Food insecurity as a supply chain problem. Evidence and lessons from the production and supply of bananas in Uganda
Abstract
Despite
agriculture
being
the
main
economic
activity
in
Uganda,
increasing
food
prices
within
the
country
point
to
the
growing
challenge
of
food
insecurity.
In
2016,
food
short
age
was
reported
in
some
parts
of
Uganda
(mainly
in
Karamoja
sub-region
and
parts
of
Serere)
and
government
resorted
to
temporary
relief
distribution
of
food
from
other
re
gions
of
the
country.
The
acute
food
shortage
in
one
part
of
the
country
while
another
part,
a
few
hundred
kilometers
away,
has
excess
farm
output
calls
into
question
the
effi
ciency
of
the
supply
chain
of
some
agro-commodities.
This
research
attempts
to
examine
the
challenges
faced
in
the
production
and
supply
of
bananas
in
Uganda
and
how
the
supply
chain
perspective
can
help
us
address
these
challenges
better.
We
juxtapose
the
supply
chain
approach
against
the
value
chain
per
spective
and
argue
that
the
supply
chain
perspective
offers
a
much
deeper
understanding
of
market-based
challenges,
which
affect
livelihoods
of
smallholders
who
often
sell
their
products
at
rock-bottom
prices.
A
cross
sectional
survey
of
various
banana
production
and
consumptions
points
in
Uganda
was
conducted.
The
findings
show
that
losses
in
the
supply
chain
accounted
for
about
29%
of
banana
production
–a
figure
slightly
lower
than
that
40%
previously
reported
in
the
literature.
In
addition,
the
farmers
did
not
benefit
from
increased
food
prices
due
to
inadequate
market
information
at
their
disposal
despite
banana
value
chains
having
re
cently
received
significant
development
attention.
We
also
found
that
infrastructural
bot
tlenecks
and
limited
collaboration
and
coordination
among
smallholders
heavily
affected
the
supply
of
bananas
in
the
country.
This
is
arguably
a
key
factor
that
strongly
explains
the
food
insecurity
problem
in
Uganda.
We
conclude
that
the
findings
point
to
a
different
problem,
which
is
that
of
a
dysfunctional
supply
chain
structure
of
bananas
from
the
rural
areas
to
urban
centres
in
Kampala.