An Overview Of Our Solution
Lots of fruits are wasted in rural areas in Uganda. Farmers painfully see their fruits rotting. Many times in order to get quick cash and survive they cut down fruit trees.
Fruits Village is a new social enterprise initiative focusing on adding value to fruits in rural areas through solar drying technology. On addition to operating own solar drier, the affordable Fruits Solar driers are fabricated and sold on credit to the villagers. Packaged dried fruits are marketed locally and abroad.
Fruits Village model includes organizing enough villages, training them, operationalizing fruits solar drier units under the management of the village groups and ensuring quality control. Off cuts are crushed into fruits powder and marketed separately. Revenue is generated by selling dried fruits, fruits powder and solar driers.
Who is this solution impacting?
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent:
General Information
Organization type
Nirlaba
Population impacted
518,008
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
1294 square miles
Production quantity
Very high and Unknown
People employed
3 people directly, Above 400 indirectly
Solution
Describe your solution
Fruits Village adds Value to the fruits in rural areas using locally available resources including solar energy. The fruits have their shelf life increased to up to one year and are sold. Above 50% profit are made per unit of dried fruits or fruits powder. Fruits Village Solar Drier utilize the energy of the sun and wind to dry sliced fruits, preparing them for packaging and or processing and marketing for both local market and export. The air below the semi-transparent collector is heated by the sun and spreads throughout the solar drier. The increased temperature decreases the relative humidity of the air, thereby allowing the air to more efficiently dry the crop. A typical Fruits Village solar dryer reduces the time required to dry the products from 5days to 1 day depending on the type of fruit and available solar energy. There is reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission since farmers will no longer be cutting down fruits trees and also more fruits trees will be planted due to available market for fruits. Storing food can protect against weather extreme events and food price volatility, and it can be used to establish climatic insurance in kind. It also enables access to better markets improving rural communities’ position in value chains. Together with partners, we provide training to farmers in agroforestry, certifications for organic production.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
Fruits Village model includes organizing enough villages, training them, operationalizing fruits solar drier units under the management of the village groups and ensuring quality control. Farmer training on fruits crop management is done and timely mobile phone messages are sent with simple clear content. Villagers supply us with quality dried fruits, which are then sorted and packaged by Fruits Village. However those farmers without solar driers can supply us with fresh fruits which are dried at the Fruits Village Center. Local people do not need any investment in capital since solar driers are availed on credit. For the mango season alone, each villager operating one dryer would earn just under $600. Money transactions with farmers are done via Phone Mobile Money or cash. Off cuts are crushed into fruits powder and marketed separately. Revenue is generated by selling dried fruits, fruits powder and solar driers.
The challenges here are in the logistics of organizing enough villages, training them, and ensuring quality control. However we monitor and ensure that hygiene standards are maintained in a controlled area and as a demonstration to others. Fruits village is partnering with Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) and will be sending samples from each unit for testing for free. Moreover, if samples did not pass tests, Fruits village has to explain this to the villagers. This is because the major target is export, since it is difficult to get high enough prices selling locally to make a viable business. The beauty of this model is that it is decentralized and much easier for people to master the technology.
External connections
Uganda Industrial Research Institute provides technical training of trainers, does the lab testing, design and development of products. The local people provide local knowledge and resources especially in kind. The Rakai Environmental Conservation Programme continues with the distribution of fruits seedlings in partnership with the local government. Moreover we are getting more partners on board especially to boost production, processing and marketing.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
Rakai is rich in indigenous trees which yield nutritious fruits. The farmers also grow lots of vegetables and seasonal fruits. The locals grow these fruits organically free of toxins. Despite the high fruits yields in Rakai, the local people are not happy. It is typical for the produce to be wasted especially during the peak of the harvesting season. Very many farmers painfully saw there perishable fruits rotting to wastage. High fruits yield meant low fruits prices. Unfortunately, the disappointment is reflected on cutting and selling fruit trees to get some little money and survive. Good for short term but in the long term, there are serious negative consequences of cutting the fruit trees. There is high untapped potential which can benefit the local people and entire world.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Fruits Village is increasing market for rural fruits produce, reducing fruits losses and creating employment good for building resilience and critical to achieving the goal of eradicating extreme poverty. There is improvement of livelihood of small holder farmers through income and employment especially the female. The dried fruits act as safety nets and economic buffers and especially for rural people living in high-risk environments where food losses occur frequently. Above 400 farmers are trained so far on sustainable and productive Agriculture fruits growing systems, including farm technologies and practices. The rich indigenous trees are sustained and land degradation avoided and climate change mitigated as farmers plant more fruits trees. Reducing fruits losses and decay in rural areas through fruits solar drying is important for increasing food security and hunger. Fruits are very nutritious. Dried fruits have no change in Calories, Fiber, Minerals, Vitamins A, and C, and just moderate change in Vitamin B. The dried fruits are available cheaply for even children at schools and at home during off seasons which is important at this time when children performance in schools is wanting including reasons like being at school all day without food. More importantly is the pride Fruits Village shares with all people to be proud of being agriculturalist.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
There is reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission since farmers will no longer be cutting down fruits trees and also more fruits trees will be planted due to available market for fruits. Storing food can protect against weather extreme events and food price volatility, and it can be used to establish climatic insurance in kind. It also enables access to better markets improving rural communities’ position in value chains. Together with partners, we provide training to farmers in agroforestry, certifications for organic production.
Language(s)
Luganda and English
Water
Fruits trees growing will be improved. Fruits trees are important for allowing for proper drainage. Some fruits trees with deeper roots source water from the level the other crops grown locally can reach. The micro climate created can be important for improving the rainfall pattern and distribution locally.
Food Security/Nutrition
Reducing fruits losses and decay in rural areas through fruits solar drying is important for increasing food security and hunger. Fruits Village ensures the nutritional component of food security through -out the year. Moreover Fruits Village provides training to farmers on sustainable and productive Agriculture fruits growing systems, including farm technologies and practices.Dried fruits are nutritious with Calories, Fiber, Minerals, Vitamins A, and C, and just moderat Vitamin B.
Economic/Sustainable Development
Fruits Village is increasing market for rural fruits produce, reducing fruits losses and creating employment good for building resilience and critical to achieving the goal of eradicating extreme poverty. There is improvement of livelihood of small holder farmers through income and employment especially the female. The dried fruits act as safety nets and economic buffers and especially for rural people living in high-risk environments where food losses occur frequently.
Climate
There is reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission since farmers will no longer be cutting down fruits trees and also more fruits trees will be planted due to available market for fruits. The technology of solar drying does not affect the climate.
Sustainability
Fruits Village adds Value to the fruits in rural areas using locally available resources including solar energy. The fruits have their shelf life increased to up to one year and are sold. Above 50% profit are made per unit of dried fruits or fruits powder. Fruits solar driers are sold to farmers or farmer groups and they generate 25% profit per unit. The payback period of as solar drier is 1.5 years to 5 years.
At fruits Village, we take pride in the reduction of fruits wasted, income generated, employment opportunity created and the reduced cutting down of fruits trees. Because of these factors, we hope to access grants and other support like from companies through corporate social responsibility and government support.
Return on investment
It has taken about USD 3000 in cash and most other resources are availed in kind including the processing unit, training and others especially from our partners mostly locally.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Currently still at small scale. Our target is to establish 10 satellite solar drier units in villages at a cost of USD 4687.5. Fruits Village looks forward to renovating the processing unit to standard and it is estimated to cost USD 1562.5. To use eco-packaging material made at the Fruits Village Center will cost USD 937.5. Fruits villages understands the importance of paying immediately for the fruits supply to the farmers, however many times especially during peak season, there is lack of cash, so plan to boost cash account by USD 3125. Further farmer training will cost USD 1250. We plan to open up a funded internship opportunity especially for girls/female students and this will cost USD 625. To boost the local marketing and transport locally and in the region, it requires an estimate of USD 1093.75. For other critical costs they estimated to cost USD 312.5. The total overall funding needed is USD 13593.75. In future plan, there will be one dryer per village.