The facilities include coffee and maize processing factories that were constructed at Nkuuna and Buyaga villages respectively, in Kyannamukaaka sub-county, to support communities to add value to their agricultural produce.
The lack of electricity supply has rendered two agricultural value-addition facilities idle in Masaka
district.
The facilities include coffee
and maize processing factories that were constructed at Nkuuna and Buyaga
villages respectively, in Kyannamukaaka sub-county, to support communities to
add value to their agricultural produce.
The factories were constructed
in 2019, under the World Bank-funded Agriculture Cluster Development
Program-ACDP, which targeted to increase on-farm productivity, production and
marketable volumes of selected agricultural commodities in the specific
geographical clusters of the country.
Emmanuel Jjunju, the Chairperson
of Nkuuna Coffee Growers Cooperative Society says that the factory has remained idle since 2019 due to a lack of power supply. He adds that the society
secured the factory in high anticipation that the area would be connected to
the grid under the government’s Rural Electrification Program.
Jjunju argues that despite spending close to 80
million Shillings in co-funding to construct the factory in anticipation
that they would start processing their coffee to earn more proceeds, the cooperative
is still suffering at the hands of exploitative brokers who are taking
advantage of them.
(Luganda audio)
//Cue in; “twafunako ssente…
Cue out…emwanyi zzaffe.”//
Hawah Nakalungi, the
Secretary of Buyaga Farmers Association says they also secured funds and
constructed a maize-milling factory, which is, however, going to waste due to
lack of power.
She expresses fear that
some of the equipment installed in the maize processing plant may start rusting
because they are not in operation.
Nakalungi says they
recently received notifications to start servicing a 50 million Shillings loan facility they obtained, yet they have not started reaping from
the investment.
//Cue in; “ekyuma ekyampeebwa…
Cue out….okukola masanyalaze.”//
Masaka district Chairperson Andrew Lukyamuzi acknowledges the shortfalls but adds that the district cannot extend the required electricity on its
own. He urges beneficiaries to
properly safeguard the factories as they wait on the government’s promise of extending
power connectivity to all corners of the district.
Lukyamuzi adds that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Development has assured them that the government secured a World Bank loan which is going to support the extension of electricity in different
parts of the country including areas in Masaka district.
