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Pumpkins from Field to Market

Posted On: June 23, 2025

Man passing a pumpkin from the back of a truck to a person on the ground.
Unloading pumpkins in Kampala.

MITYANA DISTRICT & KAMPALA, UGANDA – During harvest season, traders like Kakoza Dirisa (read his story here) collect pumpkins from farmers’ fields in Mityana District and, their trucks piled high, begin the drive to the capital city of Kampala. 

Christine Ategeka—a Technical Field Officer with East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT) who has been instrumental in the expansion of pumpkin production among smallholder farmers in central Uganda—recently followed a shipment of pumpkins from Mityana to Kampala.

Arriving at Kampala’s Kafumbe Mukasa and Nakasero markets, Christine provided a behind-the-scenes look at the pumpkins’ journey from field to customer. 

Nakasero Market

Sunday and Thursday are the two regular market days in Nakasero, and traders with stalls in other markets in the city come to pick up produce from the vegetable collectors’ trucks arriving at Nakasero. Most pumpkin traders from Mityana bring their produce on these two days because they are assured of a good market.

Sitting among the pumpkins in the back of his truck, trader Kakoza Dirisa throws a pumpkin to another man, who has his hands raised to catch it.
Trader Kakoza Dirisa selects pumpkins from the back of his truck.
Man loading pumpkins into a sack.
Suppliers from some Kampala hotels pick up vegetables for the week in Nakasero market each Sunday. They purchase around 200 pumpkins, enough to last the whole week.

Kafumbe Mukasa Market

The situation at Kafumbe Mukasa market is similar, with traders from other markets, as well as traders who sell at Kafumbe Mukasa, purchasing their pumpkin supply from the trucks arriving from farming areas.

Having parked his small truck next to the large pumpkin truck from Mityana, a local trader waits for the next pumpkin to be unloaded.
Next to the large pumpkin truck from Mityana, a local trader places one of the pumpkins in his small truck.
The trader standing on the smaller vehicle sells produce in Kalerwe market and has come to Kafumbe Mukasa market to pick up pumpkins for his stall.

While in Kafume Mukasa, Christine spoke with a market seller known as Ssenga. Beneath the shade of an umbrella, Ssenga was displaying a pumpkin variety from East-West Seed that is a popular choice among the farmers in Mityana due to its large size and durability. 

EWS-KT Technical Field Officer Christine Ategeka talks with market seller Ssenga, who is displaying pumpkins in the market beneath an umbrella.
EWS-KT Technical Field Officer Christine Ategeka (standing) talks with Ssenga, who sells Arjuna F1 pumpkins in the market.

Ssenga told Christine that she has been selling this variety for about 3 years. To meet the needs of her customers, who may not all want an entire pumpkin, she cuts the pumpkin fruits into pieces. Showing the rich yellow pumpkin flesh also attracts more customers, she explained. 

Ssenga prefers this variety to the local varieties because of its big size—she can earn more money from the cut pieces than from selling a whole pumpkin. She also noted that in months of scarcity, the price per piece goes up, bringing her more income.  She told Christine she has been able to provide for her children through selling these pumpkins in the market. 

Fulfilling Our Mission

EWS-KT has a dual mission—to improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and to catalyze vegetable markets. Following pumpkins from field to market shows the impact of EWS-KT’s work along the vegetable value chain. From the farmers growing pumpkins as a business, to the traders purchasing pumpkins at the farm gate, to the hotel suppliers and local vendors buying pumpkins in the markets of Kampala—everybody wins. 

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