By Stephen Nuwagira
Bigirwa Apolo, a vanilla farmer in Kashangura, Kagongo Division, Ibanda district has ready vanilla pods, but there are no buyers as the harvest period opened on Monday.
Unknown to him is the fact that traders have not yet got licences from the district production department, permitting them to buy the vanilla. Securing operational licences was one of the key resolutions agreed on by the district, vanilla buyers and farmers during a sector meeting last week.
However, no firm had secured one by 10:00am on Monday, according to district principal agriculture officer Peter Abaho. Later at 4:000pm, he said three firms had started buying the pods, but didn’t say which centres they were operating from.
Annet Byamukama, a vanilla farmer from Mishangi, Nyakatookye in Kagongo Division, Ibanda municipality, said buyers were paying shillings 5,000 per kilo.
“I have not taken mine because no buying centres were opened. Those buying were doing it illegally and against the resolutions we agreed on during a stakeholders meeting last week,” Byamukama said.
She was one of the people on the district committee selected last week to oversee the vanilla sector.
The meeting resolved that buying of vanilla would be in selected centres, by only people with licences from the district.
Another member, Lawrence Twesigye, said the committee did not know what is taking place because a meeting that was supposed to kick-start the buying process never took place. He explained that the meeting was supposed to plan for the opening of the harvest season and identify buying centres.
Tito Mugabe, the agriculture officer for Ishongororo sub-county, had not given out any permit by the close of working day.
He was also unaware of any vanilla buying centre in the sub-county. We have been waiting for the traders, but we haven’t got any today in the sub-county,” he said.
In the meantime, farmers are waiting unsure of where to sell the pods.
