65
13/14
Assumptions;
·
Cost of establishment andmaintenance of mother garden considered, unit cost of a cutting isUgx 100
·
Mortality rate is about 20%
·
Period from cuttings to ready for sale plant is 9months
A major factor to note was that when cutting materials were planted out into the field, they took a shorter time to come
into production i.e. twelvemonths compared to elitematerials which take eighteenmonths. During focus group discussions,
farmers revealed that they could harvest amaximumof 5Kgper tree established from a cutting compared to amaximumof 2
Kg from a tree established from an elitematerial in the first five years after establishment. Although high yielding, coffee trees
established fromcuttings require intensivemanagement compared to treesestablished fromelitematerialsmaking it difficult for
farmerswithout propermanagement to select them for replanting.
Marketinganddistributionof plantingmaterials
Coffeeplantingmaterial’s supply chain startswith research (NaCORI) at Kituuzawhere initial development ofmaterials is done.
Thepropagatedmaterialsof bothclonal andCWD tolerantmaterials aredistributed in formof cleanhealth leaves, cuttings and
tissue culture plantlets for further multiplication to conventional nurseries producing elite and clonal cuttings and tissue culture
plantlets.
The distribution of plantingmaterial goes through three (3) main channels;
(i)
Seeds are supplied by UCDA registered and certified seed producers to the nursery operators who produce elite
plantingmaterialswhicharesold toUCDA. Theseedlingsare laterdistributed toseveral farmers throughout thecountry.
(ii)
Cutting of the susceptible clones are distributed to nursery operators to establishmother gardens fromwhichmore
cuttingsofplantingmaterialsaresoldbynurseryoperators toUCDA throughcontractordersalthoughnurseryoperators
remain with the responsibility of delivering them to farmers or farmer groups at selected centres. In addition coffee
buying companies, NGOs andpoliticians buy plantingmaterials for distribution to farmers
(iii)
UCDAcontractedaTissueCulture laboratory toproduceCWD tolerantmaterials; In vitroplantletsproducedby theTC
laboratorywere delivered toNaCORI for hardening andweaning. The plantswere distributed to nursery operators in
the country to establish CWD tolerant mother gardens whichwill later be used to produce cuttings for distribution to
farmers. This channel is yet tobe completed since themother gardens have not reachedmaturity toproduce cuttings
for propagation.
3.3.5 Challenges andproposed solutions for nurseryoperators
The key challenges and proposed solutions under production are given inTable 8
Table 8: KeyChallenges andproposed solutions: Production
Challenge
Proposed solution
High seedling mortality rates (20%); Most nursery operators especially
those supplyingcuttingsand tissueculturematerialshavenotmastered
the technologies thus recordinghighseedlingmortality rates. Inaddition,
there are poor structures/systems (shade, irrigation, and equipment),
poor seed quality (for Elite materials) that cause low germination in
the seedbed. Weather changes are also affecting nurseries through
unpredictable rainfall.
Before supply contracts are signed between
UCDA and nursery operators, proper assessment
of technical and financial capability should be
carriedout to reduce futurecomplaints. Inaddition,
continuous monitoring of nursery facilities should
take place to assess readiness to supply the
following season.
Expensive investment materials (US$358,000); At establishment stage,
nursery operators have to spend a lot of money onmaterials especially
for tissue culture production systems.
Since initial investment is high, UCDA should sign
large supply contracts with nursery operators to
takecareof agreedminimumnumbers (2,000,000)
of seedlings to run nursery facilities at a profitable
level.
Poor quality or adulterated pesticides; There are so many fake/
adulteratedmaterials on themarket which operators are not aware of,
this leads to high seedlingmortality rates. However, pesticides of good
quality are very expensive hence unaffordable.
Nursery operators within a district should form
an association in order to access services which
reduce costs and enhance linkages to reliable
service providers.
High labour costs; there are a fewpeople ready towork and thismakes
demand for labour go high consequently pushing labour charges high.
Proper training and retaining of skilled labour
need to be emphasized compared to continuous
searching for cheap labour.
Keymarketing and distribution challenges and proposed solutions are presented in Table 9. Late payment and high transport
costs duringdistributionwere identified as themost important challenges affecting nursery operators
