Uganda: Value Added Products Vital for Farmers

Jinja, Uganda: The Ugandan annual agricultural fair just ended in Uganda’s second largest commercial center. The theme of this year’s fair was "Agricultural Innovations for Better Incomes". Africanews reports that this year the exhibitors, at the fair, have more on display than raw produce. Popular products are juice, which is made from various fruits, and flour that is made from bananas, for example. Appropriate technology is also sharing the spotlight with the more traditional fair fare. Many of the innovations that the farmers bring are still in the prototype stage, because, as the article states, the farmers lack the funds to develop their creations. This is preventing the innovations, which could make a farmer’s life easier, from reaching the people who could most use them. Sarah Nakintu who markets processed banana juice which can be keep up to three months said

: We do not have funds to add value at a larger scale,

A push is needed to see that the technologies spread beyond the fair and get into the hands of those who can adopt them into their farming practice. We commonly associate farm mechanization with tractors and combines but the fair provided a venue for tools that may be small but were also highly effective and if made readily available would improve the farmers’ production capabilities. According to Africanews, hand tools such as hand held tractors, tractors that are sold for as low as sh3m each, grass threshers for cattle keepers, cassava threshers, and hand-held vegetable oil machines can add a lot of value to the farm produce. The beverage industry is a growth sector and approximately 80 % of the exhibitors displayed beverages.

"I lack capital to produce more,"

says Mariam Nalwanga, a wine maker. Honey is another major product but the inability to maintain a consistent quality product is a major barrier to marketplace success. The National Agricultural Research Association (NARO) has played a major role in helping the agricultural innovations reach the small farmer. Bananas are a major crop and most of the bananas at the fair have come from NARO centers. Bananas do not keep well and this is why value-added production is essential if the farmers are going to earn a reasonable return on their banana crop. One exhibitor, Florence Muranga produces banana flour. The quality of her flour is high enough to meet European standards and so it is exported to Europe. However, very few farmers are aware of this success.