Robert Sharp Mugabe (CIPR)

Straight from the swearing in ceremony, I dashed to luwero to flag-off the inaugural export of 104 metric tonnes of canned ( processed ) pineapples to China by DESHIBURG company, one of the investors in the Uganda-China Agriculture Cooperation industrial park. Deshiburg company is the first investor to set up a dedicated canned pineapple factory in uganda with capacity to process 500 tonne per day. This increases the demand for pineapples as a raw material and ends the perennial challenge of lack of market for our perishable Agriculture produce. It places a challenge to our farmers to produce more for this demand. I have made a clarion call to the local political leaders & Agriculture extension personnel, to mobilise & guide our farmers to start intentional farming:- farming that targets to meet existing demand of a particular agro-raw material sustainably. This huge proliferation of agro-industries speaks to farmers only one message; produce, produce and produce more! The excuses of no markets for Agricultural produce is no more with this revolution of agro-industrialisation ! Produce for own food , produce for the market ( domestic, regional and international ) and please do so following the acceptable standards, was my message to the farmers!