Fruit trees for Uganda

Did you know that there are over 1000 different types of bananas? Out of those, about 500 varieties are edible. I'm honestly not sure How many types are grown in Uganda, but we currently grow five different varieties on the farm.

We have a standard yellow banana that we westerner seeing most supermarkets,  locally called bogoya. Sweet ladyfingers that are known as menvu , two types of plantains down as matooke and gonja respectively, And a variety of sweet red banana whose local name I cannot remember.

Additionally, bananas are not grown on trees. The banana plant is actually a very large herb distantly related to ginger.It has a wet layered stem and produces new banana trees from the bottom that are known as suckers. Suckers spring up and we harvest them year round to plant new banana trees at new locations. And we give them out to any villagers who are interested!

Some bananas are eaten raw, well most are cooked either through steaming or frying. Well they are not necessarily a high cost item, they serve as a staple of the Ugandan diet. Bananas are rich in dietary fiber, carbohydrates, antioxidants, and a a plethora of vitamins and other nutrients.  In these times of cover 19, quarantine, and restricted travel, having a consistent, nutritious food source is important!

I realize that I should be telling you about new fun projects we are doing with fruit trees, but honestly, since the COVID-19 lockdown the markets have dried up and the economy is struggling. Most people we work with have reverted back to subsistence farming until the country stabilizes again.

They still have the fruit trees and the trees are producing lots of nutrient rich food for their families and communities. However, instead of investigating markets and new fruit varieties, everyone is focusing on maize. It is a high yield crop and the porridge and breads made from it are filling and easily stored.

When the airport reopens and things return to normal we expect the economy to rejuvenate and we will go back to focusing on exotic fruits and cash crops. Until then however, maize it is!