Passion fruit growers in Uganda’s Isingiro district have set their sights on the European market, with the help of a local non-governmental organisation.
The NGO, Accord, provided technical assistance to the farmers, which has enabled them to improve their production and target Europe for the first time.
As one of the countries highest volume crops, passion fruit was near the top of the agenda to receive Accord’s support.
One grower, John Najuna said market prices were high enough to cover the cost of airfreight to Europe and he has developed stable relationships with partners in Europe.
He said Accord advised passion fruit growers they could recoup up to sh800m (£4,946,000) a year from sales of the fruit.
The technical assistance focused on investing in horticultural exports to support relevant investors in new product and market development.
Accord also managed different crop project trials and provided practical training in production and grading for export.
