How important is maize to Uganda?
After 6 years of boarding school in Uganda with maize as a daily meal (commonly called “elegant“), I don’t like it much as food.
However, maize is the most cultivated and traded crop in Uganda. It is also the main source of food in institutions such as schools, prisons, military and police. In addition to food for human consumption, the crop is an important ingredient in livestock and poultry feed, as well as a highly preferred starch used in the fermentation of local non-formal alcoholic beverages.
To underscore the importance of this crop, the Ugandan government has prioritized maize as one of 10 agricultural crops within the National Zoning and Rural Development Strategy.
So, taking the above into account, how do you proceed to grow corn and thus help the government in its goal of alleviating poverty?
FIRST THE CONS
1. Fluctuating prices
Maize in Uganda has traditionally been grown during the rainy seasons from mid-February or March to June, and the second rains from mid-August to December. As a result, retail and retail prices for corn grain and flour fluctuate significantly with prices low just after the traditional harvest season and prices high during the “off season.” These fluctuating prices are also a result of market inefficiencies in Uganda, as farmers often lack more accurate price information.
However, there are two solutions for the “forward thinking” Ugandan farmer:
a) Market Information Services (MIS). They provide regular information via SMS, radio and their websites. Examples that have recently been established include agricultural profit, agrinet and broken. They provide retail/wholesale prices for Kampala, top country markets, and in some cases regional markets (such as Kenya).
Warehouse Receipt System (WRS). Its introduction was pioneered with the support of the World Food Program (WFP), which buys a significant part of the maize in Uganda. This system allows a farmer to take his produce to a designated warehouse where it is dried, sorted, packed, and stored. The warehouse receipt they (the farmer) receive is evidence of storage and can even be used as collateral to obtain a loan (60% of the value of the grain) from selected banks.
Farmer’s stockpiling of produce until such time as prices stabilize or when they can find a suitable buyer helps them to have more control over their produce compared to the unscrupulous middlemen who rule the market.
2.drought
Climate change has resulted in less than predictable rainfall, even in Uganda, which has traditionally had dry and rainy seasons.
To counteract this, we recommend that the “forward thinking” farmer invest in a water reservoir and simple mechanical pump system such as the “wonderful bomb” which costs about $150.
Another option is to use improved seed varieties. Those developed in Uganda like the Lanyard varieties (Bead 1, Bead 4, Bead 5 et al) are drought resistant varieties. Several seed companies in Uganda sell them (in the range of Shs. 2,000-2,500 per kg).
AND NOW THE PROS
1. Intercropping
Corn can be interspersed with beans. This has several advantages, including a higher return on the same acreage and a reduced need for fertilizer (as the beans naturally fertilize the soil).
However, care should be taken before considering intercropping, as crops have different cycles and there may be difficulties in the use of, for example, mechanized implements such as tractors.
2. Good return on investment (ROI)
I make the following assumptions when making my estimate:
a) The farmer has 15 acres (about 6 ha), accepts irrigation and plants bead 5 improved seed varieties;
b) The farmer can access a low interest loan (10%) from a cooperative society to which he belongs. This loan will finance the purchase of equipment; and
c) The farmer is selling corn grains (and not cornmeal).
Based on the above, I estimate that the Return on Investment (ROI) for this sector is as follows:
Initial capital (A): Shs.34,188,000
Profitability (B): Shs. 24,331,975
Return on Capital (A/B): 1,405 years
last word
My personal distaste for maize as a food aside, ignoring this important crop would seem like a rather “shortsighted” decision, as maize farming should almost definitely be included in the portfolio of a serious Ugandan investor or entrepreneur.
Its diverse use not only for human consumption but also for animal feed makes it a very important crop. In addition, it has export prospects through the WFP (relief aid) and our neighbors like Kenya and South Sudan.
In addition, the introduction of the revolutionary warehouse receipt system means that, as well as allowing farmers to choose when to sell (thus reducing price fluctuation), it can now be used as collateral for loans. The lack of access to loans for agriculture has long been an obstacle to the development of the sector. It seems that corn is helping to solve this problem.
