Nakasongola fruit farmer wants govt intervention to boost value addition

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A drive to Kaduuba village in Kansiira parish, Lwabyata sub-county in Nakasongola district, welcomes you with hanging fruit, including jackfruits, oranges and mangoes. Properly spaced, glittering and farmers tilling more land.

The fruits occupy about 15 acres owned by Benard Lwanga, a main beneficiary of a government project under the Kisakyamukama Kaduuba farmers group.

Amidst this spectacular progress, Lwanga and his fellow farmers who grow outside the farm want to do value addition to their produce.

“When the Government brought this multimillion-dollar water project to us, I felt happiness. I could not believe it. My duty is just to communicate the small challenges,” he says.

Lwanga understands that the entire community has taken an interest in growing fruits, which means there is massive production that eventually leads to low demand. Accordingly, the majority of the farmers hardly get the expected amounts after the season.

“Our farms are doing well, but we make less money when we sell fruits that are not value-added,” he says.

Lwanga believes that with the huge investment, it is their turn to earn more than expected through value addition.

“For now, we need a bigger market after value addition; we plan to start exporting abroad fruit juice,” he hopes.



In the first season of 2025, Lwanga earned shilllings three million from tomato selling. In watermelon, he earned six million. He believes this was little money compared to the time invested. If he had a machine that does value addition, he would have earned about shilllings 90 million, he says.

Lwanga has over 12 acres of oranges mixed with mangoes. He plans to establish a small fruit factory together with his fellow farmers.

“We have the capacity, but now, we sell our fruits so cheaply. If we could be producing juice, we would be earning more,” he says.

He adds that more job employment opportunities can be created once they get intervention from government support, rather than depending on an individual basis.

Lwanga heads a group of 24 farmers. In the same group, nine are women. A few produce oranges, watermelon, and tomatoes, but on a large scale. They say losses are frequent when fruits are sold within the local market.

“We give some free fruits to neighbours when we know there is no market,” says Agnes Nalubwama, a mother of 9 children and 39 years old.

Though she insists that with the low earnings, their family status is changing. Children are going to school, and houses are being constructed. This is part of life improvement they never expected; however, the government could extend a helping hand to them. Everyone in the community could attest to the beauty of hard work.

“From the time of the project inception, life has changed. We can grow three seasons all round; that is why we want to establish a fruit factory to do value addition,” she says.

Reafforestation

Nakasongola is one of the districts that receives less amount of rainfall. Noel Muhangi, the senior public relations officer of the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), says fruit trees will attract rain in communities. This will further boost forest cover in the district.

He says agroforestry practices can fight against climate change. He encourages more farmers to take part in planting more trees. He notes that the government has invested huge funds and attracted support from other countries to invest in reafforestation.

So far, the Government, through MWE, has built over 450 irrigation schemes, which are solar powered, and they are transforming the lives of many people.

Background

Uganda produces a wide range of tropical fruits, including mangoes, pineapples, citrus, pawpaw, and avocado, mostly from smallholder farmers. Over the last decade, the government and development partners invested in fruit-processing factories to reduce post-harvest losses and promote agro-industrialisation. Major projects were set up in the districts of Soroti, Masaka, Luwero, and Yumbe, targeting areas with high fruit production.

Large fruit-growing belts are concentrated in the West Nile, especially Arua, Yumbe, and Zombo, which are known for abundant mangoes. The Teso sub-region, particularly Soroti and Kumi, provides mango and citrus in large volumes, while Busoga around Jinja offers mixed-fruit production. Central Uganda, including Luwero and Masaka, hosts large pineapple, mango, and papaya farms that supply both exporters and processors.

Despite this potential, many fruit factories have declined or underperformed. The biggest challenge is unstable fruit supply due to seasonality, which leaves factories idle for long periods. Poor feeder roads and high transport costs make raw materials expensive to collect. Several factories also face weak management, limited market access for processed products, and delayed or inadequate financing. Government audits and media investigations consistently show factories running far below capacity and failing to break even.

Over the years, the government and its partners have injected substantial funds into these projects. The Masaka Fruit Factory received about sh40b in government investment. Soroti Fruit Factory has attracted more than sh100b in capital and upgrade funding. The proposed Luwero Fruit Factory was initially valued at $10 million, while the Yumbe mango plant and its mobile processing truck received additional government and UDC support, including a $400,000 mobile unit. Donor initiatives such as the EU and IFAD-supported Yield Uganda Investment Fund have contributed about €8 million to strengthen agribusiness and fruit value chains.

Overall fruit production in Uganda remains high, but only a small fraction is processed. FAO-linked market data shows pineapple output at around 8,000 metric tons in 2023, while mango, citrus, and papaya production is widespread but poorly integrated into processing lines. As a result, many factories continue to operate at less than 30% of their capacity, highlighting gaps in supply chains, management, and market access.