Soroti fruit factory leased to private investor
Staff work inside the factory’s processing unit.
What you need to know:
- The government owns 80 percent of shares through UDC while farmers through their union own20 percent of shares in the factory.
The government has leased out Soroti Fruit Factory to a private investor, hardly five years since it commenced operation.
Mr Kenneth Clement Ongalo, the State Minister of Teso Affairs, told this publication at the weekend that the government has leased over the factory to Ms Mesfin Zenawi, a former First Lady of Ethiopia.
“We hope with the new investor in place, with the new capital, with the new strategy she is going to come up with, the ordinary farmer who plants oranges will be able to see the difference and pay fees, among other things,” the minister said.
Mr Ongalo said the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) lacked a marketing and public relations strategy.
“How do we interact with farmers who grow fruits? And towards the end, as you probably saw some of these farmers were letting the orchards go to waste without spraying, some started to cut them down to create space for other crops,” Mr Ongalo added.
He expressed optimism that things will improve at the factory.
Mr Ongalo also said the new investor hopes to introduce new orange varieties.
He explained that the decision to lease the factory followed negotiations between the UDC, the Attorney General, Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka, and the Solicitor General. However, Mr Kiwanuka has said he is not aware of the move.
The Teso Sub-region through the expertise of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) turned to citrus in the 1990s after the collapse of the cattle economy as a result of the cattle raids in the 1980s.
This innovation by Naro received a boost from President Museveni’s campaign to reignite Teso’s economic fortunes through citrus farming.
In 2014, the President directed the construction of a fruit factory, and subsequently in 2019, he commissioned the $14m ( Shs ) factory.
Mr Robert Ogalo, a citrus farmer in Ocaapa in Serere District, hoped the new investor will be able to purchase fruits from most, if not, all farmers.
The government owns 80 percent of shares through UDC while farmers through their union own20 percent of shares in the factory.
About the factory
Teso Sub-region is the leading producer of citrus in Uganda.
A fruit factory was commissioned in April 2019 to provide market for oranges and mangoes and solve the challenge of post-harvest losses.
It has capacity to process six metric tonnes of fruits per hour, bought from farmers, into puree/concentrate and natural ready to drink juice, which the company branded “Teju juice’’.
Source: Uganda Development Corporation
