Mayuge — The Government of Uganda is seeking land in Mayuge District to establish a palm oil processing mill and a nursery, as part of its plan to expand the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) to the Busoga sub-region.

The call was made by the State Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, during the official launch of the oil palm planting exercise in Mayuge District this month. The Mayuge hub — which also covers Bugiri and Namayingo districts — marks the first phase of oil palm cultivation in Busoga, following years of preparation and feasibility studies.

Hon. Kyakulaga revealed that the government requires about 500 hectares of land to construct the mill and nursery, which will serve farmers across the hub.

“Government currently does not own land in this area, so we are calling upon willing landowners to sell land for this purpose,” the Minister said. “The mill will allow farmers to process their harvest locally, creating jobs and ensuring long-term income for households.”

The Minister emphasised that Busoga’s proximity to Jinja offers a logistical advantage, as crude oil extracted from the mill can easily be transported to Jinja for refining.

The Mayuge oil palm initiative is part of a broader strategy to increase domestic vegetable oil production, reduce poverty, and improve household incomes through commercial agriculture. Uganda currently spends over USD 300 million annually on imported palm oil, a cost the government aims to cut significantly once local production scales up.

Low-Interest Financing

Equity Bank Uganda, which serves as the fund manager for the National Oil Palm Project, is partnering with the Ministry of Agriculture to manage and disburse funds to participating farmers.

Ms Catherine Psomgen, Director for Public Sector and Social Investments at Equity Bank Uganda, said the bank has already supported 896 farmers in Mayuge, Bugiri, and Namayingo with over UGX 1.2 billion in financing.

“We provide financial literacy training, agribusiness support, and ensure that funds are used transparently and efficiently. Through our Africa Resilience and Recovery Plan, we’ve dedicated 30% of our loan portfolio to agriculture.”

Under the scheme, smallholder farmers with 2.5 to 5 acres of land can access up to UGX 25 million at a 10% interest rate — significantly lower than market rates — with a four-year grace period and six years for repayment. The funds are released directly to suppliers for land preparation, seedlings, fertilisers, and maintenance, ensuring accountability.

Local Production and Expansion Plans

A nursery with 50,000 seedlings has already been established in Mayuge and is ready for distribution to farmers. The seedlings, previously imported from Indonesia and Malaysia, are now being produced locally through the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) to reduce costs and delays.

The government is also preparing Phase Two of the project, which will expand into Bugweri, Iganga, Luuka, and Jinja districts in the next financial year.

Hon. Kyakulaga reiterated that sugarcane farming will not be replaced but complemented by oil palm, given that only 10% of Busoga’s land area is needed to meet Uganda’s annual demand for refined palm oil.

While enthusiasm for the project is high, land acquisition remains a major challenge. The Mayuge District Oil Palm Growers Cooperative Society reported that over 54,000 planting holes have already been dug, yet many farmers are still awaiting seedlings.

“We have the farmers, we have the funding, and we have the will,” Hon. Kyakulaga said. “What we now need is land for the mill and nursery so that Busoga’s oil palm dream becomes a full reality.”

The National Oil Palm Project is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with USD 76 million, complemented by private sector investment to a total of USD 210 million (UGX 300 billion). The program aims to empower smallholder farmers, create rural jobs, and strengthen Uganda’s agro-industrial base under the government’s Agro-Industrialisation Agenda.

Source: softpower.ug/

By Witness Radio team

Introducing a unique radio program that delves into the urgent and crucial role of the media in the face of climate change. Titled ‘Eyes on a Just Energy Transition’, this program is now part of the engaging lineup on Witness Radio.

This investigative radio broadcast is not just about informing, but also about empowering. It aims to foster public dialogues that shape perceptions and influence policy and collective action on climate change. It particularly focuses on the rights and freedoms of marginalized and poor communities, highlighting their crucial role in Africa’s just energy transition.

Mark your calendars! The ‘Eyes on a Just Energy Transition’ program will be broadcasting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 am to 11 am East African Standard Time (EAT).

Our first broadcast this Friday focuses on Uganda’s journey in the renewable energy transition plan, exploring the Legal, political, institutional, and regulatory frameworks that underpin the country’s renewable energy struggles.

Uganda lost nearly half of its forest cover in the recent past, especially between 1990 and 2023. It was mainly due to the widespread reliance on firewood and charcoal for daily cooking and heating needs, as well as the expansion of agriculture to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population. Also, Commercial logging and large development projects accelerated the loss of forested areas.

Uganda, like many other countries, is making a positive shift from dirty, fossil-based fuels to cleaner, sustainable energy sources. This transition is not just a change, but a beacon of hope for our planet’s future.

In the broadcast, experts in the renewable energy sector share their experiences and explain the journey of Uganda’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP); inform Ugandans to understand its importance and the aim; they will break down the ETP and Renewable Energy Policy 2023 for people to understand it; and explain how it affects everyday life.

Join us on this insightful journey. Download the Witness Radio app from the Google Play Store or tune in live on our website at www.witnessradio.org. Let’s engage in meaningful discussions and enjoy more informative content together.

RDCs, local leaders on spot over land grabbing, family appeals

Two Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) are on spot for allegedly depriving family members of their right to a 70.2 acre land in Kihanda Sub County, Kanungu District.

The RDCs, Hajj Shafik Sekandi and Amanyire Ambrose Mwesigye are accused of orchestrating and colluding with a section of family members and dealers to forcefully take over a mineral rich land.

It is alleged that the land in question at Ibarya Cell (Village) was previously owned by Mzee Blasio Bamuturaki and his wife Joy Evelyn Kyabasasaki who lived on it from the 1950s till their deaths in 1994 and 2004.

Family members say that upon the death of Kyabasasaki, Hajji Sekandi then RDC hatched a plan and colluded with a family member, Ms Anna Kyahamutima to force out other family members from the land.

It is alleged that before his transfer from Kanungu District, RDC Sekandi linked the land grab deal to high profile officials in government among them in State House and the Ministry of Water and Environment.

Hajj Sekandi, who has since been transferred to Kisoro District, was replaced by Mr Mwesigye, who is now leading the struggle to dispossess the family of their interest in their estate.

Ambrose Mwesige jointly with his deputy Rugajju, Giso, Barigye is accused of organizing the ongoing destruction of the family property to include a house and the plantation.

Christine Joy Tusiime, a family member revealed that the cartel was big to include LCI chairperson Ms Jessica Tindimwebwa, LCIII chairperson for Kihanda Sub County Mr Davis Asiimwe, LCII chairperson Lemegio Tumwesigye, Ambrose Barigye (Kanungu Giso) as well as deputy RDC Gad Rugajju.

“The dispute that forced me to flee my mother land, Uganda started in 2004 after the death of our mother, my sister (Anna) took possession of the family property and took control. The RDC then did a report and it is from then that they started targeting destroying the plantations on the land and bringing many people to cultivate on the land to defeat the interest of the rightful beneficiary,” says a tearfully speaking Tusiime.

In 2023, Tusiime fled the country and she is currently living in the United Kingdom for the safety of her life.

While recounting the mysterious deaths of her brothers and sisters on the land, Tusiime, 56, also revealed that grabbers used her sister on the frontline to torture her and the relatives. She alleges that RDC Mwesige with his deputy Rugajju and RDC Sekandi vainly colluded to arrest her from Mbarara Administrator General’s office while using police and military.

She has now appealed to President Museveni to intervene and cause investigation into RDC Mwesigye and others with the grabbers who are using a motor vehicle with ICRP, a project funded by the World Bank.

“I believe the World Bank cannot fund such a project marred with irregularities and violations,” says Tusiime accusing the Police in Kanungu of declining to register a case of malicious damage to property that was reported by her aide.

She added: “As I speak, RDC Mwesigye and his deputy Rugajju are making business on our land through charcoal burning, destroying the house and sadly when I contacted the police for help, they just kept quiet. I am humbly appealing to the President to intervene in this matter to rescue me from these notorious criminals pretending to work for the government.”

Tusiime alleges that in December 2023, RDC Mwesigye and policeman Zaviour Nishaba and Constable Daniel Byensi led a group of people that stole livestock and poultry on top of arresting and imprisoning her workers.

Accusing her sister of destroying the graveyards of their siblings, Tusiime states that the cartel advised her Kyahamutima to open up multiple frivolous criminal cases against her to frustrate her effort to acquire letters of administration on the land.

According to Tusiime, the criminal gang also fronted Rachael Tushabe, a police lady who is daughter to her sister to torment her with the numerous fake case files which prompted her February 2023 petition to security agencies but without any help.

She further revealed that the land in dispute was put on caveat she lodged in 2021 after her sister declined to attend meetings with the authorities.

“I suffered under the hands of the RDC, deputy RDC Rugajju and the Police because they organized arrests and tortured me so that I could lose interest but this is our ancestral land and all I appeal for is justice in all this,” says Tusiime adding that whatever is being done on their land must follow the law.

In May 2023, Tusiime petitioned the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) complaining against the fake accusations brought against her to defeat her interest in the ancestral land.

In February 2023, she also petitioned the Commandant of Flying Squad Unit seeking for intervention, track and trace a one Lt Simon from UPDF and policeman Walter Okello among others and bring them to book for attempted kidnap as well as life threatening acts to her life.

According to Tusiime, none of her complaints was ever responded too apart from receiving letters from State House land matters accusing her of intermeddling.

In a telephone contact, RDC Mwesigye laughed off advising this publication to go to the ground to do verification of the claims.

“But I think she (Tusiime) is a very dishonest person because she came to my office in 2023 alleging that her sister, Kyahamutima was chasing her from land. I went there and I found when they had a conflict on their late father’s land and they did not have a title for it. It was with their brother,” he said.

While denying involvement in the dispute, Mwesigye said that he held meetings on ground in their presence and I advised them to go to the administrator general’s office

According to Mwesigye, the land conflict aside, there is a government irrigation project where peoples’ land was valued under the Ministry of Water to construct a dam on their land.

He said there are a number of families affected and they were consulted in 2022 and their land was valued in 2023 and valuation reports were shared with them in 2023 including that woman and they consented and their family was paid Shs1 billion which was shared between Christine and her sister on account.

“Now the houses that have been demolished are those which are supposed to be removed for the project to begin and that woman was paid duly,” he added.

Mwesigye revealed: “They were paid on December 19, 2024 and they were supposed to leave immediately. We said since the project still has some time to start, let them still be enjoying their gardens and crops but some months back, we went where the project is supposed to begin this month, now the ministry people went and told everybody whose property had been paid for to leave and all other people left voluntarily.”

According to Mwesigye, Christine’s sister have a house there but she (Christine) does not and they also have an old ancestral house and also graveyards which were all affected but they were all paid for and now the two sisters are not there but they left a daughter called Allen who kept in the house, we went there and told her to leave because the project is supposed to begin.”

Mwesigye said that they held community meetings with all the affected families and told them to vacate because it is now the property of the government of Uganda.

“Being a government land because everything is documented, the ministry of water people went and requested for security and demolished their house to take over and begin work genuinely. Money was paid to all those people’s accounts and valuation reports were shared and all documents are available with correspondences,” said Mwesigye adding that he can stand to defend it.

When contacted, Rugajju denied any involvement saying he did not handle anything related to land in Kihanda.

“For me, my issue is mainly Kihihi and borderline and my concentration and task is on security matters to do with national parks, then border. That is where I am involved. I am very certain that it is mistaken identity,” he said.

Source: pressug.com