NWOYA, UGANDA: A local investor in large scale farming, Delight Uganda Limited Farm located in Nwoya district has partnered with the United Nations (UN Women-Africa) to support 4500 women farmers in Northern Uganda by providing them with seedlings for growing mangoes and simsim on large scale.
“UN Women has supported us, they give women money and planting material and we want them to grow those agricultural products that they will be supplying to the fruits factory being planned by government, those women will supply us with mangoes to the fruit factory,’ said Dr. Julian Adyeeri, the proprietor of Delight Uganda Limited, Nwoya Farm.
“We have also partnered with the Master Card Foundation and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) in recruiting 6000 youths, we want each of them to acquire land user rights through which they own an acre of land to grow citrus fruits in the nine sub-counties of Nwoya district,” she said.
She told a delegation from the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) led by the Authority’s Director for Investment Promotion and Development Sheila Mugyenzi that Delight Uganda Limited has also invested in large scale farming.
‘We have invested in Apiary, fruits, 450 beehive’s, 1000 acres of mangoes, 50 acres of of citrus fruits, 50 acres for guava and 50 for cashew nuts, 500 acres of commercial forestry colonial Eucalyptus tree, with 5000 out growers,” .
She added that the company has mobilized 1250 farmers in Nwoya who planted sorghum which is to be sold to Uganda Breweries Limited.
‘We demarcated 200 acres out of the total 1700 acres for the factory that will also have common user facilities such as silos, a rice mill and houses for accommodation for experts,” she added.
“We are still waiting for the construction of a Sh38bn fruits factory that is to make mango pulp, mango concentrates, citrus and guava juice, according to Mrs Julian Omalla Adyeeri.
“President Yoweri Museveni gave a directive that the district should have a turnkey project that would create jobs for youths and farmers in the sub-region of Acholi, produce for export to the markets of South Sudan, DR Congo but it is three years now since he gave a directive,” she said adding that he directed that the money be availed by the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) and the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS).
By David Muwanga