Simsim cultivation

Simsim cultivation is ideally suited to the West Nile, especially within the Nile belt itself as it grows well in warm areas with little rainfall. Simsim is an erect annual herbaceous plant whose height varies between 1m to 2mand takes 3 to 5 months to grow depending on the variety, and flowers continuously until harvest. The West Nile has two rainy seasons and so, it is possible to grow two simsim crops per year.

This crop which we inspected yesterday (13 September 2016) had been planted about 3 to 4 weeks ago) and will be ready for harvest in late November/December 2016

  

The crop needs to be harvested before capsules start shattering. It is a simple crop to harvest and this is done by hand using a knife when leaves turn yellowish or have been shade.  Once cut, the stems are dried on a simple A-frame rack with the seed heads towards the ground. Once the cut stems are dry, beat them up to release the seeds.

 

The simsim market is currently strong and the farmers are able to sell their crop from about UGS 3,500 per kilo (i.e. about £0.80 per kilo).  Caritas has encouraged the farmers to work together and pool their simsim before sale and so they are able to negotiate higher prices at market because they are selling in greater quantities.  Looking to the future, Caritas is currently preparing a proposal to construct secure and dry storage for the dried simsim.  This will enable the farmers to pool their crops and sell when the market is at its strongest.