Agriculture
Nwoya Farmers Land Major Market Deal Through Ethanol Partnership with Bukona Agro-Processors
Farmers in Nwoya District are set to benefit from a landmark Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement signed on Thursday, July 17, which guarantees a reliable and profitable market for their cassava and grain produce.
The agreement, inked between Bukona Agro-Processors Limited, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, and the Nwoya District Local Government, was formalized at Bukona’s newly licensed ethanol blending plant in Malaba Town Council, Tororo District. The initiative is part of a national green energy strategy that will see increased blending of ethanol with petroleum to reduce carbon emissions.
Under this new deal, Bukona Agro-Processors will procure over 30,000 tonnes of cassava and grains annually from Nwoya farmers to supply its ethanol production facility located in Koch Amar Sub-County. The agreement comes as a relief for the region’s farming community, who have long grappled with unstable markets and low produce prices.
“This partnership means farmers won’t just grow crops, they’ll have a guaranteed buyer,” said Pravin Kekal, Director of Bukona Agro-Processors.
He added that Bukona has also partnered with Centenary Bank to help farmers access agricultural loans to scale up production.
Godfrey Odoki Ocitti, the Nwoya District Commercial Officer who signed on behalf of the district, emphasized that the local government will provide technical training, logistics support, and mobilize the district’s 36 agro-processing plants as collection and storage centers. Agricultural extension officers will work closely with farmers to meet quality standards required by the ethanol processors.
“This is a game-changer for our farmers and a bold step in moving from subsistence agriculture to commercial farming,” Odoki noted, calling it a gateway into Uganda’s “money economy.”
Currently, Nwoya District has: 4,800 village savings and loan associations, 170 farmer groups, 16 cooperative societies.
These groups will now benefit directly from the ethanol supply chain, enabling thousands of households to increase incomes and agricultural productivity.
Hatim Muyanja, an Energy Officer at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, revealed that Bukona is one of eight companies licensed to blend imported petroleum with ethanol under the amended Biofuels Act. More blending plants are underway at Uganda’s key border entry points Malaba, Mutukula, Mahathi, and Busia.
“All fuel entering Uganda will be blended with ethanol before reaching the market,” Muyanja said, projecting Bukona’s output to grow from an initial five million litres of petroleum annually to 20 million litre in the next three to five years.
The agreement not only provides market security to farmers but also positions Uganda closer to achieving its green energy targets.
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