Bundibugyo to get 450,000 apple seedlings

Farmers in Bundibugyo District are to receive 450,000 apple seedlings to boost their household income.
In preparation, officials from Ministry of Agriculture, Naads and National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) visited Kasese, Bundibugyo and Kabarole districts to train agricultural officers, extension workers and farmers in apple growing.
In Bundibugyo, those trained were from Sindila, Harugale, Bukonzo, Ndugutu, Kasitu and Ngamba sub-counties.
These will, in turn, train other farmers. Topics covered were orchard establishment, land preparation, planting, inducing dormancy, defoliation, pruning, pests and disease management.

Partnership
According to Grace Kazigati from Naads, government plans to pilot apple growing in three districts of Rwenzori region.
She said 450,000 seedlings will be supplied to registered farmers in Bundibugyo District in August.
“Naads and Operation Wealth Creation working in partnership with Naro and Bamwe Agri-technologies (from Rukungiri District) to make apple farming a success,” said Kazigati.
Denis Ashaba, one of the trainers from Naro’s Kackwekano research institute, noted the suitable conditions in the Rwenzori region for growing apples .
“Most of its areas are more than 1,500 metres above sea level, which is one of the criteria we use in selecting the districts,” he said.
To promote apples, there will be a sensitisation campaign to raise awareness about the fruit and its values to the farmers in the entire region, who will be targeted to take part in the initiative.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Why farmers need traning in value addition

Post-harvest food losses in Uganda are mainly experienced by two categories of farmers—the producers of rapidly perishable foodstuffs such as bananas, vegetables, fruits, milk, and vegetables—and the producers of semi-perishable items such as onions, ginger, yams, cassava and potatoes.

Most of this loss occurs mainly because majority of the farmers lack skills in treatment of their raw crops so as to improve their storage, quality and safety—otherwise known as value addition.

Upon harvesting their crops, farmers become anxious about disposing of them as soon as possible before they get spoiled. The consumers and middlemen take advantage of the situation by paying low prices to the anxious farmers.
Seasonal crops like mangoes are usually in abundance during some months of the year and are in acute short supply in other months.

During the peak season, the farmers are paid low prices and during off-season months, they have no mangoes to sell. This also happens with other farmed products like bananas, pineapples, jack-fruits and vegetables.

Yet if such farmers are introduced to skills such as making banana or mango crisps, they would have alternative markets for the products. They would even sell them at higher prices and earn more money all the year round.
Banana crisps have a much longer shelf life than fresh bananas. Transportation to far-off markets is a lot easier since they are not as heavy as fresh bananas. Consumers feel safer eating the crisps because in their dry condition, they are free from disease-causing micro-organisms.

This is also true for fruits such as jackfruit, pineapples and mangoes. Fresh jackfruit has a lot of sap, which make fingers dirty and sticky but dried jackfruit has no sap.
Farmers groups should be encouraged to buy solar driers and other equipment to preserve fruits, which they may package and sell to supermarkets at higher prices.

Alternatively, they could set up shops to sell their dried products. These shops and drying centres would provide job opportunities since they would require human labour.

E-mail: ssalimichaelj@gmail.com

Bee venom collector shines new hope for Uganda

Experiencing a bee sting could be the last thing on your mind but if you have ever been stung by a bee, you already have first-hand experience of the basics of extraction of bee-venom, which is used for apitherapy.
The only difference between the sting you got and the therapeutic kind is that yours might have been accidental.

Well, bee venom therapy is a slowly but steadily growing trend in Uganda. In addition to honey, local bee keepers are starting to harvest bee venom more so with home grown innovations.
The Ugandan version of the bee venom collector manufactured by Malaika Honey is yet another technology that is to take the industry to a whole new level.
Speaking to Daily Monitor, Semanda Martin, manager at Forever Forestry at Lubowa said, “I have always wanted to exploit bees beyond just honey but I didn’t know how to get the venom collector until I learnt that there was a Ugandan company that makes them,”

“The reason is that a growing number of people in Uganda are now beginning to use non-conventional methods of treatment. This is understandable, because the use of drugs is often expensive, and they are not always effective. So we are now turning to the bees for their venom,” he added.

While the venom collector machine from South Korea will cost about $2,000 (Shs6.5m), the Ugandan version goes for just Shs600,000 with a guarantee of two years.
Unlike honey which is a little cheaper, bee farmers are set to reap big from this line of the value chain as venom pays almost triple than other bee products.

For instance, while a kilogram of honey goes for an estimated Shs10,000 one gram of venom is currently at Shs60,000 on the local market. It will also be exhibited during the national honey week due in August in Kampala.

Lilian Ahairwe, Malaika Honey communications officer, explained that the bee venom collector works on the principle of irritation of bees as the device is divided into mechanical and electrical parts, the tiny low voltage electric wires run over a clear thin sheet of glass.
The bee will sting through the wires on the smooth glass surface releasing the toxin but not pulling out the barb, so the bee will live on.
“When irritated or in shock, the bees do what naturally comes to them—sting and release the bee venom,”
Bee venom contains melittin, histamine, peptides and other biogenic amines that have been used to treat arthritis and other painful conditions. According to a 2013 report by Washington University School of Medicine, bee venom destroys HIV and spares surrounding cells. It has also become very popular in the west as an anti-ageing cream.

How to collect bee venom

-Connect the device to the battery
-Take the machine close to the hive entrance
-Make sure the bees are aggressive, if they are not try to disturb them by either knocking or shaking the hive
-Leave the machine at the entrance for about 40 minutes to one hour
-Switch off the venom collector, remove the machine and rub off the bees with a bee brush
-Turn off the electric wires on top of the machine and scrub the venom of the screen using a hive tool
-Store the venom in a clean dark container

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Students report to closed universities

Countrywide.

Students in various government universities were yesterday seen loitering around their campuses, clustered in groups sitting or moving in and out of universities hoping to start the new semester.
Although some university administrators said they had heeded a call by the Education minister, Ms Janet Museveni, and vice chancellors to re-open, there were no signs of chefs preparing meals for the resident students. Non-teaching staff instead carried on with the strike.

At Makerere University, students were stranded as most buildings were locked up while at Gulu University, their counterparts arrived to find a placard indicating that non-teaching staff were still on strike. At Kyambogo, student leaders were welcoming new learners.

The strike in the five public institutions of Makerere, Busitema, Gulu, Kyambogo and Mbarara started about two weeks ago when the non-teaching staff laid down their tools demanding that the government clears their outstanding salary enhancement arrears amounting to Shs28 billion.

However, President Museveni vowed last weekend not to divert funds he said are meant for the construction of roads to pay the non-teaching staff.

No headway
Although Ms Museveni assured striking students in a meeting on Monday that Makerere would open yesterday, the university remained closed.

Some 10 students sat adjacent to the Main Building waiting as they waited a council meeting which would announce the university’s opening date. Students were expected to strike if Makerere was not opened.

At Mitchell Hall, a mattress and a suitcase were placed at the entrance. At Makerere Police Station, Mr Joseph Anywar, a new student admitted to Bachelor of Social and Entrepreneurial Forestry, who is to reside in Nkrumah Hall, is stranded after travelling from Butambala District yesterday morning.

“I heard on radio and TV that the university is opening today. In the morning, I came. They should open the university so that we study,” he said.

At Nanziri Girls’ Hall in Kyambogo, opposite the Senate Building, a student was acting as custodian, welcoming and recording new students.

When asked where the new students would be finding meals, he said: “West Ends Kitchen is open.” However, at this kitchen, there were no signs of cooking.

The university is littered with dirt, but few cleaners were seen around the campus strenuously trying to improve the university sanitation.

Most lecture rooms were still closed although lecturers’ offices were open. At the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, new students were queuing to pick reference numbers, a pre-requisite to tuition payment.

At the university Senate Building, non-teaching staff were gossiping about the ongoing strike. They were supposed to meet but their leaders were summoned for a meeting in State House.

“You can see for yourself, the university is verbally open,” one of the non-teaching staff said. The striking staff are worried that government is likely to bribe their leaders in a bid to pour cold water on their strike.

Pumpkin prices soar amid scarcity

A long dry spell that has persisted in most parts of the country has led to crop failure, leading to a rise in prices of some foodstuffs.
One of these are pumpkins. Though not consumed as a main meal, pumpkins are a major side dish in the diet of many communities; hence increasing their demand. This has pushed many farmers to adopt commercial pumpkin farming.

Besides being food, the crop has become a source of income that has helped boost the country’s agricultural economy.

However, farmers and traders have reported an acute shortage of pumpkins, which they attribute due to the long dry season experienced in April and May. This hindered many farmers from growing the crop.

From planting, pumpkins take four months to mature and harvest and need a lot of water to thrive.
Fauza Nabukeera, who buys pumpkins at farm gate and for sale to retailers and individual customers in Mukono Central Market, says the prices started going up in late June.

“Between May and early June, many farmers had a lot of pumpkins and we were buying them at a farm gate price of Shs500 for a small one and Shs1,000-Shs1,200 for a big one,” she says.
“As traders we were selling a small one at Shs1,500 and between Shs2,000 and Shs3,000 for a big one.”

However, Nabukeera explains, from last month (July), there was a short supply of pumpkins on the market leading to a drastic escalation of prices.
So, they were buying a small pumpkin at a farm gate price of Shs1,500 and a big one at Shs2,000-Shs3,000.

Effects of dry spells
Traders now sell a small pumpkin at Shs2,500-Shs3,000 and a big one at Shs5,000-Shs6,000. In some cases, she says they sell a big one at Shs8,000.
Another trader in St Balikuddembe market in Kampala, Sam Kalenzi, says he sells a big pumpkin at Shs7,000—which is up from Shs4,000 in the month of June—and for a medium size at Shs4,000—up from Shs2,000.
David Ssemukasa, a pumpkin farmer in Kiziika village, Kayunga District, also attributes increase in the prices on the recent lenghty dry spell. It devastated most crops during the previous planting season.
“Despite the current hike, there was a significant price increase between February and April due to the dry spell. During that period, for instance, a big pumpkin was going for a farm gate price of Shs3,500.”

Projections
Ssemukasa says because pumpkins do not perish easily when harvested and kept under a shade, farmers can harvest and store them during periods of surplus.
“We have learnt to preserve pumpkins for as long as two months so we can sell them at a good price. This is because a pumpkin can still be good if kept properly,” he says.
However, the projection is that with many farmers growing pumpkins, which are likely to mature between October and November, the prices are likely to fall in that period.

Where they grow
Timothy Njakasi, from Kasenge Riverford Organic Training Centre in Mbalala, Mukono District, notes that pumpkins can be grown in most parts of Uganda. However, he says there are fewer farmers growing them exclusively on a commercial scale.
“Most farmers prefer to grow them mixed with other crops such as cassava, bananas and other crops,” he says.

Numbers

2,500
minimum price for a small-size pumpkin

4,000

minimum price for a medium-size pumpkin

5,000
minimum price for a large-size pumpkin

fmuzale@ug.nationmedia.com

Ochaya valued at Sh1b

By DENIS BBOSA

KAMPALA.

Uganda Cranes left-back Joseph Ochaya has just gained more value with the Uganda Premier league MVP award. It is not surprising that KCCA are not about to let their star depart for a cheap.

Club CEO David Tamale told Daily Monitor yesterday that they received an approval letter form South African giants Bidvest Wits over the weekend confirming that Ochaya had successfully passed the one-week trials.

“We are now in final negotiations with them over the final transfer fee but we are not desperate to sell because we have many other offers from Europe. As management, we are still settling for the right price but we believe he is worth $300,000 (Shs1.1b),” he said.

KCCA chairman Julius Kabugo admitted they are still cautiously deliberating on the right price to sell Ochaya.
“We have to consider a lot of issues before we put pen to paper. Attributes like the player’s age, playing position and the possibility of being sold to another big club by Wits will have to count,” he said.

Ochaya, in his mid-twenties, said that he was thrilled by the friendly environment at Wits during his trial period and eagerly looks forward for a professional stint with them.

“Their technical staff were impressed when I played 45 minutes against Golden Arrows. In the next three friendly games I played, they treated me as their own. I feel this is the right place to relaunch my professional career,” he told Daily Monitor yesterday. Other Uganda Cranes stars; Farouk Miya and Moses Oloya recently cost $400,000(Shs1.3b) each for their moves to Belgium and Russia respectively.

advertisement

She left her job, competed in barista challenge, and won

Fortune favours the prepared so goes the saying. When Sheila Tusiime enrolled for a coffee barista challenge, she started seriously thinking of getting back in business. Her boutique business had just collapsed.
She always bought newspapers to search for opportunities. One day, she saw an advert about a coffee barista challenge. She applied, was shortlisted for a training, and thereafter placed for internship at 1000 Cups, a coffee shop in the city and then at Prunes, an eatery in Kololo.
After some time, Tusiime left her job, and was at home as she pondered her next move. She had saved some money from her salary.

Boosted her confidence
The initial idea was to start a mobile money business but on second thought, she decided that starting a coffee shop would earn her better income.The training had opened her up to opportunities in the coffee sector.
Without enough money but a dream, the 25-year-old started scouting for a place where she would set up a coffee shop.
Tusiime was confident that she would be among winners in the challenge. That hope boosted her confidence.
She finally located a space within an established restaurant in Kireka.
And things got better. On Monday afternoon, August 15, Tusiime was announced winner of the barista challenge during a graduation event for coffee baristas, who had completed a training.

Planning is vital
Star Café partnered with Usaid Feed the Future Commodity Production and Marketing Activity (CPM), and Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) to make the training possible.
Tusiime scored 126 points to beat off competition from 40 contenders. She won a cash prize of Shs1.5m.
“Respect is useful as part of your marketing. Financial planning is important. Acknowledge when you make a loss but importantly, you need to save. Know and plan when to buy coffee,” advised Hannington Karuhanga of Savannah Commodities, who is also UCDA board chairman.
In his speech, he promised to give 20 kilos of coffee to each of the graduating baristas.
So, in the end, everyone was a winner but it is double happiness for the graduate of Uganda College of Commerce in Kabale.
“I made my cappuccinos right and I knew I would win,” an elated Tusiime said as she got hugs and congratulatory messages from her colleagues.

More rewards
The runners up in the challenge were Abdullah Sebaale who was second, and Emmanuel Olum, who came third. They won Shs1m each.
The judges looked out for flavour, test and standard temperature.
Star Café gave mobile coffee kiosks to 15 of the 40 coffee baristas who graduated. These were identified as the top 15 best performers from the training.
The purpose is a means of increasing youth employment and domestic coffee consumption in Uganda.

Passion and innovation
Earlier, there was a showcase of skills by baristas who, in 15 minutes, prepared and served coffee to guests.
The event included first-hand personal stories from guest speakers to inspire the young graduates. These include Gerald Katabazi, one of the pioneer coffee baristas, and Amos Wekesa, the managing director, Great Lakes Safaris.
In her remarks to close the ceremony, state minister for gender and culture Peace Mutuuzo, who represented the Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, implored youth to be driven by passion and innovation in their enterprises.

rbatte@ug.nationmedia.com