Uganda takes the lead in Africa when it comes to fresh produce such as pineapples, mangoes and even avocados. Yet, Uganda’s agro produce is not competitive on the global market. Competitiveness comes down to quality, the ability to assure consistency of a certain specification.
Although Uganda’s pineapple is absolutely the sweetest in the world, by the time it gets to Dubai or Amsterdam, that sweetness is long gone. The same applies to the Ugandan avocado, by the time it arrives at Heathrow Airport, it’s a day or two away from being disposed. The same cannot be said of the Mexican Avocado. Where a 4kg box of Ugandan avocado will sell for UGX 35,000 on the global market, the same box of Mexican Avocado is selling for UGX 400,000 on the same market.
There’s an urgent need to drive competitiveness across the value of Uganda’s agro produce. This competitiveness ought to be built on the foundation of backward chain investments. Let’s take a glaring example of the Ginger value chain.
Ginger is mainly grown in the areas of Maya and Mpigi, this region of Butambala has historically built their agro business on the ginger product. Ginger takes about 8 months to grow. Thus, when farmers plant in April/May, they are looking at the first harvests coming in around November/December all the way to February/March when the scarcity of ginger hits once again.
However, not a single person is monitoring the type of ginger that’s been planted on these farms. That immediately means that quality of this ginger won’t be consistent. Why is this critical? Because quality is built in right at the start. We could go to other things such as geographical indication, these would require that the ginger is being grown at a specific altitude, in a specific soil to ensure a specific aroma at the end, something that can be uniquely mapped to Uganda.
During the growth season, the farmer is not advised on the specific chemicals to apply, thus sometimes, they will probably apply chemicals that have long been outlawed on the global market. If they do use the right chemical, they do not have the right application schedules. Thus, there is a possibility of going beyond the maximum residue limit at harvest. But let’s assume this ginger has been harvested well.
What about the processing? That’s to say the drying and washing of this ginger. Where is Uganda’s ginger washed from at large scale? It would surprise many to learn that most of their foodstuffs in Nakasero market and the likes are processed in the rivers. You can’t guarantee the quality of river water these days. Thus, Government must innovate around large scale washing/processing facilities for agro-produce at source. Exporters can rent out such facilities. Why? Because the water that is used also matters in the final quality of this product. It’s of no use harvesting a great product only to wash it with water full of faecal matter. Upon all this, there must be zonal cold-chain facilities. In other words, by the time the Ugandan product leaves Uganda, it must still be integral. That pineapple must still be as sweet as it would have tasted if someone ate it on the farm.
This backchain investment is as critical as yesterday for the transformation of Uganda’s agriculture, it’s critical for competitiveness. The market will always be available for a competitive product. But the market will always be unavailable for a sub-standard product. Ugandan produce is yet to achieve competitiveness. And that’s what should be solved for.
Back-chain Investment in Key to Competitiveness of Uganda’s Agro-Produce
Uganda takes the lead in Africa when it comes to fresh produce such as pineapples, mangoes and even avocados. Yet, Uganda’s agro produce is not competitive on the global market. Competitiveness comes down to quality, the ability to assure consistency of a certain specification.
Although Uganda’s pineapple is absolutely the sweetest in the world, by the time it gets to Dubai or Amsterdam, that sweetness is long gone. The same applies to the Ugandan avocado, by the time it arrives at Heathrow Airport, it’s a day or two away from being disposed. The same cannot be said of the Mexican Avocado. Where a 4kg box of Ugandan avocado will sell for UGX 35,000 on the global market, the same box of Mexican Avocado is selling for UGX 400,000 on the same market.
There’s an urgent need to drive competitiveness across the value of Uganda’s agro produce. This competitiveness ought to be built on the foundation of backward chain investments. Let’s take a glaring example of the Ginger value chain.
Ginger is mainly grown in the areas of Maya and Mpigi, this region of Butambala has historically built their agro business on the ginger product. Ginger takes about 8 months to grow. Thus, when farmers plant in April/May, they are looking at the first harvests coming in around November/December all the way to February/March when the scarcity of ginger hits once again.
However, not a single person is monitoring the type of ginger that’s been planted on these farms. That immediately means that quality of this ginger won’t be consistent. Why is this critical? Because quality is built in right at the start. We could go to other things such as geographical indication, these would require that the ginger is being grown at a specific altitude, in a specific soil to ensure a specific aroma at the end, something that can be uniquely mapped to Uganda.
During the growth season, the farmer is not advised on the specific chemicals to apply, thus sometimes, they will probably apply chemicals that have long been outlawed on the global market. If they do use the right chemical, they do not have the right application schedules. Thus, there is a possibility of going beyond the maximum residue limit at harvest. But let’s assume this ginger has been harvested well.
What about the processing? That’s to say the drying and washing of this ginger. Where is Uganda’s ginger washed from at large scale? It would surprise many to learn that most of their foodstuffs in Nakasero market and the likes are processed in the rivers. You can’t guarantee the quality of river water these days. Thus, Government must innovate around large scale washing/processing facilities for agro-produce at source. Exporters can rent out such facilities. Why? Because the water that is used also matters in the final quality of this product. It’s of no use harvesting a great product only to wash it with water full of faecal matter. Upon all this, there must be zonal cold-chain facilities. In other words, by the time the Ugandan product leaves Uganda, it must still be integral. That pineapple must still be as sweet as it would have tasted if someone ate it on the farm.
This backchain investment is as critical as yesterday for the transformation of Uganda’s agriculture, it’s critical for competitiveness. The market will always be available for a competitive product. But the market will always be unavailable for a sub-standard product. Ugandan produce is yet to achieve competitiveness. And that’s what should be solved for.
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