Horticultural farmers in the Bunyoro region have entered a joint venture with local exporter KK Foods to supply fresh produce to Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, in a move aimed at boosting incomes and expanding into international markets.
The farmers, operating under the Albertine Farmers Association (AFA), signed a memorandum of understanding with KK Foods following a training programme supported by Stanbic Business Incubator Limited (SBIL).
The partnership was launched over the weekend at the Ageteraine Agro-Processing Facility in Hoima city.
AFA chairperson Julius Kwamya said the farmers had agreed to begin with hot pepper and chilli before expanding into other enterprises.
“During the training, we agreed on the way forward. We agreed to start with hot pepper and chilli for now, but we will scale to other enterprises,” Kwamya said. “We believe this is an opportunity for growth because these crops have a high turnover and a short production cycle.”
Demand for fresh chilli in Europe is rising, driven by immigration and changing food tastes, with France, Spain, the UK and Germany among the leading importers.
The joint venture is one of the outcomes of an August 2025 capacity-building workshop that trained more than 30 horticultural farmers under the Albertine Agribusiness Development Programme, a partnership between SBIL and the Uganda National Oil Company.
Kwamya said the association has 1,930 registered members and aims to grow to 10,000 by the end of 2026.
He, however, cited a shortage of extension workers as a major challenge affecting production, and called on the government to strengthen support services at the grassroots.
SBIL chief executive Catherine Poran said the initiative shows the value of linking farmers to markets.
“It is one thing for farmers to grow food, but it is another to link them to markets and see the fruits of their labour,” she said. “Our mandate is to support enterprises to scale and reach their potential while driving Uganda’s growth.”
Nicholas Atukwase, a production manager at KK Foods, said the company requires at least 50 tonnes of produce per week.
“There is strong demand for products like chilli and hot pepper,” he said. “Farmers must focus on quality, quantity, consistency and meeting regulatory requirements.”
Percy Mucunguzi, national content officer in charge of measurements and reporting at the Uganda National Oil Company, said farmer groups play a key role in spreading knowledge and opportunities.
“These farmers have done a great job in teaming up and bringing others on board,” he said. “We must support such initiatives to ensure the benefits reach more Ugandans.”
Mucunguzi urged farmers to diversify into other enterprises to increase their incomes, noting that agriculture can benefit from the wider oil and gas value chain.
“We cannot focus only on oil and gas. We must also look at services such as food supply, medical services, insurance and transport. That is how the benefits will spread across the economy,” he said.
Emmanuel Blair Niyitegeka, a senior agricultural inspector at the Ministry of Agriculture, said export markets require strict compliance with quality standards.
“Hot pepper has high demand in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia, but farmers must meet strict standards,” he said. “Produce must be free from pests and farmers must apply pesticides correctly and at the right time.”
Niyitegeka added that different markets have different requirements, with the European Union and the UK among the most stringent.
Hoima district production officer Dr Charles Kajura said farmers must be certified and assigned traceability codes to access export markets.
“Each farmer must be coded so that produce can be traced back to its source,” he said. “This helps us maintain quality and respond quickly if there are any issues.”
Kajura said the district is promoting a group-based approach to address the shortage of extension workers.
“We are encouraging farmers to organise themselves into groups so that extension workers can reach many people at once,” he said.
He added that the district is training community-based facilitators to support farmers at the local level.
“We have selected two facilitators per parish and will equip them with practical skills so they can extend services when government staff are not available,” Kajura said.
