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Uganda
Uganda has fertile land and reliable rainfall, but land ownership ambiguities and civil strife have slowed development in the past. An ambitious economic reform program has led to impressive growth over the past decade, but poverty, particularly in rural areas, remains entrenched. Agriculture employs four out of five Ugandan workers, but most small farmers do not produce at standard levels of quality, and lack the marketing expertise and access to financing needed to reach the rapidly growing urban markets. TechnoServe is working with farmers to overcome these challenges.
TechnoServe/Uganda
4th Floor
Bakwanye House
26 Wampewo Avenue
P.O. Box 25690,
Kampala, Uganda
ekibugu@tns.org
Country Director: Erastus Kibugu
Re-established: 2005
Practices: Building Businesses and Industries
Sectors: Agriculture & Agribusiness (horticulture, other)
SPOTLIGHT
Making the Most of a Staple Crop
TechnoServe is helping develop Uganda's matooke banana industry, benefiting thousands of small-scale farmers.
Building Businesses and Industries
Agriculture & Agribusiness › Horticulture
A high urbanization rate, combined with a rapidly increasing number of tourists and an emerging middle class, are driving up the demand for fresh food in Uganda's cities. Supermarkets are starting to replace roadside kiosks, creating new business opportunities. TechnoServe is working with smallholder farmers and fresh-produce businesses to develop this non-traditional industry. We are helping thousands of farmers to grow exotic produce such as cauliflowers and collard greens in addition to more traditional fruits such as mangoes. We are also helping small- and medium-sized companies to service the more sophisticated markets.
Key supporter: Rockefeller Foundation
Agriculture & Agribusiness › Other
Matooke (green bananas) are Uganda's most important food staple. Smallholder farmers sell large quantities to the major urban centers, but much of the profit goes to middlemen. TechnoServe is making this market more efficient and beneficial to the rural poor by linking organized farmers directly with urban wholesalers. We are also helping matooke traders to enter better-paying and more stable institutional markets. This win-win situation is increasing the incomes of TechnoServe-supported farmers and traders by 70 and 50 percent, respectively.
Key supporter: Rockefeller Foundation