Agrofresh UG’s Traceability and Compliance Workshop Shows Uganda’s Farmers and Exporters How To Sell Internationally
The traceability and export workshop showed farmers and exporters how compliance, certification and value addition unlock the world’s best-paying markets.
KAMPALA, CENTRAL, UGANDA | August 24, 2026
For years it has troubled me that Ugandan produce is so rarely found on European supermarket shelves. The barrier is never the quality of what our farmers grow; it is traceability and certification.
— Sammuel Kitone
/EINPresswire.com/ — Agrofresh UG, the agricultural traceability and export platform backed by investment firm Ubuntu Capital, has brought farmers, cooperatives and exporters together at a well-attended workshop in Kampala to show how compliance and value addition can open Uganda’s route to premium international markets. Its message was a simple one: the future of Ugandan agriculture depends not only on what the country grows, but on what its exporters can prove.
Held under the theme of traceability and compliance, the workshop unpacked the fast-growing family of standards, from the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to organic and ethical-sourcing rules, that increasingly decide who can sell into the world’s best-paying markets. It was organised by Agrofresh UG, and sponsored by Ubuntu Capital. Participants across coffee, cocoa, fresh fruit, sesame and vanilla left with a practical understanding of how to meet these requirements and reach buyers directly.
Building a Continuous Chain of Evidence
At the centre of the day was Agrofresh UG, the traceability and export platform Ubuntu Capital has invested in. The platform connects the ordinary steps of agricultural trade (farmer, plot, purchase, batch, lot, consignment and shipment) into one continuous chain of evidence, so that compliance is built into everyday work rather than reconstructed at the end of a season. Beyond traceability, it gives exporters digital contracts, warehouse receipts, access to finance backed by their real trading records, and a live feed of verified international demand.
“For years it has troubled me that Ugandan produce is so rarely found on European supermarket shelves. The barrier is never the quality of what our farmers grow; it is traceability and certification: the ability to prove a crop’s origin and to meet standards such as GlobalG.A.P.” said Sammuel Kitone.
“Uganda also holds enormous untapped potential. Medicinal plants such as aloe vera and artemisia are in strong demand across global medical supply chains, yet we have lacked the infrastructure to finance and export them. Every day, mangoes and pineapples go to waste in our markets when they could be turned into concentrates and purées with a substantial international market. Through Ubuntu Capital’s investment in the platform and partnership with Agrofresh UG, we are building the infrastructure to turn that potential into sustainable, predictable and high-value export earnings for farmers, and to empower Ugandan SMEs to hold contracts directly with international buyers, from processors and importers to medical manufacturers.” he added.
Shifting to a Higher-Value Model
The message reflects a wider shift in how the partners view agriculture as an investable sector. Rather than treating Ugandan farms as a source of raw commodities sold at the spot price, they are backing a model in which traceability and farmer records become the ticket to higher-value exports: fruit purées and concentrates, botanical extracts, and medicinal plants such as aloe vera. Crucially, Ubuntu Capital and Agrofresh UG have gone to market first, mobilising international buyers and bringing verified demand to the platform before asking farmers to supply it.
For the exporters and cooperatives in the room, the practical takeaway was that compliance is no longer a barrier to be feared but a door to be opened. With farmers mapped, plots recorded and every shipment carrying its own chain of evidence, Ugandan SMEs can begin to hold direct contracts with the processors, importers and manufacturers who were previously out of reach.
“Ubuntu Capital’s partnership has let us build the platform Ugandan exporters actually need. When the compliance record is created while the work is done, meeting a buyer’s standards stops being a scramble at the end of the season and becomes a by-product of doing business well.”
— Musinguzi Laban, Founder, Agrofresh UG
Agrofresh UG said it intends to build on the momentum of the workshop with further sessions for farmers and exporters, supported by continued investment from Ubuntu Capital in the infrastructure that connects Ugandan producers to premium global markets.
© 2026 Agrofresh UG | Export Standards & Agricultural Compliance News
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