Huge losses as vanilla rots away

Vanilla farmers in Masaba Sub-county, Busia District are counting losses after their crops started rotting away in gardens days before the harvesting date set by the government.

The farmers blamed this on a government policy on harvesting and selling vanilla. Early this year, the State minister of Agriculture, Mr Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, set Monday as the day to harvest the crops.

However, Capt (rtd) Job Were, a farmer in Makunda Village, said the vanilla was ready for harvest by May.

He added that most of his vanilla beans have split, started rotting and are falling off the vines as a result of delaying to harvest them.

Capt Were said he lost an estimated 200kgs of vanilla worth close to Shs10m over the past two months.

He urged the government to compensate them for their loss.

Mr Dominic Wafula, the chairperson of the vanilla growers in Busia, said the district has more than 100 acres of vanilla and because of the warm conditions in the eastern region; it matures faster compared to other regions.

Vanilla is a high-value crop grown in more than 25 districts spread across eastern, central and western Uganda.

Mr Wafula said he has lost “close to Shs40 million” . He said some of the expenses he has incurred in taking care of the crops include employing two armed men to protect the crops.

“When the minister set the date for harvesting and selling vanilla, he forgot that our crop ripens faster in the eastern region compared to other regions,” Mr Wafula said, warning that because of the policy, farmers have lost substantial sums of money countrywide.

Mr Kyakulaga, however, said the policy is aimed at curbing the harvesting of premature vanilla, which he said was undermining the value of the country’s crop on the international market. 

Vanilla

According to the Uganda Export Board, Uganda has exported 89,038 tonnes of cured vanilla this year, fetching $8.33m (about Shs30.4b).

According to the Agriculture ministry, a kilogramme of vanilla sold for Shs250,000 at farm gate price, but the prices later slumped due to a reduction in its demand after some unscrupulous traders and farmers started harvesting and exporting premature vanilla.