Kayunga farmers want value addition for pineapples

Apr 07, 2009

Godfrey Kizito walks with a swagger after jumping off his bicycle. He is one of the leading farmers in Kangulumira sub-county, Kayunga district.

By Vision Reporter

Godfrey Kizito walks with a swagger after jumping off his bicycle. He is one of the leading farmers in Kangulumira sub-county, Kayunga district.

He smiles as he looks at well-kept pineapple shambas and bananas not far away from his big house.

Kangulumira has the highest concentration of pineapples in the country. About 95% of the homes grow pineapples commercially.

Kangulumira trading centre is a hub of pineapple trade between December and February.

However, there is no value addition to the crop, something needed to push these farmers to the next level. Instead, 95% of the pineapples are sold unprocessed to traders in Uganda, DRC, Sudan and Kenya.

“We produce enough fruits, especially pineapples that can be turned into juice and wines but do not have the means to do so effectively,” Kizito says.

A few years ago, a small juice producing plant was set up with assistance from the Japanese on the outskirts of Kangulumira.

However, it is now a cottage factory with some key components missing. “For example, we do not have a juice extractor. Which means that we have to extract juice from the pineapples using our hands and this is difficult,” Kizito says.

The purpose of the factory was partly to show farmers in the area how cheaply they could add value to pineapples. At the moment, the factory produces juice and wines but poor packaging affects their promotion.

For instance, the factory needs bottles, crates and packaging boxes. “We have to order for some of these things from abroad and given the low levels of productivity, it is expensive,” Kizito says.

According to William Kibodhe, another prominent farmer in the area, the absence of a juice extractor at the cottage factory makes work more difficult. Kibodhe maintains at least 30 acres of pineapples at the peak of the season.

“Pineapple juice is acidic. You cannot use your fingers to extract juice from more than 10 pineapples,” he says.

And yet, to produce enough juice, you need at least a pick up of pineapples a day,” he says.

He says the planners of the small factory should have reduced the size of the building and bought an extractor.

“The equipment inside there could be put in a small room,” he says. Kibodhe says once a juice extractor is acquired for the cottage factory, things will be better.

According to the Kayunga district National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) coordinator, Dr. Ali Lule, training of farmers to add value to produce has been carried out and it is beginning to bear fruit.

Some of the farmers trained include an eight-member women’s group, Kayunga Women Empowerment Development Association, who are making juice from pineapples. The juice is packed in 200ml satchets that they sell to schools in the area at sh200 each.

As in the case of the cottage factory, the women lack equipment to effectively extract juice. “Almost everything is done manually,” says one of them. Kibodhe argues that the Government and NGOs should set the right priorities if effective value addition is to be achieved.

“They should set up a fund to help us develop these capacities, otherwise, we shall just continue in this cycle of poverty,” he concludes.

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