In 2017, the government of Uganda constructed the Kasunganyanja Banana Loading Bay and Aggregation Centre in Kibiito Sub County. The objective of the centre was to bring together banana farmers in the district to determine uniform prices for bananas before selling them within and outside the district.
A banana plantation in Bunyangabu district. Farmers are hiring out the plantations which is frustrating the efforts of their association to market their produce collectively.
Hiring out of plantations to banana buyers has frustrated efforts
by Bunyangabu district farmers to collectively market their produce.
In 2017, the government of Uganda constructed the Kasunganyanja Banana Loading
Bay and Aggregation Centre in Kibiito Sub County. The objective of the centre
was to bring together banana farmers in the district to determine uniform
prices for bananas before selling them within and outside the district.
In the same year, Kasunganyanja Banana Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited was
formed to bring together banana farmers from different sub-counties and town
councils of the district.
The sub-counties include Kibiito, Kisomoro, Buheesi, Rwimi, Kiyombya and town
councils are Rwimi, Kibiito and Buheesi.
According to the Head of Marketing and Production in the association, Abani
Tugumisirize, a Memorandum of Understanding - MoU was signed with the Kibiito
Sub County Local Government, allowing them to manage the centre.
He says that banana farmers were supposed to come together for collective
marketing and set fair, standard uniform prices for their produce to avoid
being cheated by middlemen and other traders who would take advantage of their
disunity to buy bananas at varying low prices.
However, two years later, Tugumisirize says the objective has not been achieved
because there are some banana dealers who come from Kampala and hire
plantations from the farmers for a period of time which leaves the farmers with
nothing to take to the Aggregation centre.
He argues that these dealers give farmers between 2 - 3 million shillings and
take charge of the plantations for a month or even up to six months and they
take all the bananas.
//Cue in: “Twine engonjo, abandi…
Cue out… abasoboire kumpa, obu.”//
He notes that they had set every Tuesday as a day of collecting all the bananas
and selling them out but to his surprise, from an association of 105 members,
he receives between eight and ten bananas.
//Cue in: “Twali tumazir n’okuserra…
Cue out… ebitooke bikambura.”//
Richard Katuramu noted that selling collectively is hard because,
at times, the buyers offer higher prices to individual farmers.
James Karatunga added that some members may not understand the importance of
collective marketing and therefore suggested that they hold another meeting so
resolve the issue, something that other members allowed.
On his part, the Chairperson of the association, Benedict Rwakabale, says that
he will not sit back and watch as the association fails to achieve its
objectives. He has vowed to work with the executive members to see that this
problem gets a lasting solution.
Bunyangabu district is the leading producer of bananas in Tooro region. Some of
the bananas are consumed within the district and surrounding areas like
Kabarole and Kyenjojo, and others are transported to Kampala on a daily basis
for sale.
According to Rwakabale, over 86 Fuso lorries of bananas leave the district on a
daily basis but is quick to note that farmers haven’t financially benefited
from their products because of low prices. In times of bumper, big bunches of
bananas in Bunyangabu go for as low as 2,000 shillings.
