Uganda: Barley as a grain of wealth in Uganda

The barley growing is changing the lives of farmers of Kapchorwa district in eastern Uganda by offering them an alternative to crops that fetch them little money in the market . In a video titled The Grain of Wealth, shot last year, farmers talk about how the crop, which is called Equatorial barley, has transformed their lives. They have not only been able to diversify their incomes but are also able to send their children to school without financial strain, local media reports .

This drastic change of fortunes is a result of an initiative by Uganda Breweries Ltd (UBL) to procure raw materials locally after being encouraged by the government to use local inputs. In 2003, the government lowered excise duty from 60 per cent to 20 per cent for beers brewed from 75 per cent locally produced raw materials.

This gave UBL the opportunity to introduce the crop and it has played a key role in mobilising local farmers to grow it through the Kapchorwa Commercial Farmers Association (Kacofa) where farmers receive training and inputs.

Kacofa singed a contract agreement with UBL in 2003. Under the contract, Kacofa produces 10,000 metric tonnes (5,000 tonnes per season) of barley and supply it to UBL per year.

The contract guarantees that farmers are paid promptly for the crop they deliver to the Kacofa produce handling agency stores in Kapchorwa town. The payments are made after deducting the credit advanced to the farmers in form of inputs and seeds. They are also made only after the officials are satisfied that the barley brought in by the farmers meets accepted moisture standards.

As a result of this contact, Kacofa has seen its membership grow from 700 in 2003 to 2,100 currently. The association was able to sell to UBL 850 metric tonnes in 2004 at a gate price of Ush400 (21 US cents) per kilogramme for a total value of Ush340 million ($183,783).

With an average of 2.5 acres, a farmer harvests 12 to 13 100-kilogramme bags each o barley, worth Ush40,000 ($21) each twice a year. The same number of bags of maize are produced once a year, at Ush32,000 (17 US cents) per bag. Furthermore, the gate price of maize fluctuates between Ush280 (15 US cents) and Ush320 (17 US cents) per kilogramme, while that of barley is stable at 21 US cents.

The project was launched in 2003 on a trial basis and after 12 months there was enough barley to launch a new brand called Senator Lager. UBL was able to sell 800,000 crates of Senator Lager worth Ush15.6 billion ($8.4 million) in November of the same year.

"This contract has moved us many steps from where we were. We have two barley growing seasons in a year compared with one for maize," Kacofa's chairman Wilson Chemusto said. "We have made tremendous progress. Barley growing has fetched farmers a steady income as a result of UBL stabilising the barley market."

This has greatly improved the livelihood of our farmers because they can afford to pay school and medical fees and cater for their general welfare, Mr Chemusto added.

Barley growing is popular, he said, because its inputs are very close to the farmers and there is instant payment after delivery.

Kapchorwa district is located on the slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda. It has a mountainous type of climate, characterised by well-distributed rain throughout the year, with evergreen vegetation and deep fertile volcanic soils. Equatorial barley growing needs a cool climate of at least 15 degrees centigrade.

According to the barley project manager Joseph Kalule, Kapchorwa has the right altitude and the right conditions for growing barley.Kacofa, which was formed in 1999, aims to attain sustainable incomes for farmers and improve their standard of living. It aims at alleviating poverty through improved methods of production, advanced storage and marketing strategies. Its activities include training, mobilisation of rural farmers, credit acquisition and marketing.

UBL tried growing the crop in the Kasese-Kabarole area in western Uganda on the slopes of the Rwenzori mountains in the 1980s, but failed. A source close to the project told The EastAfrican that plans are underway to re-introduce the crop in that same area which has the same climatic conditions as Kapchorwa. KACOFA HAS ALSO signed a contract to sell maize to the World Food Programme (WFP). "We were able to penetrate WFP and market our produce, which an individual farmer could not do," Mr Chemusto said.

Last year, the association sold 3,000 metric tonnes to WFP worth Ush840 million ($454,000). It will supply 2,000 metric tonnes this year.

Last year, UBL signed a memorandum of understanding with Enterprise Uganda in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and the Swedish government to provide business support services to farmers for two years. This programme will equip Kacofa farmers with new business skills. The aim is to make them more effective in planning and managing their crops and increasing production and income.

Although cash crop contract farming has led to more stable market conditions and incomes for small scale farmers, it could lead to food insecurity as food crops are being ignored, the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Association (IUF) and the International Land Coalition (ILC) have warned. Mr Chemusto, however, said Kacofa is encouraging crop rotation to ensure food security. According to him, if a farmer has one acre under maize and the rest under barely, food security is secured. Income from barley will cater for cash requirements such as school and medical fees.

A World Health Organisation report released last year ranked Uganda as the leading consumer of alcohol in the world. Per capita annual consumption is 19.5 litres, closely followed by Luxembourg at 17.54 litres and the Czech Republic at 16.21 litres. According to the 2004 Global Status Report, Ugandans spend $145 million on alcohol per year.

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