Page 165 - AFAP Success Stories 2020

The voice of the community on farmers and sell it in different parts in Kampala. However,
COVID-19 in Uganda 5 years down the road the market was flooded with Maize
that profits were not coming in as usual. She then came
The situation
up with a plan to mill the maize and sale the flour.
As the cases of COVID 19 in Uganda shoot to 446 as of
31 May 2020. The president extended the lockdown to 14
days on the 14th of May 2020 from a 35 days’ lockdown Impact of COVID 19 on Mobuku
period. He allowed wholesalers, hardware shops, garages, Farmers Store
warehouses, metal/wood workshops, insurance providers, With COVID 19 spreading rapidly in Uganda, Mobuku
lawyers (30 maximum) and restaurants (serving take- farmers store has begun to feel the impacts of the
away) to reopen but kept schools, airports and borders pandemic on both its input sales and output market.
closed. Movement of people including use of public and When the government closed boarders and stopped
private vehicles and use of motorcycles are still restricted movement from Congo and Uganda, Stella has not been
to a total lockdown of 14 days ending 20th May, 2020. The able to sale her maize to her Largest market Congo. Before
7pm curfew is still instituted and the only cars allowed the closure, she had sold over 60 tons of Maize worth
to move before and beyond that time are cargo planes, Seventy two Million Uganda shillings (approximately
lorries/trucks, pickups and trains.
20,000USD) but now she is barely selling any Maize.
In his speech on the 14th of May, the President advised The measures put in place by government has made it
essential services to either hire a bus for their staff to and very difficult for farmers to travel to her shop. Most of
from work, camp at their places of work, cycle or walk to Stella’s customers are from Mountain Rwenzori which is
avoid the spread of disease. Similarly, he said that anyone about 33.2kms from Kasese Town. Since her truck cannot
living in his/her home must wear a cloth face mask navigate the impassable roads around the mountain, she
whenever they are in public because the virus rides on hires bodabodas (Motorcycles) to move her products to
the droplets.
her customers and yet the cost of moving the products
is high and the transport charge is now 50,000 shillings
(approximately 14$) which is twice the normal pay.
The drive
Upon realizing that products such as fertilizers were rare It’s been difficult for Stella to access her shop. The 15km
to get in the market, Ngategire Stella set foot to start her trek from her home to her shop takes her about an hour
Mobuku farmers store in 1994 so that she could bring to reach her business. This coupled with the 7am and
services nearer to the farmers. Mobuku Farmers store is 7pm curfew instituted by government leaves her with
located at the heart of Kasese town and nears the boarder little time to invest in her business.
of Congo and Uganda. As her business started to grow,
she realized that most of the farmers buying seed from The recent heavy rains in Kasese have caused the bridge at
her, didn’t have where to sell their produce. Determined, River Nyamwamba to burst cutting off Kasese-Fort Portal
Stella embarked on a journey to buy Maize from her main road. This has further complicated the situation for

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