Abstract
Following institutionalisation of certified organic agriculture in Uganda in 2002, more farmers have adopted organic pineapple farming to boost their economic livelihoods. However, farmers have continued to engage in the less profitable conventional market due to organic market’s limited capacity to absorb all their produce. This study seeks to examine organic pineapple farmers’ market choices, improve the empirical understanding of factors determining these choices and how they relate to the success of organic pineapple marketing in Uganda. Data was obtained from a random sample of 116 organic pineapple farmers from central region and three pineapple export companies, in cross-sectional household and key informant surveys. Descriptive statistics revealed that 68% of the farmers sold organic pineapples via both organic and conventional market channels at the same time. The study employed a conditional logit model to explain the factors influencing organic farmers’ market channel choice which established that organic and conventional market price differences in peak and lean seasons, pineapple harvests and losses significantly influenced farmers’ market choice. Farmers’ organic market share can be increased by policy makers’ promotion of local and regional organic market outlets and value addition at farmer and company levels. Key words: Organic pineapple, market choice, Uganda.  
Highlights
The past few decades have registered an increase in the rate of conversion from conventional to organic agricultural production in developing countries
The current study seeks to examine the alternative organic pineapple farmers’ market choices in order to improve on the empirical understanding of factors determining these choices and how they relate to the success of organic pineapple marketing in Uganda
An assessment was done on the two distinct groups of the organic pineapple farmers as identified by this study (those that sold via the OM only and those that sold through both OM and CM) to identify the similarities and the differences between the them with regard to demographic, socioeconomic, farm and market related characteristics
Summary
The past few decades have registered an increase in the rate of conversion from conventional to organic agricultural production in developing countries Literature attributes this increase to the increasing global demand for organic products (Lokendra et al, 2011; Sahota, 2009), especially the high-value crops like fruits and vegetables (Gehlhar and Regmi, 2005). The challenges relate to farmers’ increased involvement in long and sophisticated supply chains, characterised by stringent food safety standards, required mainly by the international markets. This augments the market failures experienced by such farmers, as their prospects to increase incomes progressively depend on their ability to compete in constantly evolving markets. Organic products like pineapples are still enjoying a niche export market (Kleemann et al, 2014) which if tapped, can offer opportunities to the smallholder farmers in the developing countries like Uganda
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