A farmer sorts dried coffee berries
A way from the usual politics, there are so many issues that we need to think about and address as a country.
Over the past few years, I have witnessed in different countries that Kenyan produce is sold in major supermarkets across Europe and the United Kingdom, and I keep wondering what we need to do as Uganda to tap into this market.
I have walked through many supermarket shelves in the UK and found Kenyan products displayed, without seeing a single product from Uganda. Uganda and Kenya are members of the East African Community, and Kenya is an important trading partner for Uganda.
Uganda produces coffee, fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products, fish and a range of other agricultural commodities that have the potential to compete internationally. But producing a commodity is not the same as building a successful export industry.
Somewhere between the Ugandan farm and the European supermarket, value is being created, and too often that value appears to be captured outside Uganda. This is an issue the government should investigate rather than simply assume that the market will correct itself.
When Ugandan farmers sell produce regionally, we need to know where it ends up, how much is exported through Kenya, whether Kenyan companies are buying Ugandan produce for re-export, and how much value reaches the farmer. There is also another possibility that deserves serious examination.
Much of what we see on those shelves may genuinely originate in Kenya. If that is the case, the lesson for Uganda is even more important. We need to understand what Kenya is doing better.
Kenya has spent years developing systems around branding, packaging, certification, logistics, export relationships and market access. The Kenyan farmer is not necessarily producing something fundamentally different from what the Ugandan farmer can produce. The difference may be what happens after production.
A European supermarket does not buy a truckload of tomatoes simply because tomatoes have been harvested. It requires consistent volumes, quality standards, traceability, packaging, certification, reliable delivery and an exporter capable of maintaining the relationship.
This is where Uganda’s economic policy needs to become more deliberate. We have often concentrated on production while paying less attention to the commercial systems surrounding it. We tell farmers to increase output, but we do not always build the systems that allow them to capture the value created by that output.
We encourage agricultural exports, but we do not always pay enough attention to who owns the warehouses, processing facilities, transport networks, certification companies, brands and distribution channels through which those exports reach consumers.
The consequence is an economy that can remain trapped at the lowest end of the value chain. A farmer grows coffee, but another country builds the brand. A farmer produces fruit, but another company controls the packaging and export relationship.
A farmer raises livestock, but higher-value processing and distribution happen elsewhere. We can, therefore, increase production without necessarily increasing national wealth at the same rate. This is not about competing with Kenya but learning from its success.
The East African Community should help Uganda build stronger regional supply chains and reach global markets. Government must also address the gaps in certification, storage, financing, packaging, transport, standards and export capacity that keep Ugandan products off international shelves.
Agricultural policy cannot be judged simply by how many tonnes are produced. It should also be measured by the income reaching farmers, the jobs created through processing, the number of Ugandan companies involved in exports and the foreign exchange earned from finished and semi-finished products.
Uganda is not going to stop producing tomorrow, and neither should we expect our farmers to wait indefinitely for better opportunities. The population is growing, the demand for jobs is growing, and pressure on land and household incomes is increasing.
Our agricultural policy, therefore, needs to look beyond the next budget cycle and build the capacity to compete over the next 20 or 30 years. The issue is not simply how much Uganda can produce.
It is whether Ugandans can build the businesses, brands, processing capacity and export networks that turn that production into lasting economic value. Until we capture more of that value, increasing production alone will not be enough.
The writer belongs to People’s Reform Uganda
The post Uganda must capture more value from what it produces appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.
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