By KT Reporter
Agricultural trade experts are urging the government to introduce a labelling system for agro-ecological products to improve traceability and strengthen Uganda’s position in sustainable trade markets.
The proposal follows findings from a recent study on cross-border trade within the East African Community, which revealed major gaps in tracking agro-ecological products leaving Uganda for neighbouring market destinations in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
The study released Wednesday indicates that while conventional agricultural products are captured under the Harmonised Standard codes, data on agro-ecological production remain unclear or even unavailable.
Africa Kiiza, a lead consultant with Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) on agro-ecological trade, said monitoring of agro-ecological product flow and market performance still remains challenging, as most recorded trade figures don’t accurately reflect their movements.
Kiiza, who led the investigation, disclosed the findings during the National Multi-stakeholder meeting on Intra-EAC Trade among Agro-ecology Value Web Actors held in Bugiri Town in Bigiri District on Wednesday.
“We are proposing the creation of agro-ecological… not a mark but a label. Like you see with organic, they have the green… because organic is different from agro-ecological, we are proposing and engaging the government that maybe we should have a label that shows that this is agro-ecological,” said Kiiza.
Kiiza said the government must be intentional on the proposal to give an update on the performance of the agro-ecological products since it now has in place an agro-ecology policy.
He, however, noted that the traceability of agro-ecological products is further exacerbated by the middlemen who aggregate the produce they buy from different small-scale farmers, which leads to a loss of the agro-ecological products.
Despite limited data on agro-ecological products with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the study findings conducted among 70 small-scale traders indicated that maize and rice remain the top traded agro-ecological products at Busia and Mpondwe border markets. The Busia border in Busia District serves as a major trade route for Ugandan agricultural exports to Kenya, while the Mpondwe border in Kasese District is one of the busiest border markets between Uganda and the DRC.
For instance, records show that maize topped the chart at 146.9 tons as the most traded agro-ecological product, followed by beans at 92.6 tons and sorghum at 35 tons. Meanwhile, at the Mpondwe border, 100,000 tons of rice were traded during the study, followed by beans at 1,020.2 tons and watermelons at 96 tons.
However, according to the International Trade Centre Calculations, maize stood out as the most traded conventional product from Uganda to Kenya in 2023, as 211,642 tons were exported, fetching 59,141,000 million US Dollars.
Kiiza, however, noted that while these records of agro-ecological products are not reflected at the customs, it is highly probable that the reported data on conventional trade includes agro-ecological products.
“Imagine if we had mapped out all the agro-ecological traders…the volumes that we have on agro-ecology are basically to show that there is actually the potential of agro-ecology, to not only increase our trading, but even give us much more, because with agro-ecology, you are having zero costs on fertilizers, zero costs on pesticides,” he said.
Hakim Baliraine, the Board Director at Eastern and Southern Small Scale Farmers Forum (ESSAF) and Chairperson Board of Directors at AFSA, said the lack of clear data from the Ministry of Agriculture hinders the traceability of agro-ecological products.
Baliraine noted that it’s important for the government to give informed data on products that are produced conventionally and unconventionally, and those uncertified, to ease traceability.
“So it should be the very thing that we need to have the traceability, who is producing what? That will help to solve these issues and understand what is agro-ecological and what is not,” said Baliraine.
George Bob Sunday, a senior agricultural, food security and focal point person on organic food at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) acknowledged the need to regulate data to enable small-scale farmers to get certified. Sunday said that between 2018 and 2023, the number of small-scale farmers joining agro-ecological production increased significantly.
He explained that the government is making strides in promoting agro-ecological production through various interventions, among them the approval of the national organic agriculture policy for 2019, and the national organic agro-ecology strategy currently being finalised in the cabinet.
Sunday said organic products fetch premium prices and encouraged smallholder farmers to embrace agro-ecological production.
Wednesday’s meeting, which brought together small-scale farmers, private sector actors, development partners, civil society organisations, Traders, government ministries and agencies, sought to open opportunities for sustainable trade in agro-ecological products and services within the EAC member states.
However, cross-border traders, especially in Busia District, raised concerns over limited knowledge on agroecology among small-scale farmers, which has affected cross-border trade with their Kenyan counterparts.
Richard Barasa, the Chairperson of Busia Produce Dealers Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, called for more sensitisation among the small-scale traders, especially at the Busia Main Market, on agro-ecological production.
He, however, noted that while some small-scale traders deal in agro-ecological products, access to the Kenyan market remains a significant challenge for Ugandan traders.
Agro-ecological products comprise crops and livestock products produced using agro-ecological principles, which aim to support sustainable farming that is socially and economically fair without relying on synthetic chemicals or any practices that harm ecosystems.
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