{"id":16903,"date":"2021-09-02T13:17:03","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T13:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/threats-to-recovery-of-agricultural-sector"},"modified":"2021-09-02T13:16:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T13:16:16","slug":"threats-to-recovery-of-agricultural-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/threats-to-recovery-of-agricultural-sector","title":{"rendered":"Threats to recovery of agricultural sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>A fortnight ago, sporadic rains began falling in the capital Kampala. Elsewhere the weather forecast remains spotty at best. In the interlacustrine region, rains have delayed by about a month already from earlier predictions.<\/p>\n

Some farmers are looking at disastrous losses especially for annual crops, legumes, grasses and grains which have a short life cycle from germination to flowering and pollination and these may absent a miracle simply wait for the next planting season in October.<\/p>\n

In the perennial crop sector, coffee and cocoa are likely to suffer as year round production is likely to drop.<\/p>\n

The coffee sector, which has been clapping on the winds of frost in Brazil, which has driven coffee prices to a record high in 2021, up nearly 20-25 cents after six years of price collapse from 2015-2016 to-date may not realise much from this upswing if production collapses. Dry weather has also multiplied a deadly pest, the coffee twig borer which may wipe out hundreds of acres of freshly planted coffee.<\/p>\n

In the fisheries sub sector a significant drop in volumes is already being reported as fisheries stock in Lake Victoria precipitously dropped in January 2021. This drop came on the backdrop of various mysterious occurrences in the lake. In November 2020, national alarm arose when large stocks of dead Nile Perch began floating on Lake Victoria.<\/p>\n

This was alternatively blamed on an infection then reports abounded of a spike in demand for fish maw a source of sutures, artificial skin replacement and delicacy in the Orient and Far East. Fish maw attracted a number of illegal fishing operations on the lake relying on trawling for the resource rather than which has possibly affected the life cycle of fish.<\/p>\n

The sugar sector, an important backdrop to the 2021 elections, is not faring well. According to the Daily Monitor, sugarcane prices have fallen 70 percent in the last three years a calamitous fall in income for farmers.<\/p>\n

For consumers, sugar prices have dropped to Shs3,000 and likely to drop further especially for customers who are willing to buy unpacked sugar saving a further 10-15 per cent on the retail price. Uganda\u2019s sugar exports to Kenya have been hurt. First the refusal by Kenya to allow sugarcane farmers in Uganda to directly enter the Kenyan processing market.<\/p>\n

Another dimension of the sugar industry are sugar trucks again plying roads in central Uganda transporting cane from surplus regions especially Busoga to new sugar mills in Luwero and Gulu (Atiak). Some small good news from the sugar sector, SCOUL begun selling 18MW from bagasse to the Lugazi sub-region but the general situation is abysmal.<\/p>\n

Down west, continued quarantines on beef have actually transitioned many homes away from beef, which is expensive and unpalatable. The animals being slaughtered in Kampala are different and beef prices remain at levels unaffordable for most families.<\/p>\n

It is a double tragedy that families that can\u2019t afford beef obviously can\u2019t afford fish and other white meat which is more expensive.<\/p>\n

There is some hope for growing the DRC market especially in the next decade as the country slowly gets on its feet, but government should attack in clear order; growing the domestic economic base \u2013 high wages, higher prices, higher economic growth.<\/p>\n

Government should also decisively move on trade and reverse the negative economic impacts of being inside the East African Community by deploying the same mechanisms that our neighbours are using to shut their doors on our exports.<\/p>\n

In the case of Kenya, after the ravaging of its domestic sugar industry powerful cartels that import cheap Brazilian sugar simply will never allow Ugandans next door to have a piece of the market.<\/p>\n

This complacency has hurt the agricultural sector. Absence of a domestic consumer and competition protection regulatory framework, it\u2019s difficult for our officials to study abuse of the competition frameworks in Kenya and Tanzania which are much larger markets.<\/p>\n

With respect to dry spells, it is important for irrigation to support water supply in watersheds where both underground water and surface drainage features are still present. Some incentives to preserve these water sources are necessary for this water to be shared to support farmers in dry spells.<\/p>\n

A lot of attention should also be given to preventing abuse of national watersheds like River Katonga in Kalungu District which has been converted to rice growing. These watersheds support fragile eco-systems stretching to Mbarara (where rains have failed for some time) and the Kamwenge corridor.<\/p>\n

Mr Ssemogerere is an Attorney-At-Law and an Advocate. [email protected]<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. A fortnight ago, sporadic rains began falling in the capital Kampala. Elsewhere the weather forecast remains spotty at best. In the interlacustrine region, rains have delayed by about a month already from earlier predictions. Some farmers are looking at disastrous losses especially for annual crops, legumes, grasses and grains which have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":16902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-16903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nThreats to recovery of agricultural sector - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A fortnight ago, sporadic rains began falling in the capital Kampala. 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