Farmers count losses as matooke prices drop

Matooke farmers in Kabarole District and Fort Portal City have suffered substantial losses following a sharp drop in prices.

Matooke is a major cash crop in the region but since late May, farmers have reported a bumper harvest, forcing the prices to drop.

The farm gate price of a large size bunch of matooke is now between Shs5,000 and Shs7,000, down from between Shs25,000 and Shs30,000.

Medium-sized bunches of matooke that previously sold for between Shs15,000 and Shs20,000 are now fetching Shs2,000 to Shs4,000.

Matooke dealers in markets around Kabarole and Fort Portal City also complain that their businesses are no longer profitable since the start of the peak season of the crop.

The price drop has left many farmers with unsold bunches of matooke in their gardens, which ripen and rot.

Harugogo, Kichwamba, Karagura, Mugusu, Ruteete, and Kasenda sub-counties are known for having large-scale matooke plantations but are now struggling due to low prices.

Mr James Ainebyoona, who buys matooke from farmers and vends it in Fort Portal City, said his daily customers no longer buy from him.

“For the last three weeks, I have been spending Shs10,000 a day to buy four bunches of matooke from farmers. When I reach the town, I sell all of them for Shs15,000, but sometimes I make losses,” he explained.

He added: “It’s hard to make profits of Shs10,000 a day now, previously I could make profits of more than Shs50,000.”

Mr Eric Tusiime, a farmer with a five-acre banana plantation in Nyakitokoli Village, Karangura Sub-county, said before the peak season, he would sell about 100 bunches of matooke every two weeks, fetching him about Shs1.8 million.

“Currently, in a week, from the same acreage, more than 100 bunches of matooke can’t even fetch Shs500,000,” he lamented.

He noted that previously he would get buyers from Kampala directly, but the majority no longer come.

Farmers have appealed to the government to establish an agro-industrial park in the district to start processing matooke into other products.

Unfulfilled pledge

For the entire Rwenzori Sub-region, hopes were pinned on the proposed agro-industrial park the government pledged in 2018 to be constructed in the current Rwegaju Sub-county.

However, construction has since stalled, with only a signpost erected at the site that has become bushy.

Some farmers have started processing matooke locally to make wine.

They say if the government supports them, it will be the best alternative to falling matooke prices.

Ms Agnes Atuhaire, a farmer, said since June last year, she decided to venture into processing wine from matooke.

A big bunch of matooke yields one jerrycan of wine, which she sells for Shs150,000. However, as prices continue to drop, consumers are enjoying the matooke at a reduced cost.

Consumers excited

Ms Abwooli Tusiime, who runs a small hotel in Kabudaire, Fort Portal City, said at the start of the year, she was buying a bunch of matooke at more than Shs20,000, making her business non-profitable.

“I am now enjoying this peak season. I can buy a bunch for Shs3,000 to Shs5,000. Now, I can serve our customers a good meal, unlike before when they complained about small portions,” she said.

Ms Charity Kabugho, a tenant in Kisenyi, Fort Portal City, said she can now get a bunch of matooke on credit, which can feed her family for a week.