Agric final
- 1. Agriculture is a core sector of Uganda's economy and the largest employer. Over 80 per cent of women are employed in the sector and contribute about 75 per cent of agricultural production. Plantains, cassava, sweet potato and maize are major subsistence crops. The major export crop is coffee, but tea, tobacco and cotton are also important. Agricultural products: coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava, potatoes, maize, millet, pulses, cut flowers, beef, goat milk, poultry. For a country with fertile land and abundant rainfall which give it a strong comparative advantage in agriculture, Uganda's agriculture performance is weak. Agricultural productivity per worker, at approximately $200 per year, is among the lowest in the world. While some steps are being taken to provide insurance against crop failures, access to finance for smallscale farmers is limited. The high cost and limited availability of improved farm inputs, including hybrid seeds and post harvest technology, over-stretched extension services, poor transport networks, a lack of market information, inadequate production and post harvest facilities, and weak value chain linkages all hinder and frustrate subsistence farmers. Despite the enormous progress in poverty reduction, about 40 per cent of all rural people still live below the poverty line; the poorest regions being in the north and north-east, where civil conflict has severely disrupted the lives and agricultural production of small farmers. When relative peace returned in 2006, the task of rebuilding the region's agriculture sector began, with the distribution of seeds, livestock and tools. Many organisations have also provided training to pass on agricultural skills to a generation of young people who have grown up in protected camps. With many people returning to their homes and finding that boundaries have been moved and entire swathes of land have been grabbed, resolving conflict is also a major challenge. Livestock are an important element of the livelihoods of many Ugandan households. But despite increasing livestock numbers of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry, livestock productivity has declined due to cattle rustling, disease outbreaks and lack of pasture. The dairy sector has also been hampered by low prices for milk, high costs for veterinary drugs and transportation problems. The potential for increased exports exists, particularly to South Sudan, but inadequate disease control and the absence of processing infrastructure limit opportunities to export beef and dairy products.
- 2. Fish exports are the second largest export earner Having attained high quality and safety standards for production and export, fish exports are the second largest export earner for Uganda. But catches are declining due to destructive fishing methods, over-fishing, non-compliance of regulations and weed infestation due to pollution. Government statistics indicate that while catches from Lake Victoria are dwindling, fish populations in Lake Edward and George are almost extinct. Poor management of natural resources has also affected forests, soils and wetlands, resulting in declining agricultural yields. Dwindling forest cover has been attributed to increasing demand for agricultural land and fuel wood from a rapidly growing population and weak enforcement of land use policy. But forestry also supports the economy through the sale of timber, ecotourism, honey, herbal medicines and rattan-cane. In addition to promoting re- forestation and afforestation, the government is also attempting to enforce forest and environmental laws and regulations, and strengthen networks to enable participation in the global carbon credit market. A fragile sector The coffee sector is also almost entirely dependent on smallholder farmers Uganda is one of the world's major Robusta coffee producers but some Arabica is also grown, primarily on the slopes of Mount Elgon and Mount Rwenzori, and coffee contributes between 20-30 per cent of the country's foreign exchange earnings. The sector is also almost entirely dependent on smallholder farmers, who generally intercrop coffee with food crops such as bananas and beans. Old trees coupled with poorly managed and leached soils result in low yields and quality. Since the 1990s the industry has also suffered from coffee wilt disease (CWD). According to the Uganda Coffee Development Agency, 50 per cent of the overall Robusta coffee tree population has been infected by the disease and has died. The industry has also suffered from unstable coffee prices on the world market, which has caused farmers to abandon or uproot their trees. A rise in farmgate prices in the last five years has, however, stimulated demand for coffee plantlets. Increasingly volatile weather, blamed on climate change, has also begun to impact coffee growers and prolonged drought and unpredictable rainfall are beginning to cause problems. In 2010, major flooding near Mount Elgon destroyed 60,000 coffee trees and killed almost 400 people. Rising temperatures have also been linked to the spread of coffee pests and
- 3. diseases. In Eastern Uganda, for example, coffee leaf rust, a fungus previously only found at lower altitudes, is moving up Uganda's mountainsides. The PMA was implemented in 2001, it was a unique attempt to address pro-poor growth in the productive sector in the context of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, PRSP. To this day many PRSPs focus on social sector activities, such as health and education, where the rationale for government involvement is clear, and where there is need for significant expenditure to address poverty in broad terms. It has been more difficult to address production issues in a way which combines the need for overall growth with poverty eradication9. The PMA fills that gap for the agriculture sector in Uganda. Improved agricultural productivity will also stimulate structural change in the whole economy by improving inter-sectoral movements of labour and capital. The surplus generated by agricultural growth will contribute to expanding investments outside of agriculture. As employment opportunities grow in other sectors, people will leave agriculture, and the share of agriculture in employment will diminish over time. The PMA has led to rural development as it will entail investments in rural infrastructure especially feeder roads, telephones, rural electrification, the development of markets and expansion of the service sector. Modernisation of agriculture also entails significant land reforms that will provide security of property, develop land markets and increase efficient use of land and investments. A plan of action The government is working to strengthen the national agricultural research system. According to Uganda's latest National Development Plan, sustainable economic and social development largely depends on exploitation of the country's environmental and natural resources. But increasing degradation of these resources, coupled with climate change, is seriously impacting Uganda's development and the livelihoods of millions of people. The government has therefore concluded that investing in agriculture to achieve higher growth rates is the most effective way of reducing poverty. To tackle these challenges, the government is working to strengthen the national agricultural research system, provide farmers with quality advice, improve detection and control of pests and diseases and encourage more sustainable land use and better management of soil and water resources. Plans are also underway to rehabilitate and establish irrigation schemes, rehabilitate rural infrastructure, improve access to markets, strengthen farmers' organisations,
- 4. and improve regulation and enforcement of food and safety standards to enable greater levels of export. Although agriculture is the mainstay of Uganda’s economy, the sector has been facing many challenges. Drought and pest epidemics are among the top climate related risks facing the sector. Other challenges include poor farming practices, low value addition to agricultural produce, limited market access and weak implementation of agricultural laws and policies. In order to enhance readiness to address risks and challenges to the sector, the Uganda government through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is working with a number of partners — among them the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) — to mainstream climate change into national agriculture plans and agriculture into climate change policy. The Agriculture Sector Strategic Plan (ASSP) is a five-year strategy which defines the priorities and interventions to be implemented for the period from 2015/16 to 2019/20. Fertile fields, thriving crops, high quality and plentiful yields, healthy and numerous cattle, financial security, good education for the children, a better home, a better life for all. The African land can provide all these and much more to the hardworking smallholder African farmer, the large scale African farmer, entire countries, Africa as a continent, and even the world at large. The potential is phenomenal. Unfortunately though, this potential remains largely untapped and the majority of African farmers today face great challenges in their daily lives. Most farmers in Africa today are smallholder or subsistence farmers who grow crops and rear animals just to feed themselves and their families. LACK OF INFORMATION: Lack of information remains number one problem facing most small scale farmers in Africa today. Most miss out on new and improved methods of farming. Some especially those in the remote areas have no access to information at all (not even radio sets). Even those in the sub-urban areas with some limited access to information, lack what it takes to process the information they receive. Most miss out on proper information regarding cheap but effective farming practices such as crop rotation, the use of green manure, etc, to fertize the land. The main problem here is illiteracy. Even in cases where there is some access to information, most poor farmers are unable to discern due to
- 5. illiteracy. Illiteracy is very high in rural Africa. Programs like adult education can go a long way in helping the poor farmers in rural Africa. POOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Lack of financial support systems to enable farmers grow, expand, and maintain their yields. Although there are several Micro finance groups operating in Africa today, not so many farmers have access to these groups and not so many farmers even know how these groups operate and how such groups can help them in the long run. Most farmers in Africa are poor financially making it almost impossible for them to adopt new farming practices. For example, research has shown some seeds yield better and are more tolerant and disease resistant than others. However, such seeds are often sold at higher prices on the market than regular seeds and not so many farmers can afford them. Once again, proper education and government assistance can go a long way here. LACK OF ACCESS TO FERTILIZERS: This falls under the poor financial system mentioned above. Because agricultural lands have become so expensive in Africa, most poor farmers have no choice than to farm on same pieces of land over and over again. Farming on same pieces of land for years leads to land degradation whereby fertile lands loose most of their nutrients and become unproductive or barren. Farmers therefore depend mostly on artificial fertilizers to enable them grow crops and improve their yields. Artificial fertilizers are quite expensive in Africa and in most rural areas, they are unavailable at all. Some government assistance such as giving farming subsidise to small and large scale farmers, giving some tax breaks, etc., can go a long way here. POOR TRANSPORTATION: This is a major issue facing not just agriculture but the economy in general throughout Africa. Most of the farm produce in Africa just go waste in the remote areas and it is mostly because farmers find it very difficult transporting their farm produce to the market to sell. The roads don't exist and most remote areas find themselves cut-off from the rest of the world. Because there are no proper storage facilities in the rural areas, most perishable goods such as tomatoes, onions, leafy vegetables, etc., just rot away in the remote areas. POOR MARKETS: Market for farmers has become one of the biggest issues for Africa today affecting the lives and living standards of millions of people. But how do we create markets and how do we make them sustainable and more importantly, how do we make them grow? Farmers in places like Zambia love one crop above all others - Maize. Everyone in Africa eats it and therefore everyone grows it. However, the sad thing is that, not everyone is
- 6. able to sell it. Lack of market facilities and poor government regulations, etc., make it almost impossible for farmers especially small scale farmers to market their farm produce. Improved market facilities and good goverment regulations can go a long way in helping poor farmers market and profit from their harvests. Resource Depletion: The Costs of Industrial Agriculture From mechanized feedlots to automatic irrigation systems to agricultural machinery, North American agriculture has become increasingly industrialized, placing ever-greater demands on fossil fuel, water and topsoil resources. Petroleum not only fuels trucks and mechanized farm equipment, but also serves as a base for synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, tying the cost of growing food increasingly closer to the price of oil. “We have an industrial agricultural system that’s totally dependent on the assumption that cheap fossil fuels will last forever,” says sustainable food and farming professor, John Gerber of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. “That’s not a useful assumption anymore.” Many believe that the world has already passed “peak oil”, the point where the volume of oil reserves reaches its highest point and begins to decline. Gerber sees potential for reducing fossil fuel consumption in the integration of crop and livestock agriculture. According to the US Geological Society, the amount of ground water drawn for use in irrigation has tripled since the 1950s. While water resources are not permanently finite, they do have limits. Climate models also suggest that rainfall may become less predictable and dependable. Professor Nicholas Jordan of the University of Minnesota believes the foremost challenge facing all agricultural systems is the ability to achieve some level of resilience to intensified bursts of rains followed by extensive periods of drought. Agricultural production places additional stress on water supply by polluting water bodies with chemical runoff. The EPA cites agricultural runoff as the leading cause of pollution of lakes and rivers. Professor Jordan adds that making sure that farmers make good use of nitrogen and other agricultural additives before they leave the farm would not only reduce pollution of water and ecosystems, but also help to cut down on fossil fuel consumption. He
- 7. says that planting cover crops like legumes, which scavenge nitrogen, prevents the nitrogen from leaching into the groundwater while storing it for later use by future crops. Farmers’ dependence on nitrogen supplements stems in part from the erosion of topsoil. While topsoil loss has decreased 43% from the period 1982 – 2007, the USDA reports that 1.73 billion tons of topsoil are still lost each year. “Soil is eroding much faster than it can be replenished—taking with it the land’s fertility and nutrients that nourish both plants and those who eat them,” wrote Leo Horrigan, et. al., researchers at the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in their 2002 article published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Horrigan and his colleagues charge that agriculture is one of the leading causes of desertification, citing “poor agricultural practices such as overcultivation, overgrazing, and overuse of water…” While in the past we have been able to expand agricultural croplands in order to meet increased demand for food, viable land for expansion is rapidly running out. According to the online database of country- specific facts and statistics, Index Mundi, the amount of arable land in North America has declined from 1.1 hectares per person in 1961 to 0.61 hectares per person in 2009. Changing land management approaches may be the only way forward. Land Management: Degrading and Undervaluing Farmland Throughout much of North America, especially in the United States, land management techniques have been draining the soil of nutritional value. Monoculture, the practice of continually planting the same solitary crop on one plot of farmland, removes nutrients from the soil that must be replenished with additional fertilizers. Many corn, soybean, and wheat farmers have switched to rotating crops from year to year to replenish the soil naturally. A USDA study of cover crops in sustainable agriculture found that interspersing cover crops in the field can prevent weed propagation and promote predator insects to naturally manage pests. At the end of the growing season, the cover crops can be worked into the soil, becoming added organic matter that increases water-holding before breaking down and replenishing the soil. Livestock management is another major contributor to the degradation of farmable land. According to the 2009 textbook, Environmental Science by Daniel D. Chiras, continual overgrazing eliminates hardy grasses, creates dry soil conditions, and promotes the growth of weedy shrubs, such as sagebrush. Jim Howell, co-founder of The Savory Institute believes that the key to reversing desertification—and ultimately increasing food production—lies in
- 8. holistic grazing practices. The Savory Institute promotes a managed grazing system developed by Alan Savory in Zimbabwe that involves keeping cattle in one location for just one week—just long enough to enrich a swath of future farmland with a carpet of dung. While the concept may seem simple, the practice involves extensive planning to allow grasslands to replenish before returning livestock to graze again. Howell believes that land and cattle management holds tremendous potential for intensifying food production. Food Waste: Compromising Food Security The United Nations estimates that one-third of the world’s food goes to waste, either during agricultural production, post-harvest handling and storage, processing, distribution, or consumption. In North America, a large percentage of this loss comes from consumers wasting food. Consumers accustomed to an abundance of food often purchase more than they actually eat, tossing spoiled food out at the end of every week. As the old saying goes, people’s eyes are often bigger than their stomachs, and they pile up their plates at family style and buffet meals, throwing away whatever remains when they feel full. According to a 2011 UN study conducted for the International Congress, on average, each individual in North America wastes between 200-250 pounds of food per year. Additionally, North American consumer expectations that fruits and vegetable should be pristine and without blemish means that supermarkets and restaurants are forced to reject produce that is edible yet aesthetically imperfect due to an unusual shape, size or color. Further demand for extensive selection causes supermarkets to purchase an excess of produce, driving prices up and increasing potential for spoilage. Despite this seeming excess of food, hunger remains a significant problem throughout North America. The Canadian Community Health Survey of 2007-2008 reported nearly one million food insecure Canadian households. In the United States, 17 million households experienced food insecurity in 2010 according the USDA. Mexico’s National Evaluation Council on Social Development (CONEVAL) estimated in a 2008 study that 49 million Mexicans experienced some form of food insecurity. Excessive food waste threatens to compromise every effort to increase food production. According to the EPA, Americans generated 34 million tons of food waste in 2010. One million tons of that was recovered and recycled. The remainder was thrown away. Food that is currently sent to rot in landfills where it decomposes and releases greenhouse gasses into
- 9. the atmosphere could be better distributed to bridge the gap between those with excess and the hungry. Food that spoils can be re-integrated into the food chain as compost. Howell of The Savoy Institute says that he would like to see food waste be diverted to hogs. “Right now we waste massive amounts of food in cities. All that used to be fed to hogs, but it became economically viable to feed them grain.” He says that returning slop feeding would enable us to continue to produce hogs in a way that they would no longer compete with humans for food sources. Addressing the massive problem of food waste calls for a tremendous shift in mentality that favors conservation over convenience, a reversal of the trends of the last 50 years. Demographic Changes: A Disconnected Public In North American, the last 50 years have brought a major cultural shift that has removed consumers further and further away from their food sources. U.S. Census data from 2010 showed around 80% of Americans living in urban areas. The Mexican Household Survey conducted by Harvard School of Public Health found that in the last forty years, the number of Mexicans living in urban areas rose from 51 percent to 74 percent. According the Canadian Geographic, two-thirds of the entire population of Canada lives in one of eight urban environments. Swelling cities and their surrounding suburbs form an ever-thickening barrier between farming communities and consumers. If you ask the majority of young children where food comes from they will say, “from the grocery store.” Entire neighborhoods, known as food deserts, have no fresh produce for sale. In many low- income urban areas fast food restaurants and convenience stores have become the only accessible sources of food. These so-called food deserts are most common in racially segregated urban areas where low-income neighborhoods are relatively isolated from the rest of the city. The USDA estimates that over 20 million Americans live in so-called food deserts. As urban areas grow, farmers receive increasing pressures from encroaching developers and communities to sell their land, says Jack Rabin of Rutgers University. The result is a phenomenon known as ‘impermanence syndrome’ where urban fringe farming is squeezed out of existence. As he explains on the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station website, the land has become so valuable to developers that many farmers cannot afford not to sell, and would be farmers cannot find affordable land.
- 10. Further, Rabin suggests a largely disconnected public translates to intolerant neighbors. Residents of newly developed suburban communities are unaccustomed to the smells and sounds of farming life. In New Jersey, he has seen an increase in land-use disputes between farmer and non-farming neighbors. He estimates that these conflicts cost New Jersey farmers on average $25,000 per year, becoming one more incentive for farmers to leave agriculture. Political Issues: The Business of Food While consumer habit has a profound effect on food, government policy bears just as heavily on the industry. Agriculture is a multi-billion dollar industry with powerful lobbyists. Monsanto recently launched a successful $2 million dollar campaign to push their genetically modified alfalfa through USDA approval. In the United States, big money has a big say in what happens in agriculture. In Mexico, the North American Free Trade Agreement has had an outsized impact on farmers and played a major role in battering the agriculture sector in the country. According to a McLatchy Article, the two decades old trade agreement has been blamed for the loss of 2 million farm jobs in Mexico resulting from a flood of U.S. corn imports, combined with subsidies that favor agribusiness. The trade agreement was supposed to boost development in Mexico, creating enough jobs to stem the flow of workers crossing over the border in search of work. Instead, the free trade agreement has enabled foreign countries to export food tariff- free, pricing Mexican farmers out of the market. Meanwhile in the United States, this past fall, untold amounts of food remained rotting on the vine due to a shortage of migrant workers. Recent tightening on immigration policy has drastically cut down on the nation’s imported workforce at a time when very few Americans have any connection to farming let alone a desire to work on one. Addressing existing food insecurity and preparing to feed a growing population will require careful consideration of each of these complex challenges at the local, regional, and international level. Five biggest threats to farming Farming is not the industry it once was. It’s getting tougher to make a profit and be competitive in the current market. Here we look at the five biggest threats of farming in Australia today.
- 11. Profitability is a threat in every industry but looking at the statistics in farming it’s simply startling. The average farm owes over $460,000 ($1.4 million for cattlemen) and has lost money 7 out of the last 22 years. Average yields have plummeted by 80%. The costs of farming continue to rise, since 1970 fertiliser prices have skyrocketed a jaw-dropping 1,560%. Threat number two, conventional farming practices are ruining soil health. Since Australia’s European settlement 80% of farmed soils’ carbon has been lost. The use of Nitrogen fertiliser has decreased in efficiency by 66% since 1970 and has caused lower nutrient uptake in crops and pastures. Three - weeds, pests and disease are out of control in Australia. Farmers spend an approximate $3 billion on weed, pest, and soil problems every year. Pesticides are just not working. There are now 388 weeds and 577 insects that are resistant to pesticides. Animal health is being compromised. Poor nutrition and ineffective drenches are just some of the challenges facing farmers. It is staggering to know that parasite resistance to drenches occurs on 90% of farms. Research has found that calving rates for pastured cows with poor nutrition are 90% lower than cows with optimum nutrition. Lastly, exposure to traditional pesticides is causing high rates of disease for farmers and their families. For farmers there is a 40.8% higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. Farmers and their families are seeing 79.5% higher incidence for leukemia and lymphoma. Male farmers have a 136.7% higher incidence of prostate cancer. Click to read more Challenges of Agricultural Financing: the Case of Uganda Written by Charles Ogang, President, Uganda National Farmers Federation (Unffe) Agricultural financing has, in recent times, become a topical issue and a serious concern not only in Uganda but also in most developing countries and all corners of society. This is due to the importance of the agricultural sector in most developing countries’ economies. The agricultural sector in Uganda contributes to 30% of GDP and is the backbone of Uganda’s industrial activity, employment, household incomes and food security.
- 12. Lending to the sector constitutes, however, only 7% of total private sector credit. Furthermore, even this low level of credit is mostly (i.e. 82.7%) constituted by short and medium (3 years or less) term loans. The financial institutions have also not helped farmers because the terms and conditions for accessing loans are not conducive for small-scale farmers: There are collateral-related challenges, interest rates are high (in some cases over 100% per annum) and there is mistrust between banks and farmers, as well as many other obstacles. The case of Ms. Namukose Robina, a peasant farmer in Eastern Uganda In April 2012, UNFFE staff visited a number of districts in the eastern part of Uganda and had the opportunity to interact with several farmers, including Ms. Namukose Robina, a peasant farmer with seven children who is a member of the Tusabe Women’s Group. She borrowed 200,000/=, of which she actually received 150,000 /= in cash, while 50,000/= was paid for bank charges and related costs. Her terms were that she pay 25,000/= every two weeks for a period of 4 months which, when translated into 400,000/=, was the equivalent of a 100% per annum interest rate or 25% per month interest rate. Ms Namukose managed to pay 55,000/= and then defaulted on her subsequent payments. She was imprisoned together with six other group members for one month, leaving behind her young one year old twins with nobody to look after them, even though one neighbor eventually decided to look after them. Her piece of land was sold off to rescue her from prison by paying 500,000/=, with a balance of 570,000/= to be paid in order to completely drop any charges against her. On top of this she was charged 60,000/= by the prison authorities for the 30 days she was remanded at the facility. FINCA bank brought charges against the group on the account of the fact that some of their members had defaulted. Even those that had completed their loans were taken in. She was now helpless and had nothing left to and could not take care of her children. Amazingly, no-one (not even the local authorities) had tried to look into the plight of these poor farmers. During our visit we also realized that there is need for farmers to have their own bank (Farmers bank): This came about after several revelations from bank staff who didn’t know much about agriculture and confessed that, with banks, the main issue is how much profit one
- 13. makes and the terms and conditions of the loans do not, for the most part, take into account farming issues such as seasonality. Steps taken by Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE) UNFFE, in partnership with VECO-East Africa has conducted several consultative meetings with farmers, financial institutions and other stakeholders with a view to finding out about farmers experiences with regard to accessing credit for farming in Uganda and coming up with solutions. Many issues, some of which have been mentioned above, were voiced by the farmers. Consultations with financial Institutions and other players in agricultural financing were also conducted. The findings indicated that commercial banks consider lending to agriculture very risky business because it’s largely rain-fed (over 90% of agriculture in developing - popularly known as third world - countries, which include Uganda, is rain-fed and small-scale) Upon analyzing these challenges, one major conclusion was reached: The lack of a Comprehensive Agricultural Financing Policy is the major reason why all of these challenges have persisted despite government intervention in most developing countries. Financial Institutions and other players in the sub-sector have not coordinated guidelines for agricultural financial services. This has created many gaps that have led to the exploitation of small scale farmers by some financial institutions, while at the same, direct government intervention has only been to the advantage of large-scale commercial farmers and businessmen. The Uganda National Farmers Federation has been advocating the formulation of a National Agricultural Financing Policy and Strategy. A draft strategy has been developed which has yet to be presented to government for consideration. We are also promoting Village Savings and Loan Associations as an intermediate measure while we continue to ask governments to ensure the prompt implementation of an agri- financing strategy and policy as a long term solution Conclusion Any attempts to improve agri-financing ought to take into account the business realities faced by small farmers, including the lack of farmers/agricultural banks, low education levels, the dominance of subsistence farming and the lack of access to modern financial instruments.
- 14. These conditions mean that new and innovative institutions are required to reach small farmers. Emerging communication technologies provide new opportunities for rural banking by reducing business costs and alleviating information asymmetries. New financing instruments, such as weather index-based insurance and micro insurance, also have a great potential for managing the risks faced by small farmers. Finally, an enabling policy environment and legal framework, enforcement of rules and regulations and a supportive rural infrastructure all contribute immensely to ensuring that the sustainable access to finance becomes a reality. An agricultural/farmers bank with farmer-friendly tailored financial services would also go a long way in improving access to sustainable agri-financing in third world countries.