Mabale Growers injects sh3b into expansion
Sep 14, 2011
Mabale Growers Tea Factory has invested $1.2m (about sh3.3b) to expand, increase production and reduce operational costs. Kenneth Kyamulesire, the general manager, said the project would increase the factory’s production capacity from 70,000 kilogrammes of green leaf per day to 120,000 kilogrammes.
By Hope Mafaranga/b>
Mabale Growers Tea Factory has invested $1.2m (about sh3.3b) to expand, increase production and reduce operational costs. Kenneth Kyamulesire, the general manager, said the project would increase the factory’s production capacity from 70,000 kilogrammes of green leaf per day to 120,000 kilogrammes.
“The move will also improve the tea quality and price on the world market and bring down the overall cost of production,†Kyamulesire said.
He was on Friday speaking to tea farmers and stakeholders at the factory headquarters at Bugaki sub-county in Kyenjojo district.
The factory was established in 1969 by the Uganda Tea Growers Corporation. However, in 1994 it was transferred to small tea farmers of Kyenjojo and Kabarole districts.
Eulogia Rusoke, the board of governors chief, said the company had since 1994 grown from 220 members to 2,380 by 2010. He added that crop production grew from 3,800,000 kilogramnes of green leaf to 21,000,000 kilogrammes at the end of last year.
Rusoke, however, noted that the tea industry in the country faced problems, especially poor quality, due to the lack of a regulatory body and research to improve the modes of production.
“Research in the sector stopped in 1974 and whatever is being done in Uganda today is guess work.
“This has greatly affected tea quality, productivity, profitability and, therefore, we cannot predict the future of the industry,†Rusoke explained. He also said the factory was facing other challenges, especially the high cost of fertilisers. Today, fertilisers cost sh100,000 per bag compared to sh36,000 in 2006, he noted.
Okaasai Opolot, the director for crop production at agriculture ministry, said the ministry had established a research centre at Kyembogo in Kabarole district to find modern ways of tea production.
Opolot revealed that the tea industry was one of the sectors in the cash crops segment being targeted for funding.
“Tea is an enterprise we need to finance because it is the second biggest cash crop foreign exchange earner after coffee,†he said.
Opolot urged tea farmers to unite and form a forum to push Parliament to enact laws to govern the industry.
Mabale Growers Tea Factory has invested $1.2m (about sh3.3b) to expand, increase production and reduce operational costs. Kenneth Kyamulesire, the general manager, said the project would increase the factory’s production capacity from 70,000 kilogrammes of green leaf per day to 120,000 kilogrammes.
“The move will also improve the tea quality and price on the world market and bring down the overall cost of production,†Kyamulesire said.
He was on Friday speaking to tea farmers and stakeholders at the factory headquarters at Bugaki sub-county in Kyenjojo district.
The factory was established in 1969 by the Uganda Tea Growers Corporation. However, in 1994 it was transferred to small tea farmers of Kyenjojo and Kabarole districts.
Eulogia Rusoke, the board of governors chief, said the company had since 1994 grown from 220 members to 2,380 by 2010. He added that crop production grew from 3,800,000 kilogramnes of green leaf to 21,000,000 kilogrammes at the end of last year.
Rusoke, however, noted that the tea industry in the country faced problems, especially poor quality, due to the lack of a regulatory body and research to improve the modes of production.
“Research in the sector stopped in 1974 and whatever is being done in Uganda today is guess work.
“This has greatly affected tea quality, productivity, profitability and, therefore, we cannot predict the future of the industry,†Rusoke explained. He also said the factory was facing other challenges, especially the high cost of fertilisers. Today, fertilisers cost sh100,000 per bag compared to sh36,000 in 2006, he noted.
Okaasai Opolot, the director for crop production at agriculture ministry, said the ministry had established a research centre at Kyembogo in Kabarole district to find modern ways of tea production.
Opolot revealed that the tea industry was one of the sectors in the cash crops segment being targeted for funding.
“Tea is an enterprise we need to finance because it is the second biggest cash crop foreign exchange earner after coffee,†he said.
Opolot urged tea farmers to unite and form a forum to push Parliament to enact laws to govern the industry.