Gulu farmers embrace chia seed farming
GULU-Talia Group Limited, a private agribusiness organisation is using contract farming to promote the growing of chia seeds in Gulu and other neighboring districts.
The organisation says at least 2,800 farmers in Gulu district have signed up for contract farming of the crop said to have various health benefits.
Chia is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that help to reduce body inflammation and improve cardiovascular health. The seeds provide fiber, which improves digestion and also helps reduce cholesterol levels, and a protein that the body uses to repair and build cells.
The farmers who have been contracted by Talia Group Limited are taught how to plant, weed, harvest and handle the crop before it reaches the market to ensure quality.
James Muathe, the proprietor of Talia Group Limited says they introduced contract farming to deal with brokers who were crippling the production of the chia seeds by being inconsistent.
Muathe said that farmers who sign contracts with them grow a minimum of two acres of chia.
He said contract farming is the only way to encourage farmers to grow chia because it is not consumed locally.
“Chia seed gives farmers a lot of struggle to sell because they themselves don’t know how to consume it. For you to be able to get people to grow it you have to do Contract farming because they will be assured of the market, price, and timely buying and agronomy support,” he explained.
Muathe noted that being an export crop, chia seeds has a lot of brokers who go directly to farmers and sometimes lie to them by promising good prices only to later buy the crop cheaply.
“Some brokers will offer farmers a good price for one season but fail to turn up the following season leaving farmers stranded. In 2019, many people were lured into planting the crop by some brokers who offered good prices but never returned the following season. Farmers eventually had to sell their chia at as low as Shs 500,” he said.
Muathe said a farmer can harvest between 300-500 kilograms of chia from an acre of land if they observe all the recommended agronomic practices.
The company that exports chia seeds to Europe is buying chia seeds at Shs 5,000 per kilo.
Onen David Labany, a chia farmer in Akwii village, Patiko Sub-county in Gulu district who has been growing chia on contract for the last two years said, “Contract farming protects us, farmers. When the price drops, there is a minimum price and when the price goes up, the buyer pays you the market price.”
Labany who plans to grow five acres of chia seeds during the second planting season said the crop is easy to grow and offers high returns compared to other crops.
Angeo Irene, a chia seed farmer in Palaro Sub-county, Gulu district said she harvested five basins of chia seed from an acre in 2022 and sold each kilo at Shs 5,000 to brokers who comb the village to buy farm produce.
“Chia seed is a good crop but you need ready market because it is difficult to store it in the house. If children pour water on it accidentally, it losses value to buyers,” she said adding that growing it on a contract with a buyer is an incentive.
She however said the downside of growing the crop is that it is labour intensive during harvest.
“I only grow chia seed during the second season because I am assured of labour from my children during the long third term holiday. During the rainy season, my children are usually at school,” she said.
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