The Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) led by Hon. Minister of State for Agriculture Fred Bwino Kyakulaga declares the official vanilla harvest date today at Media Centre, Kampala.
Precisely, the vanilla harvest date is that where every farmer is officially allowed to harvest and sell his ready vanilla from the garden. And it the date where vanilla buyers are allowed to buy from farmers.
Any act of buying or selling vanilla before that date is announced, is a crime and it is severely punishable. That is why we have in place the Agricultural police that monitors all the processes, exposes and brings to book all culprits who may not adhere to the declared date.
The government of Uganda takes this initiative to declare the vanilla harvest dates, because it has to control the quality of vanilla that goes to the global market. The Ministry of Agriculture staff first carry out field inspections as a must to ensure that vanilla is ready with the right vanillin content that makes Ugandan vanilla of the best quality.
Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) works with organized key stakeholders who put all vanilla farmers under one umbrella to score collective goals. These include Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and The Association of the Vanilla Exporters of Uganda (VANEX) which have played a tremendous role in making sure Uganda’s vanilla quality scores high on the World market.
The vanilla declaration date is determined by critical activities such as; vanilla maturity assessment, testing for the availability of glycovanillin, pollination data collection and holding meetings with various stakeholders and coming out with the official date.
Vanilla being known as the queen of spices is the most popular flavoring agent in the world being used in many spaces like confectionaries, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages industry and many more. It has a global production of 12,226 tons.
On this, Madagascar which is the leading producer gives 78%, Uganda produces 9%, Papua New Guinea 7%, Mexico 2% and India 1%. This shows how Uganda is also a serious producer of vanilla globally.
More so, there are approximately 65,000 smallholder vanilla farmers in Uganda. These are from 38 districts across the country that include; Mukono, Kasese, Kayunga, Jinja, Buikwe, Kyenjojo, Mityana, Ntoroko, Hoima, Mpigi, Masaka, Ibanda, Kamwenge, Bushenyi, Kazo and many other districts.
Further more, it is understood that, a single vine can yield around 5-6kgs and that farmer can be able to earn around 24,00,000 at the lowest selling price of 4,000 Ugx. This same farmer also, can be able to earn around 100,000,000 Ugx if the price is at a relative price of 20,000.
These rough estimates clearly shows you that vanilla farming in Uganda is a lucrative venture, where one acre can accommodate 400 and above plants. And a sale of approximately 1400kgs can be made, including all production costs that can not exceed Ugx 10 million, a farmer will eat big after a harvest with a good price.
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This vanilla harvest date is 5th January next year 2024. And the above mentioned stakeholders that work with the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries are going to start putting farmers together and ready for a successful harvest.
“My Ministry will take strong and punitive action against anyone found harvesting or in possession of vanilla beans before the stipulated date or with possesion of green beans at any one point” Hon. Fred Bwino Kyakulaga Minister of State for Agriculture said.
