Member of Parliament for Koboko James Boliba Baba, who also doubles as the State Minister for Internal Affairs, has asked cocoa farmers to buy cocoa seedlings certified by the National Seed Certification Service.
He adds that farmers will be granted good yields at the end of the season.
Baba who is also a cocoa farmer in his home district in Koboko said that according to recent reports, Uganda earns over $100 million annually from cocoa exports, with the industry undergoing rapid growth in recent years, producing revenue exceeding $296 million based on increased production volume by the end of 2024.
He said that cocoa growing was being done in Budibugyo, Mayuge, Mukono, Buikwe, Masindi, Hoima, Jinja, Mubende, Mpigi, Luweero and Kasese, but it has spread to all districts of Uganda because the crop has been commercialised.
Member of Parliament for Koboka James Boliba Baba during the event. (Photos by Jovita Mirembe)
‘‘Currently, a kilogram of dry cocoa beans costs sh27,000-sh 31,000, while freshly harvested cocoa beans cost sh25,000. However, the price of dry cocoa beans depends on its quality and the location where it was grown. A cocoa farmer cannot achieve this price if they use substandard seedlings,’’ Baba said.
Kenneth Adeu, the project manager of Dynamic Markets for Farmers Project (DMF) said cocoa growing has increased farmers’ incomes through growing it on a commercialised scale from subsistence farming.
Bent Andersen, the chairman of Cocoa Exporters Association Uganda (CEAU) said that cocoa is the major cash crop in Ghana and Ivory Coast but cocoa farmers in those countries haven’t benefited much because their governments regulate the prices of the crop.
He said that for Uganda’s case, the price of cocoa is primarily determined by the forces of supply and demand in the global market which has helped cocoa farmers to benefit, support their families and have good lives.
This was at the official close-out of the Dynamic Markets for Farmers (DMF) project and the launching of the Horti-markets Dynamic Uganda (HMD) project that took place at Mestil Hotel and Residence on February 27.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Kenneth Aedu (right) project manager DMF educating guest about how cocoa growing has benefited farmers in various areas in Uganda.
