Birunga Dairy, farmers feud over Shs 670m

A row has erupted between Birunga Dairy and more than 500 farmers in Ntungamo district over Shs 670m in unpaid dues.

The farmers who hail from Rushenyi County in Ntungamo district have also petitioned President Yoweri Museveni over alleged failure by Birunga Dairy to pay them Shs 670m for milk they supplied to the milk processer last year.

The farmers, who accuse Birunga Dairy’s proprietor, Innocent Bisangwa, of making empty promises with regard to their payment say their businesses are suffering as a result.

Inside the closed milk collection center at Nshenyi in Rubaare Town council -Ntungamo district. Photo by Lauben Rugyendo

One of the petitioners, Joseph Nuunu, says that many locals who have been supplying the dairy with milk between last year and early this year are now stuck and on the verge of abandoning the business of dairy farming altogether.

John Bosco Ruhangasiimwe, another petitioner, says that the embattled farmers have no other source of income. He expressed hope that the farmers’ appeal to the president would bear fruit.

“We decided to bring this matter to the President’s attention so that he can come to our rescue.”

Moreen Mugyenyi, one of the aggrieved farmers, says that their only source of livelihood has been brought to a halt.

Mugyenyi, who says she used to supply Birunga Dairy with between 75-80 litres of milk daily, revealed that the company, which processes the popular Highland milk, owes her Shs 30m.

“Closure of the Uganda-Rwanda border turned to be serious for them [Birunga Dairy] since their products had a bigger market in Rwanda,” Mugyenyi says.

Ronald Turyagumanawe, another farmer, says that the already tough situation was worsened by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which left them out of business.

Proprietor responds

For his part, Bisangwa the proprietor of Birunga Dairy blames the downturn of his business on the bad relations between Uganda and her neighbours.

”I used to supply milk to Rwanda and Kenya, but due to the bad relations with our neighbours, I lost my main market and closed down operations,” he said.

Nevertheless, Bisangwa urged the farmers not to lose hope, revealing that he is pursuing a recapitalization plan that will see the dairy resume operations and clear all outstanding debts with its suppliers.

Still, he contends that the Shs 670m debt that the farmers are claiming is an exaggeration of the reality since his record books indicate a figure only half their claim.

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Moroto traders decry delay in completion of main market

Moroto Municipality Market vendors have expressed disappointment over the delayed completion of the main market.

Moroto market is being constructed under the government’s Markets and Agriculture Trade Improvement Program (MATIP), with funding from both government of Uganda and the Arab Bank of Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

The new market being constructed by Ambitious Construction Ltd will have shops, stalls, open spaces, toilet facilities, parking and ramps for easy access by people with Disabilities (PWDs).

The project, which is being supervised by the ministry of Local Government, will be handed over to the Moroto Municipal Authority upon completion and is expected to house 4,000 traders.

Construction works on Moroto market commenced two years ago and were due for completion in December last year. However, close to a year later, works are still ongoing, something that has not gone down well with the traders.

Namboze Alifa, one of the traders, said that the Town Clerk of Moroto Municipality, Isaiah Tumwesigye had promised traders that the market would be complete and fully operational between September 1 and December 2019, but that is yet to materialize.

“We are wondering what’s going on. Nobody has explained why the market has taken so long to finish, or when it will be completed, and yet we are losing our products to thieves every night,” she said.

Simon Wamuno, the vice Chairman of Moroto Municipal Traders Association affirmed that the delay in finishing the facility was exposing traders to losses from burglary.

“Most of our traders operate from mud and wattle houses which thieves easily break into and steal from. We had hoped that if the construction of the market is done quickly we would not continue to incur losses,” he said.

But Robert Kairu, the Moroto Municipal Engineer, urged the traders to be patient and allow the contractor complete all the work.

“It’s true the completion of the work has been a little bit delayed but it’s in the final stages. I appeal to our traders to be patient,” he said.

According to Kairu, after completion of the market, the Municipal Council will remove evict all the container-shops from the major streets of Moroto.

“We have very many containers that are being used as shops in our streets, but as soon as this market is completed, we shall push everyone into the market and no more containers will be allowed in the town,” he said.

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Soroti fruits factory set to resume buying fruits

Fruits farmers in Teso and Acholi regions have reason to smile following an announcement by the Soroti fruit factory that it will resume buying fruits from the farmers as the economy begins to pick up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement was made by the factory’s Executive Director, Douglas Kakyuku Ndawula in an interview with theCooperator.

Ndawula said the factory’s management had suspended buying fruits from farmers due to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown and follow-up restrictions that affected the factory’s sales.

“Now that the market is picking up seriously after the lockdown was lifted, we are registering fairly good sales and will soon start buying fruits from the farmers,” he said.

According to Ndawula, the 87% drop in sales resulting from business closures during lockdown was slowly being reversed, with the factory now registering a 55% gain in sales.

He said the factory will start buying fruits from farmers by next week and called upon fruit farmers in Teso, Acholi regions to be ready to supply the factory with fruits.

The factory which is located in Soroti was established in 2014 by the government of Uganda as an investment promotion initiative aimed at supporting value addition in fruit processing for the promotion of industrial growth, income diversification and increasing household incomes.

According to Ndawula, since the factory started its operations, they have so far procured about 2,500,000 kilograms of oranges and mangoes from more than 109 farmer cooperatives to produce ready-to-drink juice under the company’s Teju brand, as well as fruit concentrate.

“Our main products are Juice concentrates and ready-to-drink mango, orange and lemon juice which must meet the required standards, domestically, regionally and internationally.

He urged farmers to focus on cultivating improved fruit varieties that are needed by the factory.

“The factory will only buy improved mango varieties including Boribo, Kakule, Tommy Atkins, Zillet, Apple Mango, Kent, Keitt and Haden, while for oranges we only buy Valencia, Washington Naval and Hamiline,” he said.

Meanwhile many farmers welcomed the factory’s move to resume buying fruits, describing it as a great relief to farmers who have endured harsh living conditions under the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samson Opolot, one of the fruit farmers in Atira Sub County in Serere district, hopes to earn some money to pay school fees now that schools have been allowed to open on October, 15.

“When the President opened up candidate classes on Sunday, I was speechless because I had nowhere to get school fees. But if the factory resumes buying fruits next week, that will save some of us,” he said.

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Kashari traders beg government to re-open cattle markets

Traders in Kyenshama Trading Centre in Kashari North Constituency have requested government to think about reopening of cattle markets.

Kyenshama cattle market, which previously operated every Friday, was officially closed on March 20 this year as one of several measures aimed at stopping the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kyenshama is one of the biggest animal markets in western Uganda and receives about 300 heads of cattle and 400 goats and sheep from the neighbouring districts of Kazo, Mbarara, Kiruhura and Buhweju weekly.

According to Deus Ndyanabo, LC I Chairperson Kyenshama trading centre, the market has in the past provided job opportunities to mostly youths in the cattle chain in Kashari constituency.

Many of these, he says, have been rendered unemployed following the shutdown of the market.

“All the food vendors in the market, plus the boys who were aiding in loading and offloading of cattle have no other means of survival,” says Ndyanabo

He says the closure of cattle markets also hampered farmers from selling their farm products.

“When you took your goat or cow to the market, you would be assured of getting some money to solve issues on your farm. But now it’s hard to sell any farm animal since all markets were closed,” Ndyanabo explains, adding that, as a result, the living conditions for people in Kyenshama have since deteriorated.

He asked residents to remain patient as government looks into the matter.

“Traders should remain patient because we see that some other markets were re-opened, for instance, those dealing in food stuffs operating normally. We hope that government can re-open cattle markets as well and put in place standard operating procedures for us to sell our animals to get money to look after our families,” Ndyanabo said.

Fridah Kajungu, a single mother of five who has operated a local hotel in Kyenshama trading centre for over eight years, could not hide her pain over the drastic drop in customers for her food ever since COVID-19 struck.

Kajungu reveals that she has been facing issues with her landlord since March 2020 when the market was closed.

“It was easier to get his rent when the market was open. Now that Kyenshama was closed I have nowhere to get his money,” she explained.

Due to the reduced demand for food, Kajungu says that she was forced to lower the price of a plate of food from Shs 3000 to 1000 each.

In addition, the beleaguered Kajungu is struggling to pay a one million shillings loan she took from Rwanyamahembe SACCO to kick-start her business.

“I had already cleared some of it, but I still owe the SACCO about five hundred shillings,” she said.

She appealed to the government to give financial support to traders recovering from the slump in business due to COVID-19.

Kansiime Nice, another trader dealing in retail and merchandise, told theCooperator that her sales have fallen dramatically since the COVID-19 restrictions were imposed.

To illustrate, she points to a stack of unsold ropes, an item that flew off the shelves when Kyenshama cattle market was operational.

“These ropes were being bought by cattle dealers in this market; to whom can I sell them now that the cattle business is no more?” she asked.

The mother of two says she is struggling to cater for her two children, having used up all her savings.

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Soroti fruit factory recovering from 87% drop in sales due to COVID-19

The management of Soroti fruit factory is struggling to recover from losses resulting from the COVID-19-related lockdown.

According to Douglas Kakyukyu Ndawula the factory’s Executive Director, the company registered an 87% drop in sales during the lockdown period.

“Although the factory was operating during the lockdown, sales were poor because all the companies that used to buy the products were closed,” Ndawula explained.

He is hopeful that sales will recover, now that the lock down has been lifted.

“The market is already picking up, and we hope it will recover soon,,“ he said.

The factory, which is located in Soroti, Eastern Uganda, was established by the government of Uganda in 2014 to support value addition in fruit processing, promote industrial growth and boost household incomes in the sub region.

According to Ndawula, the fruit processing plant has a capacity to consume 6,000kg of oranges, 2,000kg of mangoes and 4,000kg of pineapples per hour, and produces several juice and concentrate products under the Teju brand.

“Its main products are juice concentrates (Mango, Orange and Lemon) and ready-to-drink juice which must meet the required domestic, regional and international standards,” he said.

Supporting cooperatives

Ndawula said the company has so far bought a total 2,500,000 kg of oranges from 109 farmer cooperative unions, primary cooperative societies, associations, and companies that were registered to supply the factory with fruits from the Eastern and Northern parts of Uganda.

He said the company is still in need of supply of specific fruit varieties from farmers:

“I want to inform farmers that the only improved mango varieties we buy include: Boribo, Kakule, Tommy Atkins, Zillet, Apple Mango, Kent, Keitt and Haden well improved varieties, while for oranges we only buy Valencia, Washington Naval and Hamiline.”

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