Banana is an important livelihood source for more than 12 million smallholder farmers in Uganda. Despite this contribution, its productivity continues to decline due to Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW). Cultural practices have been deployed to effectively control BXW but require a continuous and timely application, thus, prompting scientists to develop genetically modified (GM) bananas which display BXW resistance or tolerance. With prospects for commercialization of these GM bananas on the agenda, this paper applied a Contingent Valuation Method to assess producer acceptance of GM banana suckers among 233 banana producing households. Results show that producers were willing to pay between Ugandan shillings (UGX) 1100 to 1700 (US$0.28-0.44) per GM banana sucker Annual demand for GM banana suckers ranged from 70 to 82 million suckers. The results suggest that, in the event of not commercializing BXW-resistant GM bananas, Uganda loses an annual revenue ranging from UGX 76 to 139 billion (US$ 19.51 to 35.70 million).

Xanthomonas wilt (XW) of banana caused by Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum (Xvm) is an important emerging and non-curable infectious disease which can cause up to 100% yield loss. At the start of the XW epidemic, complete uprooting of diseased mats (CMU) was recommended. There was little adoption of CMU, especially by women farmers, because it was labor-intensive and it sacrificed banana production for up to 2 years. CMU assumed that infection on a single plant would systemically spread to all plants in a mat. However, field experiments showed that Xvm did not spread systemically in a mat and that latent infections occurred. As a result, not all shoots on an infected plant show symptoms. This led to the idea of removing only the visibly infected banana plants, referred to as single diseased stem removal (SDSR). The SDSR package comprises three innovations: (1) regularly cutting symptomatic stems at ground level, (2) sterilizing cutting tools with fire, and (3) early male bud removal using a forked stick. The SDSR package was promoted jointly with a set of complementary practices: (i) avoiding infections by browsing animals, (ii) using clean planting materials, (iii) bending leaves at the petiole level when intercropping in infected fields, (iv) training on disease recognition and epidemiology, and (v) demand-specific extension and knowledge sharing. Several approaches that have been used for scaling out XW management technologies are documented in this chapter. This review looks at the process, practices, challenges, lessons learned, and future policy implications associated with scaling of XW management practices.

Smallholder livestock farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa are racing against time to find cheaper, nutritious, and sustainable feed alternatives to the more pronounced and expensive commercial concentrates amidst the increasing global demand for livestock products. Lately, many prominent feed conservation technologies have been developed, with a notable example being the sweetpotato silage technology that turns wasted sweetpotato components into a palatable and nutritious livestock feed. However, despite the potential benefits associated with these technologies, the level of demand and acceptance among smallholder farmers remains largely unknown. Thus, this paper assesses the farmer demand and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for sweetpotato silage-based diet as pig feed by smallholder farmers in Uganda. The information for the study was collected through secondary data review and semi-structured interviews to assess farmer WTP. The 256 semi-structured interviews were randomly drawn from 16 purposive clusters formed at a radius of 3 km around 16 farmers piloting sweetpotato silage-based diets for pig feed. The results show that pig farming is mainly the responsibility of women, with farmers’ mean willingness-to-pay price amounting to 0.20 USD per kilogram of sweetpotato silage-based diet. At the mean price, the annual demand for silage was estimated at 17,679 tons, with a market potential of approximately 3.59 million USD. The study concludes that, at the mean willingness-to-pay price, there is a substantial market potential that can be exploited by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) venturing in the livestock feed industry.

PurposeThere is widespread belief that intermediaries in African agri-food value chains have disproportionate market power. In this paper, the authors examine this belief by uncovering the purchasing and selling prices, costs and profit margins by farmers, intermediaries and retailers in the matooke (cooking banana) value chain in Uganda, and by analysing the prevailing value chain and market structures, seasonal entry and exit dynamics and the trading relationships in the chain.Design/methodology/approachData for this study were collected along the trading routes from the main matooke producing districts in South-West Uganda (Kabarole, Bunyangabo, Bushenyi, Isingiro and Mbarara) to the main urban markets around the capital Kampala. A structured survey was administered with 383 producers, 172 collectors and wholesalers and 71 retailers. In addition, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were held.FindingsThe authors find that price mark-ups by intermediaries (selling prices minus purchasing prices) vary with the type of intermediary, season and location but generally reflect the costs of moving matooke down the value chain to the urban consumer. The authors do not find evidence for disproportionate market power among the intermediaries in the chain. Intermediaries enter and exit the market in peak and off-peak season, such that profits are kept in check. This seasonality does imply a small shift in market power in favour of farmers in off-peak season and in favour of intermediaries in the peak season.Research limitations/implicationsThe investigation concentrated on an important and relatively homogenous staple crop along its main trade route. More remote areas, where there is less of an abundance of matooke, might still be characterised by local monopsonies where intermediaries have more market power due to high search and transport costs. Similarly, (local) monopsonies might exist for products for which there is a smaller market (segment), for products with a stronger seasonal variation in supply and for more perishable products.Originality/valueWhile there is an important literature on the role of intermediaries in African agri-food value chains, the evidence on intermediary market power is scant. Beliefs on intermediary market power are largely based on anecdotal evidence from farmers or inferred from observed prices or market structures. The paper contributes in addressing this important knowledge gap by studying the matooke value chain in Uganda.

No abstract