USAFRICA AGRIBUSINESS CONFERENCE Organised by the US Grain Council

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US-AFRICA AGRIBUSINESS CONFERENCEOrganised by
the US Grain Council

• Presentation
• By
• Deo Munyazikwiye
• Mubuku Growers Association
• Kasese, Uganda

Rwenzori Mountains
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MAP OF KASESE DISTRICT
MGA
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INTRODUCTION

• Mubuku Growers Association is found in Mubuku
  Irrigation Scheme in the remote area of Kasese
  District of Western Uganda in East Africa.
• The Association has 154 families (a population of
  over 1000 people) living in the Scheme with
  average land holding of 3.2 Ha.
• The members of the Association were originally
  the landless families who the Government settled
  in Mubuku Irrigation Scheme between 1968-1972.
• Farming systems between 1970-1998 were
  characterized by
• Small scale subsistence farming for food crops
• Low production volumes and productivity
• Low quality products
• Lack of capital to commercialize
• In accessibility to the market for the little
  marketable surplus.

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Key Areas of Intervention

• Small holders organised in a group
• Comprises of male and female growers
• Easy to train and consolidate produce

• Crop Selection
• High value crop
• Long-shelf life
• Labour Intensive, little capital required

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Key Areas of Intervention

• Training Technical and Agronomic
• Farmers receive information together
• They are backed by a buyer from the production
  level, for example, Mosanto, Highlow Supermarket
• Marketing
• Contracts are made with buyers
• The buyers are reliable
• The prices are fixed during contract making
• All players are held responsible for the success
• Responsiveness to market changes

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Maize Seed Production by Mubuku, 1998-2004
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Export of Fresh Produce from Mubuku to Europe,
1999-2004
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COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP
Technology Used in production Agronomy, Seed
technology, Post-harvest handling
Technical Assistance Advisory services from
Fintrac, AMA, ACDI/VOCA, USAID/IDEA Project
LOW FARMERS INCOMES 1998
Mubuku Growers Association
INCREASED FARMERS INCOMES 2004
Market Produce buyers like Monsanto, FICA,
Highlow Supermarket
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Success Story

• The growers household incomes increased by 250
  from 280,000/ between 1998 and 2004 when they
  produced maize seed and hot pepper.
• Seed produced by Mubuku growers was distributed
  nationwide and regionally to Kenya, Malawi and
  Tanzania.

• Mosanto (buyer) through FICA is linked to the
  contract growers, so it is a form of contract
  farming.
• Indirectly, growers contribute to the foreign
  exchange earnings because the product is exported
  into the regional market.
• Mubuku Growers Association has now got national
  and International recognition.

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Challenges

• Sustainability of activities
• Large families lead to high expenditure on basic
  needs
• Effect of HIV/AIDS reducing the productivity of
  members and hence reducing the income.
• Group Dynamics
• Change from farming to trading when money
  increases so it reduces on volume for the
  contract.
• Getting every member to understand the importance
  of the contract and keeping it.
• In case of certification of the group, every
  member has to comply to the requirements, any
  anomaly by one member affects the whole group.

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Challenges

• Inconsistency in Quality and Quantity
• Continuous decline of irrigation efficiency by
  40 due to weathered water canals.
• Natural hazards like drought, flood or hailstorm
  can affect the quality and quantity.
• Meeting operational costs by smallholders
• Remoteness of MGA (407 Km from Kampala)
• Transport costs are high to get produce to the
  final destination, hence, reducing the margin.
• Lack of other infrastructure like a cold room,
  it limits diversification.
• The road network within the irrigation scheme is
  poor (affects extension and health services).

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Conclusion

• It is possible to change subsistence farmers to
  Commercial Growers
• Small grants, small loans with technical
  assistance lead to
• BIG CHANGES

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FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY
Thank You for the Interest in Mubuku Growers'
Association