Investing in new cash crops the way forward

By Allen Onzima

Climate studies done by weather specialists a couple of years ago paint a grim picture for production and export of agricultural raw materials like coffee. For instance, an increase in average global temperatures a margin of two degrees centigrade will render many coffee growing regions in the tropics unproductive, including Uganda.

Over the years, there has been a gradual shift from the reliance on the traditional 2Cs (coffee and cotton) and 2Ts (tea and tobacco) towards the new money making crops like vanilla, sesame, maize and others. These enjoy increased demand and often command better prices in the market.

In Lango and Acholi sub regions, the return of peace has been further boosted by the discovery of the regions’ great potential to produce oil seed crops. Consequently, the oil seed crops of sunflower and soya have captured the attention of the local farmers with highly commendable results and accrued benefits.

Backed by huge investments from private sector, farmers have been able to purchase high quality hybrid sunflower seeds and farm implements, access extensions services and benefit from ready market for all their produce.

Most importantly, the farmers have been able to earn a livelihood and sustain their families by affording food stuffs, paying school fees for children and accessing good medical care. Some have gone further to build permanent houses, buy bodabodas, open up dukas and educate their children all the way to university.

With the exception of a few countries like; Ethiopia and Brazil, coffee has a negligible domestic market in Uganda and when global prices increase, our farmers have no ‘backup plan’ to earn from their coffee. Diseases like the Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) have caused more misery alongside unscrupulous middlemen that distort the supply chain, leaving many farmers frustrated.

Sunflower seeds on the other hand for example produce 100% cholesterol-free cooking oil that is exceptionally good for human health and is recommended for all consumers. They are also used in making high quality livestock feeds for animals and poultry that can be consumed locally.

The potential in new cash crops to revolutionise our agricultural sector and bring new hope to the farmers cannot, therefore, continue to be ignored. Although the private sector and members of the civil society like aBi Trust and USAID developed support structures to uphold farming activities in oil seed crops sometime back, the public sector has not reacted with the desired degree of urgency and in its position as an invaluable asset in the entire agricultural sector.

The private sector can invest financial resources and the civil society will surely do their part on the technical side but more ought to be done in the area of feeder road maintenance, correct market information provision, extension of the national electricity grid, provision of modern storage facilities, provision of affordable agricultural financing and leasing of machinery through commercial banks.

There is also need for tax cuts on imported agricultural inputs and removal of the 18% VAT on agricultural produce, increased agricultural research into improved varieties of oil seed crops, general increase of the national budget to the agricultural sector and lastly, increased efforts to fight corruption at all levels.

The time to invest in non-traditional crops like sunflower with a proven potential to earn our farmers and the Government revenue is now. Let us not delay any further with the required action to uphold these new crops on the block.

The writer is the public relations liaison officer with Mukwano Group