Govt to set seasonal harvesting date as farmers decry vanilla theft

RUBIRIZI – The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries [MAAIF] is traversing the country consulting farmers and making assessments to ensure uniform harvest of vanilla beans.

According to Sedrack Mugisha, Chairperson Rubirizi District Vanilla Farmers Association [RDVFA], the government picked interest after realizing theft cases to the plant that earns a lot to the country and the farmers at large.

“We have vanilla exporters under The Association of Vanilla Exporters of Uganda Limited [VANEX] and Sustainable Vanilla Initiative [SVI] these bodies collaborate and have been connecting with farmers. The government didn’t know so when we brought the issue of stealing our vanilla on board, government picked interest and realized that it was losing a lot of revenue,” Mugisha said.

Mugisha says the issue of gazetting a seasonal harvest will address the challenges of poor standards of vanilla to protect its name in the international market in a bid to fetch more export revenue.

“Putting a national harvesting date is one way of controlling quality standards of vanilla that we export to the international market that eventually makes good returns to the country’s export revenue and better price margins to the farmers as well,” Mugisha said.

Mugisha further says, the market for vanilla is available hence, he called on the government to only protect the farmers from black markets.

“Government does not need to look for the market but to put good working relations between the traders and farmers because there are traders masquerading as genuine vanilla buyers and end up cheating farmers. So when we open up to the government, it will help us to secure rightful buyers,”he said.

Being a valuable cash crop, Mugisha says farmers face it rough with thieves who take advantage of no law protecting vanilla farmers in the country.

He also appealed to the government to put up a vanilla processing plant in the country for value addition.

“Like the way the government has put coffee factories, banana factories and alike, it should also construct for us vanilla processing plants such that we can start producing vanillin which is a value addition to vanilla,” Mugisha said

Herbert Musiimenta, the Principal Inspector of Agriculture MAAIF confirmed the exercise saying, the survey is still ongoing to study the exact date which will enable all farmers to harvest their yields at the same time.

“We have come from Ibanda now to Rubirizi next we are going to Kasese and in other districts where they grow vanilla; so that we try to harmonize which date the minister should announce for the farmers to start harvesting their vanilla,” Musiimenta said.

“When the date is announced it doesn’t mean to harvest everything but only to remove ripened beans because the harvesting period will have to take like three months,” he added.

Musiimenta however appealed to the farmers to always join cooperatives such that they can benefit as a group.

“Farmers need to get organized and join associations because they have similar challenges, they can fight pesticides, theft and get market as a group,” he said.

Julius Muhwezi, one of the vanilla farmers, told MAAIF that it will be hard to harvest at once since they plant differently.

“We know that vanilla just takes 9 months to yield and sometimes there are issues of climate change which cause a difference in plant growth. This implies it will be hard for us to wait for the ministry to announce the harvest date when our vanilla beans are rotting in gardens,” Muhwezi said.

Rubirizi district vanilla farmers association started in 2005 and now has a total of 2800 members.

The district produces a total of 30-40 tonnes of vanilla in the main season and 15-20 tonnes in the mini-season. Each kilogram is sold at Shs8000 to Shs10000 at the local market and Shs40000 to Shs50000 on the international market.

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