By Prossy Nandudu and Joshua Kato
Weather Major Cause Of Poor Beans Out Put
Commenting on the development, Robert Rutebemberwa the proprietor of Birya United Agencies, trading in cereals and pulses including beans, blamed the current scarcity of beans to bad weather.
“Last season there was too much rain, with much rain, most beans rot but also the quality is compromised, poorly dried beans are usuallth thrivelled, have a dull color hence cannot attract a higher price, said Rutebemberwa.
Rutembembrwa, said the rains didn’t only affect Uganda but were experienced across the region. Currently Ugandan beans are being exported to Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, S. Sudan but because of bad weather, they cannot satisfy both the internal and external demand he added.
To increase production, Rutebemberwa is calling on government to empower the private sector with facilities like affordable credit, storage facilities among others. Much as there are funds through the Agriculture Credit Facility at Bank of Uganda, he said the interest rate is still high, the same to Uganda Development Bank, the rates for the two banks are between 10 to 15%, he added.
Besides the payment period doesn’t take into account the proper farming season. “The six months are not enough, the grace period should be extended to 9 months, then the farmer will have planted, harvested, marketed so they can pay back, the shore repayment period has locked many farmers away from credit,” he explained.
He also called for seed and fertilizer subsidies to farmers, adding that in addition to capacity building among farmers in relation to quality management, among others.
