Vanilla farmers rejoices as the price shots up

 By Hope Mafaranga

In 2004, when the vanilla prices dropped in Uganda, many farmers abandoned the crops.  However a few in Bundibugyo district, in western Uganda never gave up planting it, despite the unexpected drastic fall in the farm-gate prices of vanilla.

It is such kind of persistence, resilience and patience that kept Amon Matte 32, a resident of Bumara village, Bumate parish, Harugare sub-county in Bundibugyo going.

 He said many farmers saw the fall in price as a curse that was leading them to poverty.

"Many of my colleagues considered the fall in vanilla prices as a big misfortune and a bad omen.  

 They even advised me to quite but I was thinking ahead and I knew that the condition would not be permanent," Matte said.

 What kept him going?

The senior  four drop out and a father of four says,  positive attitude kept  him going , adding that he had had  banana plantation in Mbarara, Kabarole and Bushenyi , which was affected by the banana bacteria wilt but kept on growing more matooke.

He said the price fell from sh 150,000 per kilogramme to sh5, 000 which discouraged many who had invested in their money from growing it.

"I drew my strength from some of those farmers who never gave up on banana growing. I persisted and kept away from people who were discouraging me from growing vanilla," he said.

He even laughed at people who were cutting and abandoning Vanilla farming, saying they lacked a vision at that time and now they are panicking because the price has gone up.

"The price has reached sh 100,000 per kilogramme, you move in the villages and see how people are rushing to replant vanilla.  Imagine Vanilla takes three years to mature and by the time it grows, I would have harvested a lot of money and I will be definitely ahead of them," he revealed. 

Matte treats his vanilla farming as a permanent job. "After realising that this is a life time job, I gave it time because is where I get money to feed my family," he says.

 Vanilla on demand

He says the price has been stabilising, attributing it to the current improved quality of seed, which are being harvested. He also says that Ugandan vanilla attracts a higher international price because it is organic and farmers do not use any ferlisers due to its fertile soil and relatively good weather. 

" I and many of my colleagues in vanilla growing do not use artificial fertilizers in our  vanilla garden and our vanilla is organically grown and because of this it has a high vanillin content and excellent aroma, which is the most preferred on the world market," he said.

He also attributed the high demand of Ugandan Vanilla to its poor harvest in Madagascar one of the leading vanilla growing countries in the world.

"The quality of our vanilla beans is of high quality compared to that produced in other vanilla-producing countries like Madagascar," matte who owns three acres of vanilla said.

How to plant vanilla

 Matte explains you dig a one feet and plant a three feet of vanilla veins and cover part of it with little soil then leave about two feet that you tie on the pole ( ekisoga-soga) to support its growth.

After three weeks,   the garden is covered with grass (mulching) to prevent the weed from growing.

 Vanilla can only be intercropped with matooke, which Matte says also provides a shed for the vanilla.

He says it not advisable to use a hoe in a vanilla garden because the roots are almost on top of the soil, to avoid cutting them.

"You have to use a slasher and every time you slash you must mulch so that you cover the roots and shield them from the sun," he advises.

 He said in order for the vanilla to have enough space and sufficient sun and nutrients, farmers should only plant 1,500 plants.

"If you plant more than 1, 500 veins in an acre, you suffocate them.   

Vanilla needs to be spaced well so that you get many green and health beans. This is also good because when the beans are healthy, they are heavier which means a farmer gets more kilogrammes from a plant," he says. 

Investment 

 Matte, who has three acres of vanilla has invested in farming since  adding that one has to wait for three years to start harvesting.

 In his three acres, he has 4,500 plants and 4,500 supporters (bisoga-soga). He said he buys each veins of vanilla at sh 2,000 meaning he injected sh 9m and he buys the bisoga-soga each at sh700 making it sh 3.1m.

 He also spends on slashing and mulching which he does twice a year at cost of sh 500,000.

Matte also say he pays security personnel about sh 1.5m a year to guard his vanilla from thieves.

"Averagely I spend about sh 14m a year but this is nothing compared to what I get from it," he says.

Money

According to Matte, he takes care of his vanilla well and each plant is able to give him  seven kilogrammes, in terms of money a plant makes sh 1m.

Market

Market is not one his challenges , he  sells his vanilla to Esco Uganda limited and Ndali Company ltd  that exports it to other countries.

 Challenges

The only challenge he has are thieves who sell his green beans. He says this also affects the quality of vanilla because the thieves steal it when it's not mature sells it lower prices.

Tom Ndyanabo the Red Cross Bundibugyo manger also added his voice to Matte saying that many farmers had left vanilla growing which posed a challenge of vein (seeds) multiplication.

Ndyanabo said  because of the demanded they have come up to  mitigate it by distributing  2,550 vanilla veins to  40 groups with support from Belgian Red Cross due  in order to boost farmers in the district.

“Due to the incre

ased demand as a result of increase in vanilla prices, farmers  are now going back to grow the crop but they do not have the veins to plant," he said.  

 The chairperson of the Rwenzori Vanilla Association, Elisha Matte Kajumba, said because of the current demand for vanilla and the increasing prices most people who did not grow vanilla are stealing from other people's farms.

He said this has forced the farmers to sell immature vanilla to avoid losing their entire crop harvest to thieves.

Maj. Alex Baguma the operation wealth creation liaisons officer at the ministry of agriculture, animal and fisheries said government is currently rolling out vanilla production in Uganda.

"Vanilla has not been on the list of priorities which we have been championing but we have asked the ministry of agriculture to ensure that farmers are supported in the next financial year because it is on a very high demand and the market is ready," Baguma said.

He said about 40 districts in Uganda are now actively growing vanilla, reducing the production strain on Mukono and Bundibugyo.