Farmers demand to run pineapple plant

Farmers in Kayunga District have asked the government to allow them solely-run the pineapple processing factory, which is under construction in the area.

Under their umbrella of Kayunga District Pineapple Farmers Association, they hope the factory can be handed over to them on completion.

“This pineapple processing factory is meant to help us farmers to increase our household incomes, so it would be good if the government allows us to run and manage it,” Mr Tom Kayongo, a pineapple farmer in Nsiima Village, Nazigo Sub-county, said on Monday.

Mr John Lumala, another farmer from Kiwalasi Village in Kangulumira Sub-county, said the factory should be managed under a private arrangement.

“If we (farmers) are allowed to manage it, we would determine the prices after the involvement of all farmers,” Mr Lumala said.

The Shs2.7b pineapple processing factory at Busaale Village is being constructed by National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads) under the presidential pledge for the people of Kayunga through Entebbe Miracle Centre.

It is expected to be commissioned before the end of the year.  

Under the project management arrangements, Entebbe Miracle Centre constructs the factory’s structure while the government installs the machinery.

The farmers’ pleas have been welcomed by Mr Andrew Muwonge, the district chairperson.

“When farmers are allowed to manage the factory, they will organise themselves in a cooperative society so that they can negotiate better prices for their produce and also get benefits such as loans, fertilisers and other farm inputs,” he said.

Mr Muwonge said the factory will produce pineapple juice and pulp.

Dr Samuel Mugasi, the Naads executive director, said although the construction of the factory commenced in 2017, it was delayed by works on the structure that houses the processing plant.

He added that they are involving all leaders to ensure a smooth management of the factory.

“We are currently discussing ownership and management modalities for the factory. All stakeholders like Entebbe Miracle Centre, Kayunga District leaders and the government are involved,” Dr Mugasa said.

Mr Michael Shiwu, the Naads value-chain development officer, said the processing plant will crush 600kgs of pineapples per hour.

“In January, we completed installation of the equipment  while external works such as paving, construction of water and sewerage system were ongoing,” he said, adding: “We are now preparing the technical commissioning or trial running, where we shall carry out full scale testing of the plant.’’

Dr Mugasa said the trial running, which is expected to be carried out in mid-September, will pave the way for the official commissioning and handover before the year ends.

Stalled project

This is the second mega factory the government is setting up in Kayunga District. The first Shs1b soap and cooking oil factory under Kayunga Industrial Development Park, located in Bukolooto, a suburb of Kayunga Town, was forced to close a few months after commissioning due to lack of raw materials.

The project had been anticipated to create at least 100 jobs directly and more than 700 jobs indirectly to the youth and also increase household incomes.

The managers of the factory had hoped to buy the raw materials from other districts such as Soroti, Pallisa, Kaberamaido and some parts of Busoga Sub-region, but they eventually realised that it was not cost-effective to do so because of the high costs involved in transporting the materials to the factory.

Kayunga District is referred to as Uganda’s pineapple hub with about 12,000 farmers growing the fruit on a commercial scale. 

Currently, most of the farmers sell their fresh fruit to traders from Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania, but because of its high perishability, they sell their pineapple at low prices.

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