Farmers get tips on how to tap into international markets
Currently, Uganda’s key agriculture exports to the EU include organic coffee, cocoa, vanilla, dried fruits, oil seeds (sesame, chia), which come from smallholder-based production systems.
An exhibitor at the Dutch village training expo-goers during the Harvest Money Expo. (Photos by Richard Sanya)
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Access to local and international markets remains a challenge for smallholder farmers in Uganda. Simply because many don’t adhere to the set standards, have no capacity to secure volumes required or the quality required.
And yet, for example, Europe presents a market of €45b annually through the Biofach, which is the world’s leading organic trade fair, held in Nuremberg, Germany, each year. Biofach brings together the global organic community and connects buyers and exporters worldwide.
To help farmers who attended this year’s Harvest Money Expo at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, Farid Karama, the global market advisor of the national organic agricultural movement of Uganda, shared tips that farmers should embrace and access markets outside of Uganda.
Currently, Uganda’s key agriculture exports to the EU include organic coffee, cocoa, vanilla, dried fruits, oil seeds (sesame, chia), which come from smallholder-based production systems. These are made up of naturally organic farming practices, strong farmer networks and cooperatives.
As the Expo moved into its second day at the Dutch village, there were trainings about navigating the agribusiness financing space and choosing the right financing for individual businesses.
Other trainings at the Dutch village included the cocoa value addition and local chocolate production for market access, how to run a profitable large-scale indigenous poultry business, how to run a profitable dairy enterprise, in addition to learning how to mainstream climate change practices in coffee production.
This year’s Harvest Money Expo ran under the theme Farming as a Business. It took place from February 27 to March 1, 2026, and was supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, aBi Development, Tunga Animal Nutrition, ENGSOL, Pearl Bank, Pepsi, Heifer International and others.