Uganda through its Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has officially designated January 5th to April 5th, 2024 as the nationwide harvest date for vanilla to help farmers maintain the crop’s quality for better prices and weed out errant middlemen whose dubious activities around harvest time deny the growers their full rightful earnings.
The official declaration date for vanilla is established through essential activities, including assessing vanilla maturity, conducting tests for glycovanillin availability, collecting pollination data, and convening meetings with various stakeholders to determine the finalized date.
According to Rt. Major Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, the State Minister for Agriculture, the government has implemented seasonal harvesting dates for the crop in response to concerns from farmers about vanilla theft and fluctuating prices.
“By standardizing harvest times, we are aiming to ensure consistent quality for international exports to not only improve Uganda’s vanilla reputation and fetch higher export prices but also benefit farmers with fairer margins,” said Kyakulaga, speaking at the Uganda Media Centre on Friday last week.
Uganda has two harvesting seasons in a year for vanilla which include June-July and December-January seasons.
Errant middlemen
Other than the harvest of immature beans by farmers, the other key challenge the growers face around the harvest period is being swindled by middlemen who offer meagre prices for the crop even when the market prices are better.
“We have heard of some rogue traders who cheat farmers and buy their crop at low prices even when the global prices are good. And this is why we urge farmers to do harvesting at the appropriate set time so that their produce reaches the market within the legally allowed time,” said the state minister.
On their side, the Association of Vanilla Exporters in Uganda is also educating the growers on proper harvesting, quality and pricing of the queen of spices to help them avoid being misguided by bad middlemen.
According to Prossy Tumushabe, farmers should avoid traders who come to them with varying prices from what the ministry has announced.
Registering farmers
MAAIF has also embarked on a nationwide registration process of vanilla farmers to capture the vital details of the growers to enable the ministry to respond well to the needs.
“There is already a circular going around in the major vanilla growing districts to tackle the challenges in the sector,” said Kyakulaga.
The ministry’s main intervention is to create a conducive environment and provide regulatory mechanisms that can support the sector well.
Vanilla production in Uganda
Vanilla has a global production of 12,226 tons of which Madagascar leads by 78%, Uganda produces 9%, Papua New Guinea 7%, Mexico 2% and India 1%.
Kyakulaga emphasized the importance of vanilla cultivation in Uganda, underscoring that more than 65,000 farmers in 38 districts depend on this crop.
Presently, Uganda’s annual vanilla production exceeds 250 metric tons, adding approximately $18 million to the national revenue.
The global vanilla market is estimated at a staggering $2 billion, illustrating the potential for Ugandan farmers to thrive in this lucrative sector.
