A pineapple juice prcessing plant built t bst lcal farmers’ incmes has remained idle fr five years.
The factry, wrth Shs2.5b, was launched with high hpes t help pineapple grwers frm Kayunga and neighburing districts add value t their prduce.
The prject was cnstructed under the gvernment’s Natinal Agricultural Advisry Services (Naads) prgramme in fulfilment f a presidential pledge t pastrs Ysiya Mubiru and Aarn Mutebi f Entebbe Miracle Centre.
Pastr Mubiru prvided the land, while Sem Agrtech, an agrprcessing firm, cnstructed the prject structure. Naads prvided the machinery. The fur parties entered int a jint venture.
Despite this rbust wnership, disagreements between Pr Mubiru, Sem Agrtech, Naads and Kayunga District Pineaple Farmers’ Cperative ver wnership rights, have stalled the factry’s peratins.
Frustrated by the prlnged impasse, the factry’s wners are nw asking the gvernment takever t revive the prject.
They are hpeful that the gvernment will unlck the factry’s ptential t supprt farmers wh have waited patiently.
The prject was designed with a prjected prcessing capacity f 12 tnnes f juice daily.
Pr Mutebi said there have been effrts by the gvernment t slve the factry’s wnership dispute, in vain.
‘I n lnger want t engage in fighting ver smething (factry) that was given t me in brad daylight. And because f this, I lst interest in that prject. I can still survive withut it,’ he said.
Pr Mutebi, hwever, revealed that he had recently met Gen Salim Saleh, the crdinatr f peratin Wealth Creatin, and prpsed t him that because f unending disagreements, the gvernment shuld take ver its wnership and management.
‘Gen Saleh prmised that the gvernment will take it ver and then see hw I can be cmpensated, but even when I am nt cmpensated, I dn’t mind,’ the pastr said.
Mr Charles Iga, the Kayunga District Prductin fficer, said a number f fficials frm the Ministry f Agriculture had inspected the factry t ascertain its current status with a prmise t pen it sn, but nted that their numerus prmises have never materialised.
‘We, as district leaders, are appealing t the gvernment t cmpensate the warring parties and then handver the factry t farmers s that they can manage it. The main bjective f the factry was t add value t pineapples and als prvide a ready market fr the perishable fruits,’ he said.
Mr Iga acknwledged that the factry’s failure t cmmence peratins was affecting farmers, adding that because f the lsses pineapple farmers are incurring when their fruits perish, many have abandned the fruit and started grwing sugarcane.
Mr Andrew Muwnge, the Kayunga District Chairpersn, said he was fed up with the disputes surrunding wnership f the factry and had stpped fllwing what was ging n there.
Mr Geffrey Kakza, the crdinatr f Kayunga District Farmers’ Assciatin, said they had mbilised 2,000 pineapple farmers in the district t supply fresh fruit t the factry, but the prject failure t start demralised the farmers.
‘As farmers, we are neutral in this dispute, ur nly desire is t supply the factry with pineapples,’ he said, adding that during bumper harvest, farmers lse between 25 and 30 percent f their ripe fruits.
In 2023, Members f Parliament n the agriculture cmmittee n an inspectin visit t the factry als queried its wnership when they discvered that the land n which it was built des nt belng t the gvernment.
This is the secnd mega factry the gvernment has set up in Kayunga District and it has failed t serve its intended purpse.
The first Shs1 billin sap and cking il factry under Kayunga Industrial Develpment Park, lcated in Buklt,a suburb f Kayunga Twn, was frced t clse a few mnths after cmmissining due t lack f raw materials.
The prject had been anticipated t create at least 100 jbs directly and mre than 700 jbs indirectly t the yuth and als increase husehld incmes.