Second Season: Government Announces Date for Harvesting Vanilla

Minister of State for Agriculture Fred Bwino Kyakulaga announced January 5, 2022, as the date for harvesting vanilla for the second season of 2021.

Vanilla is a high-value horticulture crop grown and used as a flavoring agent in beverages, confectionaries, and pharmaceuticals.

It is currently grown in about 28 districts in the central, western, and eastern regions of the country.

According to the minister, Uganda's annual production over the last five years has oscillated between 27 Metric tonnes and 91 metric tonnes, and the country has the potential to grow this to 300MT annually in the next 3-4 years.

"With an average production of about 81MT per year over the last 10 years, Uganda just supplies about 5% of world demand," the minister said.

Due to its high price, there are several malpractices along the vanilla value chain. These include theft, thuggery, robbery, murders, immature harvesting, handling, and processing, which compromise the overall quality of the final vanilla product that is put on the market. Poor quality of vanilla ultimately affects the prices that are offered for Uganda’s vanilla by international buyers. Consequently, the actors including farmers earn less.

The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has partnered with the promoters of vanilla, namely: Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the vanilla exporters association of Uganda (VANEX), UVAN, and farmers -- to identify and popularize strategies that reduce the malpractices along the vanilla value chain to improve the quality and profitability of Uganda’s vanilla.