The government has omitted Bukakkata Sub-county in Masaka District from areas set to benefit from the oil palm project yet to be rolled out.
The Ministry of Agriculture officials said Bukakkata was omitted because of various environmentally sensitive and heritage sites which need to be protected.
According to the final Environmental and Social Impact report for the proposed establishment of smallholder oil palm plantations in Masaka District, most parts of Bukakkata Sub-county were left out due to the concentration of Ramsar and cultural sites.
‘The area has several tourist attractions, including Ramsar, cultural and religious sites like Lake Nabugabo, Birinzi Catholic Shrine, Lake Birinzi, which locals consider very vital and need to be conserved,’ the report reads in part. The report further indicates that after assessment, only small-scale farmers from the 72 villages in three sub-counties of Buwunga, Kyanamukkaka, and Kyesiiga were approved to benefit from the oil palm project expected to kick off in March next year.
Mr Anthony Wanyoto, a communications and knowledge management officer at the National Oil Palm Project, said the assessment and registration of farmers from the selected sub-counties was completed. The targeted beneficiaries were mobilised to form a cooperative society to provide an organisational framework among them to ease access to better inputs and extension services.
Local leaders speak out
Mr Robert Kambugu, the Masaka deputy Resident District Commissioner, said his office has not received any information regarding the project. ‘We are mandated to mobilise people and sensitise them to embrace developmental projects, but the line ministry has not yet communicated to us,’ he said in a telephone interview yesterday. Mr Henry Kabuye, the vice chairperson of Kyesiiga Sub-county, said he received information about the project through some farmers in the area.
‘I have learnt that the number of farmers selected is small compared to those ready to embrace the project. I think these are issues we could address as local leaders if they fully involved us in the project,’ he said. The Masaka oil palm project is part of the greater Masaka hub, which covers districts on Lake Victoria shores, including Kyotera, Masaka, Kalungu, and Kalangala.
The project
The project targets 4,000 hectares of land in the district and prioritises small-scale farmers with one to four acres of land. In the neighbouring Kyotera District, BIDCO Uganda Limited – the project implementing firm, has already established a nursery bed for oil palm seedlings, which it will supply to both the nucleus estate and outgrowers across the region.
Oil palm farming in Masaka District was introduced in 2003. However, the project has not yet kicked off due to challenges, most especially the opposition from politicians and residents, which prompted the government to relocate the project to Kalangala District. Other districts like Buvuma, Namayingo, Bugiri, and Mayuge have embraced oil palm farming, and more districts in central, eastern, northern, and West Nile regions are yet to be considered under the second phase of implementation of the project.