The two East African Community of Uganda and Tanzania are to benefit from USD6.5million project lobbied by EAC. This project is meant to increase farmer’s income from banana based beverages production. The project known as the pilot project which is to benefit farmers along the Lake Victoria Region will add value to enhance the supply chain of bananas directly through by linking farmers to the processing of higher valued added products.
East Africa is one f the worlds largest producers of bananas in the world. Uganda alone contributes to approximately over 50% of bananas produced in East Africa. These bananas are of great value to the country. Despite beverage production, banana plantations are also one of the tourist attractions in Uganda hence contributing to travel to Uganda as well as Uganda tours and safaris.
The Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities, Ambassador Ali Mchumo said that with the co-financing from UN Habitat and other agencies, the banana project will even lick Coffee farmers directly to markets and organize farmers into efficient suppliers of raw materials for banana and other fruits based processing companies.
The project was originally conceived as a coffee diversification strategy. Mchumo also added that this project seeks to strengthen the participation of small scale farmers in the banana and other fruit-based beverages market. This fund is part of the funding provided by the CFC to target poverty areas and to help increase farmers income and activities through commodity development in Africa and Latin America.