Matooke in Kabarole District, Uganda: a Social Material Analysis
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Matooke in Kabarole district, Uganda: a social material analysis. Msc Thesis J. S. Rojas Costales August 2018 1 Matooke in Kabarole district, Uganda: a social material analysis. J. S. Rojas Costales August, 2018 Msc Thesis SDC-80430 Thesis Sociology of Development and Change Chair group: Sociology of Development and Change Supervisor: Dr. Paul Hebinck Registration Number: 880704702020 2 ABSTRACT This research analyses the Matooke market in Kabarole district, Uganda through an analysis of actors, networks and materialities. Evidence from the field showed that four different circuits compose the market: 1)the traditional market for local consumption, 2)the traditional local fragment of the regional consumption circuit, 3)the high scale circuit for regional consumption, and 4)the NGO sponsored circuits. As a way to show how these circuits are shaped and differentiated by the interaction of the actors with the materialities and social elements of the context. I base research on constructivist theories that counter both, the notions of markets being homogeneous structures driven by market forces and the perceptions of unorganised and chaotic derived from the label of 'informality" commonly used for local markets. By the use of theories about nested markets as a way to analyse each circuit, it was evident that the two traditional circuits are aligned with the characteristics of nested markets. While on the contrary, the high scale circuit for regional consumption, and the NGO sponsored circuit aim to intentionally avoid these social and material structures as well as the actors of the local setting in search for the accumulation of wealth by the relatively few actors that compose them. 3 Table of Contents Actors, and socio-material elements of the matoke market of the Kabarole district, Uganda. ........................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5 2. The matoke (Highland cooking banana) ............................................................................... 7 3. Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................ 10 3.1. Markets as social-materially constructed .................................................................... 10 3.2. Informality and culture ................................................................................................ 12 3.3. Comparing Market circuits........................................................................................... 14 3.4. General research question: .......................................................................................... 15 Which market circuits in the Matoke trade can be distinguished in the Kabarole district of Uganda? .................................................................................................................................. 15 3.5. sub research questions ................................................................................................ 15 3.6. Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 4. The Kabarole district and Matoke ............................................................................ 17 1.1. Matoke market circuits in Kabarole istrict: an overview ............................................. 20 1.1.1. Traditional market for local consumption ............................................................... 21 1.2. Traditional local fragment of the regional consumption circuit .................................. 28 1.3. High scale circuits for regional consumption ............................................................... 34 1.4. NGO sponsored circuits ............................................................................................... 38 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 43 6. Conclusion .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. References ...................................................................................................................................... 48 4 1. Introduction This thesis is set against the background of debates about markets and particularly how ‘local’ markets are understood in policy papers as an input in developing policies to restructure and reform these. In many of these policy documents, often with reference to academic papers, markets are discussed and positioned as homogenous and seen as predominantly shaped by market forces and supply and demand. These markets are far more complex than only to be understood from a demand and supply point of view. They involve different material infrastructures, different supply networks, revolve around complex social relationships involving alliances based on friendship and kinship. This is one of the reasons that the notion ‘informal’ which carries the meaning of being ‘ unorganised’ and ‘chaotic’. Such views do not only ignore that markets are underpinned by a variety of organisational and alternative economic models or that heterogeneity of markets structures is key to recognise. But also that the views and experiences of those that are involved and give hands and feet to such market are not taken into account in the plans to socially and physically restructure markets. The middlemen, their reputation and role in the organisation of the mark economy are positioned as the bad guys. The result of interferences with markets and the way they are to be reorganised departing from these views do not correspond with specific dynamics of the area (IIED, 2012; Zijlstra, n.d.). The thesis aims to develop a more nuanced view about local markets. It will do so via a review of the literature, notably those that explore markets from a constructivist point of view. This allows me to make a distinction between markets. I particularly focused my literature review on the relationship between markets and (rural) development. This to explore the various roles markets perform in such processes but the more so to understand how markets are constructed in interaction between social actors (producers, traders, middlemen, consumers, transporters, etc.) and the material environment around them. The latter includes not just geography (distance, climate, etc.) but also policies, laws, means of transport, investment strategies and so on. I specifically developed an interest in the literature that identified nested market as playing a key role in not just the commercialisation of agricultural produce but also in broader processes of rural development and livelihood enhancement. To explore the various markets, I conducted 5 a field study in the Karbarole district, Uganda of a local market. I decided to focus on the market for matoke as the matoke is culturally and ecologically well embedded in the Ugandan context. It is widely and rather easily grown and consumed and fetches good prices in the market. Matoke marketing is well pictured by an approach that is capable of making a distinction between various markets and in the end compare them on certain key questions and issues. The matoke allows discussing the relevance of a nested market perspective. The thesis is based on fieldwork conducted in the Kabarole district in Uganda. The thesis is constructed as follows. I first provide a short and concise account of the Matoke banana and what is so special about it. The chapter that follows reviews the relevant literature that has assisted me in problematising markets as heterogeneous and con-existing. Based on this review I formulated a few key research questions that oriented my fieldwork in Uganda. The chapters that flow specify the various markets I have identified based on my field research and through a comparative analysis I discuss the relevance of these markets for rural livelihoods and the role of policy interventions in markets. 6 2. The matoke (Highland cooking banana) Despite the worldwide importance and consumption of bananas, the highland cooking banana is a product specific to this region as well as the importance that this crop has for the economy and food security in the Kabarole district and the whole the East African region. The theoretical importance of Matoke is that it fits the heading what Eleanor Ostrom and others refer to as ‘common property resource’. The quality of Matoke is widely shared and the use is well distributed. Matoke is ecologically well adapted to the highland conditions and is widely grown by a variety of producers, in terms of scale and specialization. According to the research done by the cultural museum of Mbarara, Bananas were brought to East Africa by traders from Asia through the routes used by the Arab slave traders. They reached the Buganda Kingdom first and then gradually reached the western territories. Once the banana production started in the west of Uganda, they became the core for social and Economic development. As matoke is a perennial crop, people face social transformation mainly living together for more extended periods of time, acquire leadership skills, and as this plant is a constant source of food people had the opportunity to focus on other issues including the diversification of the farm production. Due to