Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | To enhance the quality of Ugandan crop exports, inspection controls for avocado, banana, and pineapples are slated to be reinforced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF). The trio will be classified as high-risk commodities, mirroring the categorization of hot pepper, chili, …
Read More »Processed banana hits the market
Bushenyi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Officials from Bushenyi the district-based Banana Industrial Research and Development Center-BIRDC on Friday flagged off the sale of their finished products in the open market. During their commercialization launch at their model farm and distribution store in Jinja city’s agricultural show grounds, the officials said …
Read More »Protecting the Ndiizi banana
International group launches initiative to save dessert banana Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda is home to a rich banana biodiversity and is one of the leading consumers of bananas globally. For hundreds of years, farmers have selected and preserved more than 80 varieties of bananas and plantains all with …
Read More »Kasese farmers count losses as Banana Bunchy Top Virus ravages plantations
Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Farmers in Kasese District are counting losses following the outbreak of the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) disease. The disease was detected in 2020 and in July, the Ministry of Agriculture raised a red flag when the disease caused havoc on banana plantations in …
Read More »Farmers on alert as new banana virus hits Western Uganda
An infected plant presents with severe stunting, narrow leaves, chlorotic leaf margins, and dark green streaks on petioles and midribs Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Farmers should stop getting banana plantlets from districts in Western and North-West Uganda to stop the spread of the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) …
Read More »Museveni to offer land to Indian banana stem processor
Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has pledged to provide land in Mbarara to prospective Indian Investors who are proposing to set up a factory that uses banana stems to produce liquid fertilizer, thread, cloth, and biogas. The President made the commitment on Friday while meeting the …
Read More »`Incredible’ GMO banana with edible skin
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Fruit farmers in Okayama, Japan, have managed to make peeling a banana optional by developing a special variety with edible skin. The peel of their “Mongee Banana” is not particularly tasty, but it is considerably thinner and far less bitter than that of regular …
Read More »Experts give banana new look
By Maya Prabhu Uganda is one of the world’s top banana-growing countries, producing as many as 10 million tonnes of the fruit each year, but the banana market is under-exploited. Its potential to act as a bastion of food-security and create lucrative openings for ambitious entrepreneurs requires innovation in the …
Read More »Tooke project excites banana conference
By Patrick Kagenda From October 5 to 9, a conference bringing together over 60 banana growing countries from Africa and the Caribbean was held in Mombasa, Kenya under the theme: Harnessing International Partnerships to Increase Research Impact. Over 450 people attended the conference organised by the International Institute of Tropical …
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