Gaps in expectations of a cotton producer: the case of Rwenzori cotton farmers in Uganda

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/jfairtrade.2.2.0019
• Pages: 19-23
• Published date: 01 June 2021
• Date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Yorokamu K. Abainenamar
• Subject Matter: migrant farmer,RWEFAMACOS,value chain,ownership rights,lint,traceability,strategy,integration,gaps,co-operative,Fairtrade

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Gaps in expectations of a cotton producer:

the case of Rwenzori cotton farmers in Uganda

Yorokamu K. Abainenamar

The author, Yorokamu K. Abainenamar, sadly passed away during the editing of this article. A full tribute is

available on the Journal of Fair Trade website at https://www.joft.org.uk/inspiration/inspiring-people. He

was an economist, formerly a management trainer/lecturer and coffee and cotton exporter for co-operatives

for over 25 years. He represented Africa on the Board of Fairtrade/FLO, Bonn, and was founder chairman

of Fairtrade Africa. He worked with the TJX Rwenzori Sustainable Trade Strategy/Project as Strategic and

Commercial Advisor/Consultant (2012–2019). He supported the formation and value chain development of

over 30 producer co-operative organisations in Eastern Africa. Abainenamar achieved a Master of Economics

degree from the University of Birmingham, UK, and a Bachelor of Statistics and Applied Economics degree

from Makerere University, Kampala. He held certificates in international coffee trade and cotton trade from

Coffee Federation, London and Liverpool Cotton Association, UK. He gained several other certificates in

international trade and export promotion from ITC/UNCTAD/GATT. He will be dearly missed.

Abstract

The plight of the smallholder cotton farmer in the Rwenzori region of western Uganda starts

with the unfair terms of hiring land for cultivation. The next hurdle is the loss of ownership of

the cotton at the earliest stage of the value chain after delivering the produce to the ginner.

Even the Fairtrade standards base the minimum price for the farmer on delivery of seed cotton

at the ginnery, implying that the farmer is not expected to participate in the value chain and

share the accruing value additions further up the chain. However, members of the Rwenzori

Farmers’ marketing Co-operative Society decided to move a step up the value chain by hiring

the ginning services and, hence, retained the ownership of both the lint and cotton seed, which

improved their income by at least 30 per cent. The strategy is to find investors to enable them

to spin the cotton and manufacture the final products.

Keywords: migrant farmer; RWEFAMACOS; value chain; ownership rights; lint; traceability;

strategy; integration; gaps; co-operative; Fairtrade

Introduction

The cotton producers in the Rwenzori region of western Uganda are mainly migrant farmers whose permanent

homes are in the hard-to-reach areas of the Rwenzori mountain ranges (Mountains of the Moon). These areas are

not only hard to reach but they lack some key amenities of life such as motor-able roads, clean drinking water and

sanitation, adequate schools and health facilities. At the beginning of each cotton growing season, the farmers

come down the mountains to the rift valley and hire land for cotton growing. As Mr Friday Muhindo (first chairman

of the co-operative) said in 2013 in the group formation meeting: ‘we grew up with our parents living this kind of

life’. In most cases, they got a raw deal from the unscrupulous agents of the landlords due to poor bargaining

power. These farmers grow and sell cotton (and coffee in the mountains) but never get reasonable income to meet

most of their basic needs. The scenic beauty of the landscape and the gardens is a great contrast to the hardships of

the farmers in producing the seed cotton. Their gardens border the Queen Elizabeth National Park which is home

to many wild animals that sometimes invade their gardens and destroy their cotton and other food crops, as well as

posing a risk to the farmers’ lives.