Plan to stop dependence on imported edible oil hits snag

On December 21 last year, the government unveiled a grand plan to plant at least 100,000 hectares of oil palm to satisfy the increasing local demand for edible oils and also substitute its oil palm imports.
Alongside oil palm, the government is also targeting to increase the growing of sunflower, sesame, and soya beans.
According to State Minister for Agriculture, Mr Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, the targeted acreage of oil palm trees will enable the country to get the required 410,000 metric tonnes of oil products by 2025. Currently, Uganda can only produce 80,000 metric tonnes of edible oil annually against the current demand of 120,000 metric tonnes.
“With such metric tonnes we shall also be able to even sell the products outside the country,” Mr Kyakulaga says
But some sector players say the government must not just talk big but also spend money on various projects, such as prior compensation of project-affected persons, training, and financing farmers.  
Three months ago, a section of residents of Buvuma blocked oil palm growing on private land, demanding their compensation packages. Although the government agreed to pay for private land to expand the project, a section of residents fear that they may not get their money.
The Buvuma Oil Palm project kicked off in May 2021 targeting 7,500 hectares, of which 2,500 hectares are for smallholder farmers and 5,000 on the nucleus estates. But so far, only 2,000 hectares on the nucleus estate have been planted while 502 outgrowers have planted 1,300 hectares.
Ms Hadijah  Nakato, a resident of Kakyanga Village, said her land was surveyed six years ago and she was promised compensation, but the money is not forthcoming.
“I stopped the investor from planting oil palm trees on my land after seeing my colleagues who were assessed earlier than me, complaining over delayed compensation,” she said.
Some oil palm farmers claim the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) staff deployed in the area have greatly mishandled the project, leaving many farmers cursing having joined the business and pondering cutting down the trees.
Mr Kasekende Gonzaga, an oil palm out grower in Buvuma, said: “Many of us had looked at oil palm as a real game changer given the success stories we hear from farmers in Kalangala, but we are seeing something different here. We are not getting the support we need.”
He added: “Some NOPP workers sent to our farms have displayed total ignorance of the crop, which has also created gaps in the nurturing of the crop. They cannot properly guide the farmers and I advise the government to look for competent people.”
Mr Kasekende claims many of the things stipulated in the agreements they signed with NOPP have not been fulfilled, leaving farmers wondering whether growing palm is a viable investment.
“This gesture [of not fulfilling what is in agreement ] is just enough to show other people the pain of growing the crop and can easily scare off land owners in other areas unless the government styles up,” he said.
Mr Kasekende, who currently has 10 acres of oil palm, has a plan of growing more than 20 acres but said he will only expand once the government compensates landowners. 
Mr Wilson Sserunjogi, the Buvuma District Oil Palm Project focal person, said there are some challenges affecting the progress of the project. 
“We have managed to secure enough land with only a few residents yet to be compensated, this is a result of some technicalities. But we shall overcome all this soon,” he said.
He said the new payment system that requires farmers to have Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) has slowed down the commencement of the project in the island district. 
“Our people in Buvuma move at a slow pace due to their low level of education and challenges in accessing the mainland for most of these services and this has slowed down the exercise. But for those who had TINs, payments have been made,”Mr  Sserunjogi said.
He said the government may fail to hit its target of 100,000 hectares by 2025 because of the current challenges. 
“An investor cannot use land before tenants are cleared,”  he explained.
Mr  Yunus Maganda, the chairperson of Nairambi Sub-county in  Buvuma District ,said: “There is no doubt if the current issues are not swiftly sorted out, the government’s target will not be achieved.”
Buvuma is the second district after Kalangala to embrace oil palm growing while more districts in central, eastern, northern, and West Nile regions are yet to be considered under the second phase of implementation of the project.
In Kalangala, where the project started, at least 11,800 hectares of oil palm trees have so far been planted in the last 19 years, according to Mr David Balironda,the manager of Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT). 
Initially, the government was supposed to make 40,000 hectares available for planting oil palm trees. However, so far, less than half has been provided.
Mr Balironda reveals that more than 500 hectares are yet to be planted, according to the request they have received.
“After people seeing that oil palm farmers are getting rich and even earned money during the tough  times of Covid -19 , we now have more people that want to grow the crop,” he said.
Land for expansion
Kyamuswa Constituency currently has most of the virgin land, which KOPGT sees as an opportunity to expand palm oil growing in Kalangala. 
However, a big chunk of the land is owned by  Buganda Kingdom, the  Church and private landlords.  
Recently, when Masaka Diocesan Bishop Serverus Jjumba visited KOPGT offices, Mr Balironda requested the prelate to allow locals to plant oil palm on Church land. 
Bishop Jjumba said: “I will first inquire about the profitability of the business.”
Ms Akilapa Thabisa ,71 ,a palm oil model farmer at Kizira Village  in Mugoye Sub-county, said she might be evicted after someone claimed ownership of land she has occupied in the last two decades.
“I got this land from someone I thought  was the owner but after 20 years,a new landlord emerged and is  threatening to cut down the entire  plantation,” she said.
The Kalangala District chairperson, Mr Rajab Ssemakula, said he is worried that a big portion of land in the area has been allocated to oil palm growing. 
“We are worried that we may end up with no food in this district if all the land available is used for oil palm growing. People are planting oil palm and are not leaving any space for other crops,”  he said.
Masaka, Kyotera projects
Another factor likely to affect the government‘s plan to boost edible oil production, is the delay to kick-start the two mega oil palm projects in Masaka and Kyotera districts.
Both projects were expected to kick off early last year, but were delayed due to unresolved land wrangles in the sub-counties of Bukakkata and Buwunga   in Masaka District and 247 square miles at Sango Bay Estate in  Kyotera.  
Some residents who were recently evicted from Sango Bay Estate have started reclaiming part of the land on grounds that they were not compensated.
According to Ms Teopista Ssenkungo, the Masaka resident district commissioner, despite the wrangles, they have secured 2,000 hectares out of the 4,000 needed for the project.
“There is no need to worry, we are launching the oil palm growing very soon and this should bring hope that the presidential goal will be achieved,” she said.
Speaking about the Sango Bay project, State Minister Kyakulaga said the government is finalising compensation of tenants to ensure the planting of 26,000 hectares of oil palm commences.
“As we sort out issues in Masaka and Sango Bay, we are planting in  Maruzi, Apac District. We have 50 square miles and 3,000 hectares have already been planted,”he said.
Mr Kyagulaga said the government prefers oil palm compared to other oil seeds because it is 10 times more productive per unit area than any other crop. 
He added: “Also, we are in talks with other companies which have expressed interest to invest in oil products. In addition to Bidco which is already operating in Kalangala and Buvuma, we hope to add Fruit Valley Limited, Hillside Agriculture Ltd, and Bukola Estate Ltd.” 
The minister said the government would save close to $ 290m (about Shs1 trillion) in foreign exchange annually if it substituted its imports with locally produced edible oils.  
While on his poverty alleviation tour in Kalangala on  May 26 , President Museveni advised islanders to embrace growing more oil palm so as to enable the country to get enough oil palm products like soap and cooking oil for  domestic use and export.
Local leaders informed the President that the project has pushed people to the middle-income status whereby on average an outgrower earns Shs1.6 million from oil palm monthly.
“I am so happy that oil palm has worked well. Bujumba residents are doing well, but those in Kyamuswa Constituency are not yet there.  Kyamuswa, why did you lag behind? If the people of Kyamuswa got involved at the start, we would be very far. We still import over 70 percent of oil palm products from Malaysia and Indonesia. We have been at war to get land for oil palm growing, but thank God that the people of Kyamuswa have also woken up,” he said.

Compiled by Al Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Daniel M Ssenfuma & David Sekayinga