A Japanese professor and her students, whose research led to the production of textile materials from banana fibre, will visit Uganda soon. President Yoweri Museveni invited Prof. Kyoko Hashimoto on Thursday when he met her at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Museveni, who has been in Japan for the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, was impressed by the materials, which included two shirts, one in the colours of Uganda’s flag.

Museveni told Kyoko that Uganda is one of the leading producers of bananas. He, however, noted that there is little international market for it.

“We produce 10 million tonnes of bananas annually,” he said, adding that whereas in many countries people are fighting for food, it is common in Uganda to find children playing with banana fingers like toys. He urged the research team to widen their research and include other materials such as barkcloth, sisal and bamboo.

Museveni said if the project is launched here, it will create money for Ugandans and add value to their products. Kyoko was optimistic that textile companies would pick interest in her discovery. She said banana fibre can be mixed with other items like cotton to come up with good products.

Museveni also met Koichi Hagiwara, an industrial development official with United Nations industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

He assured the President that UNIDO would support the project to turn it into a commercial venture.

Uganda’s ambassador to Japan, Wasswa Biriggwa, said he took 30kg of banana fibre to Japan and convinced the professor to find out whether they could be used as textile materials. Biriggwa said the research was promising.

He thanked Museveni for finding time to meet the research team, adding that this will send a positive message to other researchers.

Biriggwa urged Ugandans to embrace the project.