COMESA sweetening Uganda’s fruits for local, global market

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In tiny Kanyogoga village near Namataba on the Kampala-Jinja Highway, residents say one thing about Moses Kulya: He is literally enjoying the fruits of hard work. This is in a way fulfilling a Chinese proverb, “Patience is a bitter plant, but its fruit is sweet.”

While households in Uganda are sitting on an average of three acres of land, Kulya has less than one acre. This has not stopped him from feeding his children and selling surplus to his neighbours. His village also suffers harsh dry spells, but Kulya is fighting back.

“I have to rely on small-scale irrigation to increase productivity from the land. As a result, I have food security, and I also earn some good money from my harvest,” says Kulya.

As Kulya feeds the fruits and vegetables or horticulture, they also provide plentiful supplies of food and income. This, according to Kulya, has proved to be a game changer because horticulture brings better returns than other crops grown on the same size of land. His dream is to expand to produce more vegetables and fruits. He also wants to earn more from better markets.

Kulya is waking up to President Yoweri Museveni’s call to the youth to create wealth out of agriculture. Museveni’s view is that unemployment arises out of lack of productivity. This is because most Ugandans rely on subsistence agriculture, which is about low-cost inputs and low outputs in relation to quantity and quality.

In short, most Ugandans practice subsistence agriculture to survive but expose themselves to poverty and vulnerability to the changing climate.

As a result, most youths are selling land bequeathed to them in search of “greener pastures” in the urban centres such as Kampala. In some cases, the youth have resorted to low-hanging fruits, such as riding boda-bodas (motorcycles), to earn a living. 

Given the rampant accidents with overwhelming fatalities, the boda-boda business is risky and seen as a death trap. This means the youth are trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Is the horticulture subsector the way out? What is the potential of the horticultural subsector? How can Ugandans benefit?

Fruitful trees, vegetables

The global horticulture market was valued at $20b (about sh73.2 trillion) in 2021, and it is expected to double by 2026, according to a report: Global Market and Estimates. According to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), it is expected to triple in the coming decade.

“Uganda's horticulture sector contributes 14.4% of the country's GDP, accounting for 85% of the agricultural products exported annually,” states the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), a UK-based non-profit.

In addition, Uganda is the second largest producer of fresh fruits and vegetables in sub-Saharan Africa, producing about 5.3 million tonnes per year, according to CABI.

How can Ugandans benefit?

According to Dr Paul Mwambu, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Industry and Fisheries' (MAAIF) Commissioner for Crop Inspection and Certification, the horticulture subsector has the potential to grow significantly in Uganda. He claims that horticulture products such as vegetables mature quickly and does not require vast tracts of land. This indicates that the return on investment is quicker than most agricultural enterprises.

Nonetheless, the horticulture sub sector suffers from old problems that have bedevilled agriculture for many decades.

“It is potentially profitable, but it is affected by small-scale production,” he says, adding that fruits and vegetables are perishable. “We do not have good cold chains.”

The farmers, mostly women, and the youth are scattered all over the place, and the capacity of extension workers to the farmers remains very low. “We have one extension worker for every 20,000 farmers.”

What does this mean? “The farmers use only their knowledge, and by the time the product leaves the farm, it is of low quality,” says Mwambu, adding, “What we need to understand is that quality starts from where you are going to grow and harvest.”

This is not the only hurdle. “There should be specialised transport where we use refrigerated trucks for transport. Only licensed and inspected vehicles are supposed to transport so that we can maintain quality,” he says. “The poor means of transportation poses a high risk of contamination with Salmonella.”

He adds, “There is going to be heavy investment in the horticulture subsector. We are also going to aggregate farmers for export.”

There is also sorting that takes place in what are called pack houses, according to Mwambu. “This is where trained staff ensure that we do not export products with pests and diseases. There should be no risk of contamination,” he says.

Globally, there is an increased awareness about the food we eat. “The food safety should not be compromised at all,” says Mwambu.

The public sector should check for contaminants and ensure that there are no residues of pesticides. There should be capacity to tell markets about the allowable levels of chemicals, according to Mwambu. He cited part of the capacity as laboratories set up by the public and private sectors to ensure that there is no bacterial contamination.

In the face of climate change, where there is weather variability, we get cases where farmers have planted and a dry spell hits home. “We need to be intentional to invest in small irrigation schemes,” Mwambu says.



Deus Kariisa, the managing director of United Pearl Exporters Limited, says regional trade has many barriers even after the creation of regional bodies. “The politicians Keep talking without action to overcome the barriers,” he says.



Elephant in the room

According to the National Population and Census (NPHC) Report of 2024 released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, seven out of 10 people in Uganda are either children or youth.

The 2024 NPHC report, popularly known as the Census report, shows that 32% of the 10.6 million households in Uganda are headed by youth of 30 years and below.

Only one per cent of the Ugandan youths, according to the NPHC 2024 report, benefitted from the Government Supported-Youth Livelihood Programme.

COMESA’s helping hand

The prospects for the youth like Kulya and other people dealing in horticulture are becoming brighter as the Common Market for East and Southern Africa, in short, COMESA, has secured funding from the EU to support the horticulture subsector.

COMESA member countries are Uganda, Burundi, Comoros, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Libya. Others are Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Dr John Mukuka, the Chief Executive Officer of COMESA-ACTESA, expressed optimism for the future of the horticultural industry in the region.

ACTESA, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa, is a specialised agency of COMESA.

“The COMESA secretariat through ACTESA is looking forward to the transformation of the horticultural industry in our region, currently valued at  $4b, to double or triple in the coming 10 years,” says Mukuka.

He was speaking recently during the launch of Uganda’s chapter of the COMESA-East African Community (EAC) Horticultural Accelerator (CEHA) at the Golf Course Hotel in Kampala. This is a big step in the growth of the horticulture industry in the country and the region, according to a statement from COMESA.

Mukuka highlighted that CEHA will provide many opportunities for COMESA and EAC regions, especially for landowners with access to less than one hectare of land “about two and a half acres of land.”

Born in 2022, CEHA is a collaborative initiative created by public and private sector partners to better coordinate policy, value chain development programs, financing, and research and development in the horticultural industry.

CEHA’s goal is to accelerate the growth of the fruit and vegetable sub-sector across the COMESA and EAC regions, which includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Apart from Uganda, other chapters launched are Kenya and Rwanda. Others in the pipeline are Ethiopia and Tanzania, according to COMESA’s statement.

The investors in horticulture are not taking opportunities in the horticulture subsector while lying down. They have created Hortifresh, which serves as the apex association for exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables in Uganda. It also doubles as Uganda’s CEHA’s secretariat.

Fred Zake, the executive director of Hortifresh, says uniting Uganda’s private sector dealing in fresh fruits and vegetable exporters and producers under a common goal is a milestone in the growth of the horticulture subsector.

At the same meeting, Stephen Byantware, MAAIF director for Crop Resources, noted commendable efforts of the Horticulture Accelerator in boosting the growth of Uganda’s fruits and vegetable subsectors. He emphasised that such initiatives are critical for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.

Mwambu says, “Backing up horticulture will lead to economic transformation through an increase in food and nutrition.”

Kulya has one step into the future. He is also hopeful that with COMESA’s initiative, Uganda’s horticulture subsector is taking fruitful steps to push him into his dreamland—getting a big piece of the global market.