ABUNDANT MARKET FOR MATOOKE AT PIBID

By Wilber Muhwezi Kasibante
www.mknewslink.com
In Bushenyi—

Rev. Prof. Florence Muranga has assured western Uganda banana growing districts that there is enough market for their bananas therefore they should produce more.
Prof. Muranga is the general manager for Banana Industrial Research & Developmet Centre (BIRDC) a company that was formed out of PIBID which has a huge banana factory in Nyaruzinga Bushenyi.
The factory is meant to crash bananas into flour which is later used to prepare matooke in developed countries where fresh banana are not available.

Prof. Muranga said this yesterday at Nyaruzinga while taking UPDF officers through what BIRDC exactly does.
She said they would partner with UPDF to supply them with banana flour plus its products such as bread, doughnuts, cakes and others.

There has been a huge problem of lack of market for bananas in western Uganda most especially in dry season where a bunch would go for as low as 2000shs, 3000shs in Greater Mbarara, greater Bushenyi thus BIRDC comes a solution to this.

She told www.mknewslink.com that they have formed 21 banana cooperatives where farmers have started supplying fresh bananas to BIRDC for processing.
She noted that they have already exported banana flour and its products to korea and they have a huge market in developed countries thus they have recruited specialist for marketing and communication in UK to follow up on markets for banana flour and its products.