Files
Abstract
Tropical Horticulture Enterprises (T.H.E) is a Ugandan initiative that works to add value to fruits, bananas and vegetables. The main out put of this initiative are processed dried fruits, fresh fruits, banana flour and fresh vegetables. T.H.E taps the 22% of banana and fruit loss at farm gate due to failure to access markets timely, besides poor handling knowledge and poor storage facilities in rural agricultural producing areas in the country. The initiative boasts of linkage with farmers and it has a bottom up network through which farmers have benefited in various trainings. The main objective of this initiative is to improve farmer’s incomes through providing an alternative avenue and market access to foods produced and ferried to markets without any value addition. This initiative adds value by way of preservation through sun drying of fruits and bananas. It also vacuum packs fresh fruits and vegetables. The dried bananas are milled into flour which provides an additional food variety to maize flour and rice on the market for the above crops. It promotes employment opportunities in the country due to multipliers effect, boosts nutrition values and maintain food security in the country and the region at large.