Florence Muranga

Rev. Prof Florence Isabirye Muranga (born in 1952) is a Ugandan biochemist, food scientist, academic and corporate executive, who serves as the Director General of "Banana Industrial |Research Development Centre (BIRDC)" under the pilot project of Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID).

Quotes

• Matooke is a very starchy food, more so even than maize or potatoes. We realised we could do more with matooke flour than with maize, if you add matooke flour to wheat or maize flour, you get a better product. With its nutrients it can be used as an alternative to wheat.
  • Pitching her project to investors at the Africa Investor Agribusiness Summit in South Africa

• By adding value, farmers can sustainably produce bananas as a food and to increase income.
  • how banana can serve as both food and high source of income

• I grew up in a family that so much cherished matooke as a food crop and as a child, I started developing a special attachment to the same. However, I later realized that there was not much literature or research done on matooke.
  • Her reply when asked where she draws her inspiration from

• Uganda is among the top five leading banana producers in the world, with a 30% estimated contribution to the world banana production.
  • Banana production in Uganda

• The establishment of BIRDC has presented to Uganda an opportunity to showcase a variety of tooke products with a unique taste and full nutritional value on the world market. The products exported are branded in such a way that promotes our country and culture on the international scene.
  • Impact of her tooke product on agrotourism in Uganda