Breaking the silence

 

Hello ladies and Gentlemen,

I know it has been long and indeed very long since you heard from me but no worries, I am still alive and kicking like they say!

The past few months, or years have been very interesting and I had a lot to learn- maybe i may even be willing to share it with you when i am ready but for now, lets keep it like that.

There have been struggles of growing up and also academic aspirations. Let me leave the former for later and tell you about the academic bit. I got a partial scholarship to do my MBA from my former employer, the Kasiisi project (www.kasiisiproject.org) and i shall forever be grateful for they continue to do wonders in my life. And now as i speak or write, i am almost graduating though they are few hicups but nothing i can't handle.

I am currently doing my research on the factors affecting the sustainability of tea out growing business in Kabarole district. The driving force towards carrying out this research is because agriculture is the backbone of Uganda’s economy and with the country striving to achieve economic development, commercialization of agriculture is an inevitable venture.  One of the chief cash crops in Uganda that it can commercialize is tea. Western Uganda, Kabarole district in particular is gifted with better soils that enhance tea plantations. Tea companies such McLeods Russel (Kiko Factory), Uganda Tea Growers Corporation (UTGC) and Mukwano Tea Company (Buzirasagama Factory) is example of factories in Kabarole District.

According to Irene Kijara   (2007), in her article to the Fair Trade Foundation,  some of these factories solely depend on tea grown by local farmers at a small scale level a critical example is UTGC Mpanga Factory and other also buy tea from the local farmers to enhance their productivity. However, the small scale farmers’ sustainability of the plantations is doubtable as most of them are hypothesized to be deficit of resources such as land, human resource, agro inputs like fertilizers among others in order to expand their plantations. Such inputs are hard to acquire by majority individual small scale tea growers. As a result, this may curtail the supply of tea in some factories in future.

This study is an attempt to underscore the factors that affect sustainability of tea out grower business (small scale tea farmers) in Uganda and the specific focus will be on the tea growers in Kabarole District.  For so long, ever since the introduction of tea in the region, so many people have joined the industry to start tea outgrowing as businesses, however they do not do proper feasibility studies to find out how sustainable this can be.  One can even argue that, it could be more profitable to venture in maybe, matooke, coffee or any other cash crop on an equivalent size piece of land.

Once all that "wolokoso" is done and submitted, i will officially be heading to shop for my graduation gown. And maybe at some point if God throws me any other scholarship opportunity, as He has always done, i can try and see how it feels to be in the next level of education, is that what they call a PhD?

Till next time, keep your eyes on this page!

Yours truly,

Mathew Koojo Apuuli III