In a bid to stop the importation of mango pulp and boost local production of the fruit, Britannia Allied Industries has embarked on a training campaign for farmers.
“There is potential to increase mango production but we need to create avenues for this by training farmers in basics needed to get good quality mangoes. I have started this campaign and will not rest until I have achieved this goal,” Mr Hasmukh Dawda, the chairman of House of Dawda, said at a meeting with senior agronomists from India last week.
He said his firm needs over 5,000 tonnes of mangoes for juice production per annum but it can only get between 800 and 2,000 from Ugandan farmers.
Mr Dawda said the company spends about Shs5 billlion on importing mango pulp from India and other parts of the world.
“We want this money to boost local production of mangoes. This will increase farmers’ earnings and improve their livelihoods,” Mr Dawda said.
He said efforts to import 25,000 seedlings of Alphonse mango type from India had failed due to government bureaucracy. “Alphonse is the best mango type for juice production,” Mr Dawda said.
The company hired Mr Manoj Patel and Mr Snemal Shetty, some of India’s senior agronomists, to train farmers on how to advance production of quality mangoes.
Source: monitor.co.ug
Publication date: 5/4/2009
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