“Imported” tomatoes cost West Nile Shs 15bln annually -report

ADJUMANI: Many of the tomatoes consumed in the West Nile region are procured from other regions in the country as farmers there have shunned the growing of the juicy sweet vegetables.

According to the study conducted in the region by Palm Corps Uganda, a local nongovernmental organisation, West Nile annually losses close to Shs 15 billion to other regions that supply tomatoes to it, much as the region has fertile soils.

The study titled “Value chain assessment among host and refugees” was conducted in 2020 from different districts of the region.

The report shows Terego, Obongi, and Yumbe districts as leading in the growing of tomatoes, with Terego producing 72.9 percent of the tomatoes consumed within.

Obongi and Yumbe districts produce 38.1 percent and 34. 8 percent of the tomatoes consumed by their respective residents annually.

The districts producing less of the tomatoes consumed within their borders are Arua, Moyo, and Zombo at 18.7 percent, 17.7, percent, and 16.7 percent, respectively, meaning they depend on supplies from other regions in the country.

The report also singled out the Adjumani district was losing over Shs 298 million annually as most tomatoes consumed in the district come from districts outside West Nile.

According to the report, buying tomatoes from outside of the region limits local development, investment opportunities, and local revenue in form of Licence and produce fees.

For instance, the report notes that over 4,716 production-level jobs and 7,074 upstream jobs were lost totaling 11,790 while transporters and other sectors are losing significantly.

The executive director of Palm corps Uganda, Thomas Anyanzo Abe said some tomatoes procured into the region come with chemicals, which he said is a health risk for consumers.

Abe also notes that the market segment of the tomato value chain employs a significant proportion of youth [44 percent], with females being the majority.

The findings of the study show that opportunities for agricultural value chain development in the Adjumani district are immense. However, the opportunities remain untapped due to the low scale of production, limited knowledge of good production practices, high costs of inputs for production, pests and disease infestation, and unreliable rainfall.

With the exception of the piggery value chain, crop-related value chains are grouped as either vegetable [onion, tomato, cabbage] or field crops [maize, beans, soybean].

The report was recently presented to the west Nile leaders under the umbrella of West Nile Development Agenda [WENDA].

The Moyo district LCV chairperson, Williams Anyama who doubles as the chairperson of WENDA was shocked that the region has to rely on tomatoes grown in other regions of the country, adding that it is costly.

“Shs 11biln is a lot of money spent on buying tomatoes from other regions. If the money was reinvested in the region it would do a lot of development,” Anyama said, adding that leaders in the region would develop a strategic plan to boost horticulture there.

Anyama blamed the development partners working in west Nile for only concentrating on tailoring, hairdressing, and beauty as they skill the youth, saying agriculture which is a backbone of the Ugandan economy has been neglected, even though there is market for agricultural produce in the neighbouring countries.

Zaituna Chandia, a tomato vendor in Awindiri market one of the markets where the survey was conducted, said they prefer buying tomatoes brought from outside because they can stay for two weeks without going bad as they have chemicals sprayed to protect them.

“I started by selling the local tomatoes, but lost all my capital because they go bad very fast,” she said.

Among others, the report recommends promotion of the technologies that can increase the productivity of the available land for tomatoes and strengthen capacity in the delivery of extension and advisory services to tomato farmers.

https://thecooperator.news/nebbi-district-to-host-west-nile-investment-summit-in-march-19-2022/

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