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Mechanisation breathes life into Atiak Sugar Factory
Operations inside the Atiak Sugar Factory prior to commissioning in 2019. PHOTO/TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
What you need to know:
- Parliament approved a total of Shs108 billion in supplementary budget to fund the mechanisation of the Atiak Sugar factory through the Uganda Development Corporation in Financial Year2022/23.
A total of 1,580 workers are expected to be employed by the Atiak Sugar Factory once it resumes operation in mid-2025, Horyal Investment Ltd., the proprietor of the plant, has said.
Mr Ahmed Mohamud, the factory’s director for planning and development, says with more mechanisation, production will increase.
“Currently, we have 543 workers, but when we resume production, we will have 1,580 workers. Agriculture will take 750 workers, with each machine taking three operators,” Mr Mohamud says.
“Once we get that big number and when we start producing sugar, there will be other industries that will grow around it. We are talking about ethanol, animal feeds, and molasses for feeding animals that will support the dairy industry here, and this is a big chance for our people here,” he adds.
Using manual labour, the factory can only crush around 1,200 tonnes of cane and at least 5,000 casual labourers.
Parliament approved a total of Shs108 billion in supplementary budget to fund the mechanisation of the Atiak Sugar factory through the Uganda Development Corporation in Financial Year2022/23.
According to Mr Francis Mwebesa, the minister for Trade, Industries, and Cooperatives, the government is optimistic that once Atiak Sugar Factory resumes operation next year, it will generate various benefits and stimulate the development of the Acholi sub-region.
“We are confident that when fully developed and operational, these benefits include increased incomes for farmers and the wealth of the community; employment, promotion of commercial farming, promotion of exports, and finally, the factory will act as a pillar to attracting more investments into the region,” Mr Mwebesa said.
The government, through the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), owns 40 percent of Atiak Sugar Factory, into which it has invested through other instruments such as preference shares, shareholder loans, and lease financing.
The Daily Monitor has established that, in total, the government has invested in a phased manner up to Shs485.1 billion in the factory.
Nearly three years ago, Horyal Investment Ltd closed down sugar production following numerous challenges such as insufficient cane, frequent fires, and inadequate infrastructure development.
However, Mr Mwebesa says the challenges necessitated the reconceptualisation and redevelopment of the factory, in which the government recently invested another Shs109 billion.
“The re-planned model covered a wide range of components, including factory estate development, farm mechanisation, irrigation, the acquisition of a stone crushing machine, debt financing, the settlement of land lease arrears, working capital,” Mr Mwebesa said.
According to Ms Amina Hersi Morghe, the CEO of Horyal Investment Ltd, the solution to the numerous challenges has been to reduce the cost of production and increase yields.
“The government coming in to help us develop sugarcane production through mechanisation and irrigation is a great effort and boost; these machines require heavy training costs, which we took on to make sure our workforce is boosted,” Ms Amina said.
Whereas mechanised production eliminates manual labour provision, from which communities neighbouring the project derived huge benefits, Ms Amina insists that they have now designed new approaches that will indirectly benefit and develop them.
“We are soon going to do diversification to help farmers in the community with market linkages and other crop production by giving them the equipment to use in crop production and extending irrigation to farmer groups around the project area,” she said.
