Leveraging agrifood systems to create jobs
The impact is already visible. Bukona directly employs nearly 200 workers, most of them drawn from surrounding communities. Women who once worked as housemaids have been trained to handle laboratory operations and stove assembly, earning up to sh800,000 a month.
Leveraging agrifood systems to create jobs
By Admin .
Journalists @New Vision
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OPINION
By Mildred Barungi, PhD
Uganda’s quest to create decent jobs for its rapidly growing population has received a new boost from the agrifood sector, with Bukona Agro Processors in Nwoya District emerging as a shining example of how green innovation can power employment.
For decades, agriculture has been the backbone of Uganda’s economy, employing more than 70% of the population. Yet, most of this employment remains informal and low-paying. Today, with thousands of young people entering the labour market every year, the question facing policymakers is: how can agriculture move beyond subsistence and become a true engine of jobs?
At the heart of this transformation is Bukona Agro Processors, a public-private partnership between government and private investors. Established in 2021 with equity from the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), the factory extracts ethanol from cassava, maize and sorghum.
The ethanol is sold locally for clean cooking and as an export product in the East African region. Bukona also assembles ethanol stoves under the brand Greenergy, giving households an alternative to charcoal and firewood while expanding the market for locally produced fuel.
The impact is already visible. Bukona directly employs nearly 200 workers, most of them drawn from surrounding communities. Women who once worked as housemaids have been trained to handle laboratory operations and stove assembly, earning up to sh800,000 a month. The company also provides a ready market for over 8,600 tonnes of produce from farmers annually—boosting rural incomes.
Like many industries, ethanol production comes with environmental challenges. For every litre of ethanol produced, ten litres of liquid waste are generated. Until now, this has been managed through open lagoons, which pose risks of pollution.
Bukona plans to change that story. With green financing, the company intends to install an evaporator and dryer system to convert this waste into high-protein animal feed. This innovation could generate sh10 – sh12 million a day in additional revenue, while creating new jobs in feed processing and marketing.
In effect, Bukona would achieve “zero waste”—turning a pollution problem into a livelihood opportunity for farmers, feed distributors, and factory workers.
Bukona’s model reflects a broader continental trend: using green finance to unlock jobs in agrifood systems. In Zimbabwe, the Green Fuel project in Chisumbanje employs more than 3,000 workers in sugarcane-to-ethanol production, transforming an entire district’s economy. Similar initiatives in Nigeria and Ghana are converting agricultural waste into animal feed and briquettes, creating thousands of jobs for youth and women.
Studies by the World Bank and International Labour Organisation show that biofuels and waste valorisation projects can generate up to 100 times more jobs per unit of energy compared to fossil fuels. In simple terms, investing in green agrifood systems is not just good for the planet—it is smart economics for Africa’s youth.
Uganda has already laid the foundation through the Biofuels Act (2020) and the Green Growth Development Strategy, which prioritise renewable energy and green manufacturing. But experts argue that stronger policy enforcement is needed—such as implementing mandatory ethanol blending in petrol, offering tax incentives for green technologies, and extending subsidies to scale up clean cooking fuels.
Most importantly, government must continue to support partnerships like that of UDC and Bukona, which demonstrate how public investment can de-risk private capital and crowd in further financing.
As Uganda positions itself for industrialisation, agrifood systems—when supported by green finance—offer one of the most promising pathways to large-scale, inclusive job creation.
From farmers supplying cassava to technicians running ethanol plants, from women assembling stoves to youth selling clean fuel in local markets, the entire value chain can create dignified work. With the right support, initiatives like Bukona could be replicated across the country, ensuring that agriculture is not just about feeding the nation but also employing it.
The writer is Manager - Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Uganda Development Corporation