Bunches of matooke in the market. Most harvests go to waste, defeating the idea of value addition because the uptake of the banana processing plant is way below optimal capacity. PHOTO/ Michael Kakumirizi
After turning down lucrative proposals to cash in on her groundbreaking research on the banana commodity, Professor Florence Isabirye Muranga, pitched camp in her motherland Uganda to advance her sought-after research on the commodity.
For the last two decades, the director general of the Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID), has been preoccupied with research and development on value addition on bananas which she believes could be an alternative to wheat.
Wheat is one of the most consumed products by households in the city and urban areas. On average, Uganda imports $119 million (about Shs444 billion) worth of wheat every year, making it the 69th largest importer of the cereal in the world, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), an online data visualisation and distribution platform for international trade data that makes global trade data accessible and understandable.
A TABLE SHOWING THE TOP TEN BANANA-PRODUCING COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD.
In the last five years, wheat has been in the top 10 most imported products in Uganda with imports worth $41.9 million coming from Russia, Argentina with $31.3million, and Ukraine with a value of $15.1million. Others are Germany at $13.8 million worth of imports and Lithuania in the range of $4.83 million in value.
Prosper Magazine has established that it is for this reason that the Cabinet headed by President Yoweri Museveni is tagging the government’s continuous funding, so far estimated in the range of Shs200 billion over the last 20 years, into the initiative looking to add value to the commodity in fulfilment of the import substitution strategy -- replacing imports with domestic production.
Professor Muranga believes that bananas can be an alternative but not a substitute for wheat. This explains her approach in developing local production of industrialised banana products for both local and export markets.
“The government is helping us upscale because we have contracts for exports waiting to be signed. If we cannot realise them, we shall be penalised. So basically, to have a comfortable export, it will be after expansion and everything in place.
“We have stakeholders in the U.S. who have agreed to use our logo in their supermarkets. We are doing a lot of good work here,” she told Prosper Magazine during an interview at the facility in Bushenyi.
Challenges
Part of this involves ensuring that banana farmers practise proper farming – one that will result in the right quality of the crop, which has been achieved in most parts of western Uganda where the pilot project and the incubation Centre is based.
However, there is the small matter of overproduction. Most harvests go to waste, defeating the idea of value addition because the uptake of the banana processing plant is way below optimal capacity currently.
Despite the routine injection of public funds into the initiative, the professor argues that financing remains the biggest hurdle. She said: “The biggest hurdle is to get money.
“Corruption is real. Scientists like myself don’t know how to negotiate these issues. Even if I did, I wouldn’t condone corruption. So I became a bad guy in most of these corridors of power.
“But that notwithstanding, the money is not released expeditiously. We need a policy to enable money to be either put in the bank like Uganda Development Bank or in some other portfolio where we can easily access it as and when required, but as a grant.”
Farmers’ take
For farmers, the current capacity of 10 to 15 tonnes of fresh bananas is too little that just a handful of farmers get the opportunity to supply the processing plant.
“Supply is not our problem. The issue is how to explain to farmers that their produce cannot be absorbed by the factory, yet that is one of the sole reasons for the bumper harvest,” the chairman of Bumbaire Cooperative Union, Mr Cylian Muhumuza, himself a farmer, told Prosper Magazine.
Cylian Muhumuza and Stella Muhumuza, banana farmers in Bushenyi District share their challenges about growing matooke and selling it at a low price due to over production. PHOTO | ISMAIL MUSA LADU
As a result, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, most bananas are sold cheaply with up to 40 per cent going to waste. In a bumper harvest, the price of a bunch of bananas drops to as little as Shs3,000 and in some instances, even less as very few farmers get the privilege to supply the matooke factory, thanks to the low absorption capacity of the processing plant.
Ms Stella Muhumuza, a matooke farmer in Bushenyi, reechoes the same challenge, saying a bunch of matooke that should cost about Shs15,000 or more, ends up being sold at take away prices, saying, “It is disheartening.”
“After hard work, you see all your efforts going to waste because of the low capacity of the processing plant. This is something I haven’t gotten used to,” she said.
Mr Archangel Muhabura, also a matooke farmer in Western Uganda, grapples with a storage facility, which he hopes the processing plant will establish as part of its infrastructure to reduce post-harvest handling.
The issue of delayed payment of casual labourers for the plant also emerged with Mr Yosam Katambara, LCI, Namiyaga parish in Bushenyi district, claiming there are cases of non-payment spanning two to three months.
Matooke on a truck to the markets. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, most bananas are sold cheaply with up to 40 percent going to waste. PHOTO | MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
When we brought this to the attention of Professor Muranga, she said, “This service was outsourced to an external party, promising to look into it to ensure that this doesn’t become a part of the fixture.”
Let’s cut our losses
Mr Julius Mukunda, The executive director of Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) thinks it is time to take tough decisions to save the national treasury from further losses.
Mr Mukunda, an economist and experienced policy analyst, told Prosper Magazine in an interview last week in Kampala that PIBID is bordering on a ghost project if not a cash cow for private interest being presented as a public good.
He said: “You cannot receive more than Shs120 billion in 10 years and there is nothing to show for it,” he said.
He continued: “It is approaching 20 years since this initiative was established and we haven’t seen any single kilogramme of banana product for export yet, and this is part of the deal for establishing PIBID. It is about time we packed our bags and cut our losses.”
President’s Office
Although PIBID is yet to return the favour, some say return on the 20-year- investment will be great once the production phase kicks off in 2027.
In an interview with the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Bushenyi, Mr Robert Atuhire, it emerged that dividends are already evident in Bushenyi and the neighbouring districts.
“Although commercial production hasn’t started after 20 years of the existence of PIBID, we have since increased the level of banana production. The quality of yield is also perfect, indicating that farmers have grasped proper planting methods. We have also seen some products that can be made from bananas and all that is good news,” Mr Atuhire told Prosper Magazine in an interview held at his office in Bushenyi District.
Resident District Commissioner Bushenyi Robert Atuhire during the interview. PHOTO| ISMAIL MUSA LADU
He continued: Research takes a long time because the concept must be perfected. So we understand that the commercialisation phase will take time. I believe in this initiative because of its ability to generate jobs and household incomes for our people.”
Meanwhile, a report of the Auditor General to Parliament for the Financial Year ended June 30, 2023 picked issues with the absorption capacity of only 48 per cent of the availed funds, affecting service delivery.
The report also indicated that the entity did not have an approved organisational structure neither was evidence provided to confirm that the entity has an approved salary structure. It also faulted PIBID for undertaking procurements worth Shs0.49 billion (Shs490 million) using irregular procurement methods.
In response, Professor Muranga noted that many of the findings of the Auditor General’s report to Parliament are not entirely accurate, as they contain “biased information” probably due to the prejudice of the auditor believed to be a former disgruntled employee of the organisation.
From the professor’s point of view, her firm stance on running a corruption-free organisation and refusing to facilitate corruption is costing her allies.
“When I was framed in Parliament that I’ve stolen all the Shs40 billion which had been released, I was not only shocked but it was my lowest moment,” said the Professor.
She continued: “Our honourable members reported that they only saw fishponds, and nothing else. I had to pray to God to get the grace to forgive, and I did although it was difficult. I knew then that when you are in service of the nation, you have to be willing to pay the price,” Professor Muranga said in conclusion.
