Why maize flour prices are going up

Maize is one of the important diets in most Ugandan family homes and almost all of the schools across Uganda consume it, yet the recent drought has caused prices to increase day by day.
Ritah Kiteme’s family in Mukono District feeds on posho (maize meal), one of the meals that for a long time have been the commonest and supposedly the cheapest on the market. To her dismay, the prices of her family’s delicacy keep shooting up, leaving her with very few meal options.

Underlying factors
According to Caesar Wandera, a trader at Nakawa market, a Kampala suburb, posho prices are increasing because of the recent drought that Uganda has been facing since farmers use two seasons of planting but did not reap enough from the two season, another being exportation of maize to neighbouring countries such as Tanzania and Rwanda has also caused shortage hence increase prices.

Denis Serunkuma, Financial manager of Fika Seeds, says seed prices have increased as a result of a number of factors that have forced maize millers to increase their prices. “The prices have to shoot up because of the internal factor (population increase), the reality of our climate change and the liberalised economy,” he says.

Serunkuma explains: Generally, production of food has substantially reduced due to inconsistences in the weather pattern for about a year, which has affected production of maize in areas such as eastern Uganda, the country’s biggest producer, having lost a year plus, without production. For instance, a farmer in Masindi District sowed about 30 metric tonnes of maize and harvested one metric tonne. Additionally, the grain size has been greatly affected by lack of moisture. Therefore, this scarcity can only be compensated by hiking prices of maize.

Secondly, Uganda has for a long time exported maize to Kenya, and South Sudan, among other countries. Therefore, through dealers, a lot of maize has been moving out of the country due to the increased demand both internally and externally.
“Before the drought, the wholesale price of a kilogramme of posho was Shs1,800 while a sack of 100kgs was at Shs180,000. However, since November the prices have been steadily rising with one kilogramme now at Shs2,200 and 100kgs at Shs220,000,” Wandera says.

Retailers are selling one kilogramme of posho at Shs2,500 and a 100kg sack at Shs250,000.

In conclusion, Serunkuma says there are no indications of maize flour rates going down. Instead, they may escalate because seeds have been bought but the rains are not sustaining them. Farmers are likely going to eat their seed. “Judging by the seasons and inconsistences in the rain patterns, we are likely to face the same problem for a long time”. This leaves families like Kiteme’s who rely on posho as their main food, with very few food options.

to note
The ever growing importance of cereals in the country means the state has got to come up with measures to alleviate the incidence/possibility of hunger if its to keep it’s people alive and healthy and if continued economic development is to be realised.

How to yield tonnes from maize

Most maize in Uganda is produced with very few productivity enhancing inputs and crop yield is generally below 1.3 tonnes per acre. Here are the yields and profits a farmer can obtain from maize growing depending on the maize variety coupled with good crop management practices

Intercropping
Maize is the best crop for intercropping with many other food crops and thus saves on land and doesn’t affect food security as it matures earlier but the yield is always better when grown as a sole crop.

Power of information
It is useful to seek guidance from an agronomist/soil scientist on the application of fertilizers. This is because the type of fertilizer depends on the soil type, soil nutrient deficiency and crop nutrient requirements among other factors.