How contract farming has rescued rural women from poverty

Polin Nalube tends to pumpkins in her garden in Nankoma village in Nankoma Sub-county in Bugiri District recently. PHOTO/OLIVIER MUKAAYA
What you need to know:
- Prof Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, the Director of Research, Partnership, and Innovations at Uganda Christian University (UCU), said the project works with farmers of vegetables- mostly Indigenous vegetables such as nakati, dodo, bbuga, pumpkin, and also tomatoes with a thrust of getting farmers linked to market their products to big buyers through contracts for specificities in the vegetables, which could be seed, or grain, or fruit or leafy vegetable).
Clad in a red gomesi, a traditional wear, Polin Nalube squats carefully and tends to pumpkins in her garden in Nankoma village in Nankoma Sub-county in Bugiri District.
Ms Nalube, who is one of the farmers in the area growing mostly indigenous vegetables such as pumpkins, tomatoes and dodo, Nakati (solanum Aethiopium) said contract farming has improved livelihood and promoted food security.
Contract farming is an agreement between a buyer and a farmer to produce and market a specific agricultural product under certain conditions. For the farmer, it may mean that he or she agrees to provide a specific quantity and quality of the product at a predetermined price and time.
For the buyer, he or she agrees to purchase the product from the farmer as per their agreement. In some cases, the buyer may also provide support such as technical advice and inputs.
“Previously, we faced the challenge of the accessing market but with contract farming, we have reliable markets for our produce. It has transformed our lives through improved incomes," she said.
Ms Nalube grows pumpkins in a half acre from which she produces around 4,000 pumpkins and earns about Shs8 milion. Each pumpkin goes for contracted price of Shs2,000.
According to her, a famer can generate Shs15 million from an acre of tomatoes after selling a kilogramme of the fruit at Shs1,000.
Ms Nalube is one of more than 500 farmers in the Sub-county who have been contracted by Psalms Food Company Industries to grow pumpkins. Other farmers have been contracted by Dani Agro Company, which purchases tomatoes; and Food Hub, which buys leafy vegetables.
Another farmer, Mr Juliet Nabwire, said growing pumpkins is now easy and cheap to manage yet highly rewarding because of the reliable market and steady prices, unlike before.
The farmers are beneficiaries of the project codenamed, "Enhancing Inclusive Market Access for African Indigenous Vegetable Seed and Value-added Products by Smallholder Farmers in Uganda" (AIRTEA) project.
The project led by Uganda Christian University’s Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in collaboration with Syova Seed, Farm Gain, and the Uganda Farmers’ Federation (UNFFE) has been implemented over three years and it started in 2020.

Some of the women and youth sorting the harvested pumpkins in Nankoma village in Nankoma Sub-county in Bugiri District recently. PHOTO/ OLIVIER MUKAAYA
Mr Martin Goma, a tomato farmer from Matovu C Village, Nakoma Sub-county in Bugiri district, said he earns a decent income from the tomatoes he grows on one-acre of land.
“I used to grow other crops back then, but I didn’t have a market for them, and my skills weren’t as good at that time, which is why I didn’t benefit from it. After receiving training I am now one of the most well-known tomato farmers and a market for tomatoes is available because we have the buyer,” he said.
The AIRTEA project is currently being implemented in seven districts of Mityana, Luwero, Kayunga, Mukono, Buikwe, Jinja, and Bugiri.
It aims to address challenges facing Smallholder farmers, who often face significant barriers to accessing markets, limiting their ability to increase incomes and improve living standards.
According to David Isooba the field technician said afamer of pumpkins in an acre can produce around 8880 pumpkins.
“The farmer can invest about Shs25 milion in the process of growing these pumpkins and earn about 17milion and above,” he said.
Prof Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, the Director of Research, Partnership, and Innovations at Uganda Christian University (UCU), said the project works with farmers of vegetables- mostly Indigenous vegetables such as nakati, dodo, bbuga, pumpkin, and also tomatoes with a thrust of getting farmers linked to market their products to big buyers through contracts for specificities in the vegetables, which could be seed, or grain, or fruit or leafy vegetable).
“Each vegetable has its merits and depending on the capacities of the farmer groups, contracts were made and farmers delivered to their respective markets and also trained them on how to improve their productivity, yields, and post-harvest management for quality,” she said.
She explained that contract farming is seen as a mechanism for promoting commercial agricultural production, especially among the small-scale farmers who are mostly women.
“For the small-scale farmer, it can guarantee a market for their produce. A farmer without a contract takes on more of a gamble, prices can move favorably or against the farmer,” she said.