More and more countries situated in the magic band of 20 degrees north and south of the equator are giving cocoa another look. The high prices of the moment are probably an important factor.
Uganda is not a name usually associated with cocoa. But the country has been busy expanding its cocoa acreage over the past eight years. According to Bloomberg, the state-run Cocoa Development Project expects next year’s harvest to increase by 13 percent. The expansion of cocoa is an attempt to diversify its agricultural exports that currently depend mostly on coffee and tea. These commodities contribute 22% to the GDP.
The total is still a miniscule 17,000 tons. But the trend is upward and the country expects to reach 50,000 tons by 2015/16. By comparison, the Côte d’Ivoire exported 1.2 million tons last season.
Iam a student finalising with my course, Food science and technology at Makerere University, Uganda, the last time we studied a course unit, Plantation Technology, and me and two other friends were interested in this crop. We want to start our own plantation but we do not know which variety will be better for us to start with.We currently do not have starting capital, but we have a dream, is there any way, we can get a grant or some thing. Thank you.
Am an organic consultant in a variety of crops particularly cocoa.
For more technicalities, varieties and consultancies, please don’t hesitate to contact.
Diana please if you wish you can contact me we can discuss the details
regards
whats the total(tonnes) cocoa output of Uganda
Last year, Uganda exported 15,000 tons. They expect to export 17,000 tons this year and are aiming for 50,000 by 2016.