Masaka City business community demand rationalized farming to boost milk, coffee production

BY BRIAN MUGENYI 

mugenyijj@gmail.com 

Following the dry season that greatly contributed to the decline of agricultural produces in greater Masaka region especially in Rakai

District in the past years, the business community has turned the swords to demand for a booming coffee and milk production sectors in order to overcome food crisis in a country.

In a business dialogue which attracted thousands from the business sector among agro business farmers and business men and women from Greater Masaka region and other stakeholders at Brovad Hotel, the businesscommunity resolved to revive agricultural cooperatives to ignite unity and togetherness among business community as the for market potential for the produced products such as coffee and milk collected from cattle farmers is required too.

According to Mr. Ausi Mwesigwa, chairperson, Chamber of commerce and industry in Lwengo District, they should be empowered by the government by setting up area factories than deporting their produces for example tomatoes in South Sudan where the market is even unpredictable because of

conflicts.

“In Lwengo today farmers prefer growing produces such as passion fruits, tomatoes, watermelon than even food crops. If we can get machines that can extract juice from these fruits, farmers are to benefit a lot,” he explained.

Mr. Andrew Rugasira, the founder of Good African Coffee Company (GAC), that now has 14,000 coffee farmers in Kasese and Kapchorwa districts and is now eyeing for Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry presidential seat explained that if Masaka Cooperative Union is revived, coffee production too in the area will also be boosted.

He said farmers will be able to share ideas related to farming and

marketing of their produces and it will also positively impact government

programs such as Operation wealth Creation since farmers in the region

would be easily traceable from such groups.

He said although we have the Uganda National Chambers of Commerce and

Industry, very few people understands how it operates, its benefits and

that’s why some members of business community are left behind on different

matters related to the industry.

“Farmers lack career guidance and trainings. If they can get links which

can market their produce, it will be better for our economy,” he observed.

Ms. Helen Mugarura, also a co- director at Hotel Zebra and a wife to Mr. Benon Mugarura a business in Masaka City said some farmers lack value

addition in investing in milk production especially in areas such as Lyantonde,

Ssembabule and Mbarara and she appealed to the government and Ministry of Agriculture Industry and Animal Husbandry to support farmers to lift up the standards of coffee and milk produced out from their gardens and dairy farms to improve production.

Ms Rosette Kabasita, a dairy farmer in Lyantonde said the price of 1 litre of milk is

relatively ambivalent ranging from shs: 2000 which is not favoring them as farmers and they would wish to

have agencies that can market their produce abroad so as to benefit from it.

According to the Masaka City Agricultural Officer, Freedie Kabango,

Masaka City has a total of 274063 house hold farmers.

The area used to grow big sums of matooke before the collapse of Masaka Cooperative Union