†warns Price.
Kenneth Opiro, a government official on a team formed recently to promote the growing of the moringa tree, says that there is a big local market for its products. But says that most of the farmers who have begun growing it on a large scale are mainly interested in the export market, which has a lot of bottlenecks.
According to the Uganda Export Promotion Board, a few individuals reportedly exported moringa in seed and powder form to Europe and the market for its products is growing. Laban Mawungwe, a trade promotion officer, insists that moringa tree seeds have a potential market in Europe because a pharmaceutical company in the Netherlands intends to import the seeds from Uganda.
Price says ECHO promotes the beneficial qualities of the moringa because the poorest of the poor can plant the tree and eat the leaves and pods and use the crushed seeds to purify dirty water.
He singles out Senegal where fresh leaves or dried moringa leaf powder have replaced imported ingredients for treating malnourished infants or the infants’ mothers who can no longer produce milk.
Should a farmers’ group plant moringa trees expecting that there is an international market for seeds or leaves?
The answer according to price is ‘no.’ The only exception being if there was an innovative business already operating here that somehow developed a market, says Price.
A lot of businessmen are thinking about this and a few are working on it, but one should be very sceptical until there is a serious commitment from a company, he adds.
Even if someone offers to buy some moringa products from you, it may be for experimental markets, which might either increase or totally disappear, he adds.
People can sell a product for whatever a customer will pay, but it is sad if the impression were given that there is an international market for the products, says Price.
He says many farming groups in Uganda are writing in to ask about the moringa market because of a group in Western Uganda that have started selling moringa seedlings at $5, claiming that the plant has a high market value. They have since reduced the price to$1, say Price referring to Yofesi Baluku, a Ugandan source.
The moringa tree grows readily from seeds producing hundreds of seed within a year, says Price.
According to A. Katende, in a book entitled the “Useful trees and shrubs of Uganda,’’ the prowess of the moringa tree were not known in Uganda, until the 1990s. Indians introduced the wonder tree in the 1950s, and planted it in their compounds, which were fenced off and the natives probably thought they were ordinary trees, says Opiro.
In the last last few years however, the trees been been popularised and the local people have embraced it in the hope of minting money.
Moringa leaves are harvested then dried in doors for a few days, as the sun destroys the nutrients. The leaves are then ground to a powder rich in vitamins and minerals.
Opiro warns that some of the moringa products being sold on the local market are ineffective because of the poor methods of preparation, that expose the vitamins to sunlight, ultimately destroying some of them. Hawkers in many parts of Kampala sell moringa powder to treat high blood pressure, diabetes and various AIDS related ailments.
The Uganda Tree Seed Centre at Namanve under the Forestry Department, sells moringa seeds at sh 60,000 a Kg, which have to be planted quickly because they lose their ability to germinate fast.
Opiro says the Ministry of Health, which intends to use moringa products as a substitute for Vitamin A, which they are importing from abroad, is a potential market for moringa growers.
Another organisation is the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, which has done research on the moringa and has discovered that it is effective for water treatment.
“There is great need to streamline the marketing procedure if we are to successfully market moringa products,’’ says Opiro.
Ends
PROMOTERS of the moringa tree (Moringa Oleifera) are hoodwinking farmers into cultivating it as a cash crop, on the pretext that the tree has a great export potential.
The problem has been attributed to some promoters of moringa products who say that as much as $120 per kg can be earned from the seeds on the international market, which is five times the normal price.
But pundits have warned that an export market does not exist and insist that moringa would benefit local people better, through small-scale nutritional and water purification projects.
Dr. Martin Price in a recent publication of ECHO Development said that if there is a famine somewhere, NGOs could buy large quantities of leaf powder to cater for the emergency.
“As for it being a cash crop, a good rule for farmers is never to plant a seed until they know how much they are going to get from it,†warns Price.
Kenneth Opiro, a government official on a team formed recently to promote the growing of the moringa tree, says that there is a big local market for its products. But says that most of the farmers who have begun growing it on a large scale are mainly interested in the export market, which has a lot of bottlenecks.
According to the Uganda Export Promotion Board, a few individuals reportedly exported moringa in seed and powder form to Europe and the market for its products is growing. Laban Mawungwe, a trade promotion officer, insists that moringa tree seeds have a potential market in Europe because a pharmaceutical company in the Netherlands intends to import the seeds from Uganda.
Price says ECHO promotes the beneficial qualities of the moringa because the poorest of the poor can plant the tree and eat the leaves and pods and use the crushed seeds to purify dirty water.
He singles out Senegal where fresh leaves or dried moringa leaf powder have replaced imported ingredients for treating malnourished infants or the infants’ mothers who can no longer produce milk.
Should a farmers’ group plant moringa trees expecting that there is an international market for seeds or leaves?
The answer according to price is ‘no.’ The only exception being if there was an innovative business already operating here that somehow developed a market, says Price.
A lot of businessmen are thinking about this and a few are working on it, but one should be very sceptical until there is a serious commitment from a company, he adds.
Even if someone offers to buy some moringa products from you, it may be for experimental markets, which might either increase or totally disappear, he adds.
People can sell a product for whatever a customer will pay, but it is sad if the impression were given that there is an international market for the products, says Price.
He says many farming groups in Uganda are writing in to ask about the moringa market because of a group in Western Uganda that have started selling moringa seedlings at $5, claiming that the plant has a high market value. They have since reduced the price to$1, say Price referring to Yofesi Baluku, a Ugandan source.
The moringa tree grows readily from seeds producing hundreds of seed within a year, says Price.
According to A. Katende, in a book entitled the “Useful trees and shrubs of Uganda,’’ the prowess of the moringa tree were not known in Uganda, until the 1990s. Indians introduced the wonder tree in the 1950s, and planted it in their compounds, which were fenced off and the natives probably thought they were ordinary trees, says Opiro.
In the last last few years however, the trees been been popularised and the local people have embraced it in the hope of minting money.
Moringa leaves are harvested then dried in doors for a few days, as the sun destroys the nutrients. The leaves are then ground to a powder rich in vitamins and minerals.
Opiro warns that some of the moringa products being sold on the local market are ineffective because of the poor methods of preparation, that expose the vitamins to sunlight, ultimately destroying some of them. Hawkers in many parts of Kampala sell moringa powder to treat high blood pressure, diabetes and various AIDS related ailments.
The Uganda Tree Seed Centre at Namanve under the Forestry Department, sells moringa seeds at sh 60,000 a Kg, which have to be planted quickly because they lose their ability to germinate fast.
Opiro says the Ministry of Health, which intends to use moringa products as a substitute for Vitamin A, which they are importing from abroad, is a potential market for moringa growers.
Another organisation is the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, which has done research on the moringa and has discovered that it is effective for water treatment.
“There is great need to streamline the marketing procedure if we are to successfully market moringa products,’’ says Opiro.
Ends