Encouraged by their counterparts’ success in Kenya, farmers in Uganda are venturing into macadamia nuts farming.

Stephen Sematiko, an engineer who was introduced to the nuts aboard a Kenya Airways flight in 2001, ventured into subsistence macadamia farming but was not aware of the profitability of the venture.

“I got seedlings from South Africa and Kenya, but later settled for those from Kenya because of the similarity of the country’s climatic conditions with Uganda,” he said.

Currently, Mr Sematiko heads an association of macadamia farmers in Uganda that runs an orchard and nursery on 12 acres planted with the crop and another 22 acres in the process of being planted in Kiteka village, Gayaza, about 25km from Kampala.

“We have about 14,000 seedlings, and a substantial number of ready-to-plant trees,” he said.

The nursery and orchard were mooted to showcase macadamia farming to interested farmers and to grow seedlings for sale.

Interested farmers are also educated on how the trees can be intercropped with other crops like coffee.

Martin Githaiga, a Kenyan expert in macadamia farming, was hired by the association three years ago to supervise the nursery at inception until the seedlings were ready for transplanting.

“We realise a germination rate of about 60 per cent. But the whole nursery process up to the ready-to-plant stage takes about 18 months. When the plant is transferred to the farm, it will take at least three years before a first harvest is realised,” said Mr Githaiga, an agriculturalist and former employees of Kenya Farmnut, one of the leading producers of macadamia nuts in East Africa.

According to Mr Githiaga, the macadamia trees in Uganda were yielding more fruit than those in Kenya, which points to better harvest for Ugandan farmers.

“A mature tree produces about seven kilogrammes of nuts per day in Kenya, but in Uganda we have trees that produce up to 10 kilogrammes,” he said.

Currently, the Kiteka Macadamia Farm run by the association produces five tonnes of nuts annually. These are exported raw for processing or consumed locally in the hospitality industry at Ush2,500 ($1.3) per kilogramme.

Mr Sematiko told The East African that plans are underway to build a factory to process the nuts that are currently sold to processors in Kenya.

“We are in the process of getting a grant of about $600,000 that we shall use for putting up the factory in the course of next year,” he said.

However, a lack of credit for subsistence farmers is impeding the crops’ penetration in the country’s farming community.

The credit is mostly required by women groups in the rural areas with an interest in the crop and who have been trained by the association on best planting practices but cannot raise capital to buy seedlings, currently selling Ush10,000 ($5.7) per tree.

Juliana Semujuzi, who belongs to a women’s savings group, said, “There are many middlemen involved in profitable agriculture and we cannot do much about it. We appreciate the crop and want to grow it, but our incomes are low and most of us are widows who have to provide for our families,” she said.

The market for nuts has been growing steadily in Uganda with the hospitality industry being the biggest buyer. Macadamia nuts are being increasingly used in cocktail events and in in-flight catering.

They are also a sought after raw material in the confectionery and cosmetics industries as they contain nutrients like unsaturated fat, protein, vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, copper, zinc, selenium, phosphorous and potassium.

Kenya, which has been growing and exporting macadamia nuts for decades has seen an increased in household incomes especially in Central Kenya, where the nuts are extensively grown.

The biggest markets for the country’s crop are Europe and China, and in 2005 the price shot past $1 a kilo. Macadamia nuts are, however, still considered a non-traditional export crop.

Uganda’s Finance Minister Ezra Suruma said, “The government will support a loan guarantee scheme for commercial banks that provide credit to agricultural and agro-processing projects. The scheme will guarantee 50 per cent of the lending. This will support value addition activities by agro-processors outside the designated industrial parks.”

Farmers in Uganda still suffer credit constraints despite the government’s announcement in the current budget that it would share the risk with commercial banks that give loans to agriculture projects.