Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and
people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions,
rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. It was learnt that, all dried fruits in Uganda
are natural and organically grown. In order to access the organic markets in European niche
markets, it is required that farmers who supply fresh fruits are certified as organic producers.
Two types of certification were observed; Group and individual certification. Under group
certification a number of smaller farmers are certified as one group or cooperative. It is the
farming system that is certified and tried out with members within the group/cooperatives.
The second category involves bigger farmers who certify individually. Both categories must
pay annual certification fees. However, a high cost of organic certification fees is one of the
major challenges in organic farming. In some cases development agencies have to bail out
small farmers who cannot afford certification fees, but this is not a sustainable system.