Trucks carry sugarcane in Iganga. PHOTO | TAUSI NAKATO
Once a region known for coffee production, Busoga in eastern Uganda has seen a shift towards sugarcane as its dominant cash crop. However, despite the crop’s economic significance, poverty levels in the sub-region continue to rise, raising concerns among stakeholders.
According to the Ubos 2024 report on Multidimensional Child Poverty, Busoga remains one of the country’s poorest regions in Uganda, The report highlights that 33 percent of children in Busoga experience multiple deprivations, which underscores the region’s ongoing challenges in poverty reduction.
Different stakeholders in Busoga have pointed out shortcomings associated with sugarcane growing that have kept residents impoverished.
Mr Ibrahim Ndoga, the spokesperson of the Busoga Lower Local Council’s chairperson association, linked the rise of sugarcane growing to the decline of other industrial establishments that could have provided better employment opportunities.
“Jinja, which is one of the districts of Busoga had been designated as the industrial town of Uganda with many industries accommodating a good number of people, but when we switched to sugarcane growing as a cash crop, a few factories dealing in sugar manufacturing have flourished yet they employ a few people,’’ he said.
Mr Ndoga added: “These few workers are even at lower levels with limited pay since they are unskilled. The jobs are also seasonal. So whatever is paid to them is for the stomach hence leaving the sub-region poor.’’
Ndoga also pointed out the negative impact of sugarcane farming on education, noting that many children drop out of school to work in plantations. This has reduced the number of highly educated individuals capable of securing well-paying jobs.
Large-scale sugarcane farmer Godfrey Naitema from Jinja attributed poverty in Busoga to the fluctuating and often low prices of sugarcane,making farmers struggle to cover their production costs.
“Lack of minimum prices of sugarcane has caused poverty. Countries like Tanzania and the Netherlands have minimum prices. We are paid peanuts and this makes it difficult to make a decent living, we used to buy new trucks, and build houses but it is no longer possible,’’ he said.
The price of a tonne of sugarcane costs between Shs110,000 and Shs240,000 in December 2023.
Former Bugabula South parliamentary aspirant Pastor Andrew Muwanguzi blamed sugarcane farming for food shortages in the region.
Muwanguzi noted that most residents dedicate all their land to sugarcane, leaving little room for food crops.
He also pointed out that the long maturity period of sugarcane—18 months—further exacerbates financial hardships for farmers.
“The first harvest, farmers use all the money to pay for the land, fertilisers, and clear the loans and we start benefiting in the second and third harvest amid low sugarcane prices,’’ he said.
Not all stakeholders blame sugarcane entirely. The chairperson of Uganda National Sugarcane Growers Association, Mr Isa Budhugo, argued that subsistence farming is also to blame for poverty in Busoga.
“Busoga has 2.4 million acres of land and sugarcane farmers are only using 200,000 acres. What is the rest of the land doing? The youth are engaging in boda boda riding, leaving their elderly parents to rely on rain-fed agriculture, which is also affected by lack of fertilisers and this has escalated poverty in Busoga,” he said.
The Senior Presidential Advisor Poverty Alleviation Busoga Sub-region, Ms Florence Mutyabule, acknowledged that sugarcane farming has contributed to poverty due to oversupply, which has driven prices down.
Millers speak out
The Chairperson of Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association (USMA), Mr Jim Kabeho, urged farmers to adopt better farming practices to improve their yields.
"Farmers are currently harvesting 30 tonnes of cane per acre instead of the standard 60 tonnes. They should also avoid harvesting immature cane, as it reduces output and profitability," he advised.
Mr Kabeho said farmers used to be facilitated with fertilisers, seed cane, and loans, but this is no longer feasible due to the lack of a regulatory framework.
He, however, revealed that efforts are underway to establish the Uganda Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council under the new Sugar (Amendments) Bill 2023.
Museveni says
During a recent tour of Busoga Sub-region, President Museveni stated that small-scale sugarcane farming would not lift people out of poverty.
“The only way you can benefit from sugarcane is by growing on a large scale. Those who are growing it on a small scale cannot benefit from it,” Mr Museveni said while addressing a rally at Kamuli Youth Centre.
Mr Museveni pledged to fund the construction of sugarcane factories for value addition.
“Processors are currently getting a lot of profits from the many products they get from sugarcane. You can get good money as farmers if the sugar processors don’t look at only sugar but also the biogas, molasses, and other products,’’ Mr Museveni said.
ABOUT BUSOGA
According to a 2021 Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) study, Busoga holds the largest sugarcane milling capacity in Uganda at 35 percent, followed by central Uganda (27 percent), western Uganda (26 percent), and northern Uganda (12 percent).
Busoga has more than seven sugar factories, including Kakira Sugar Works (Jinja), Mayuge Sugar Factory (Mayuge), Kamuli Sugar Ltd (Kamuli), Sugar Allied Industries (Kaliro), GM Sugar Factory (Buikwe) Bugiri Sugar Ltd (Bugiri) and CN Sugar Factory in Namayingo, which is still under construction.
