Progress of oil palm farming in Kalangala

The Management of the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT) wishes to provide an update on the performance of the smallholder oil palm scheme in Kalangala.

Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, has since 2003 implemented a Public Private Producer Partnership (PPPP) to develop a commercial oil palm scheme in Kalangala with support from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). So far, 10,924 hectares of oil palm have been established in Kalangala, of which 6,500 hectares are managed by the private sector partner, Oil Palm Uganda Limited (OPUL), a subsidiary of BIDCO Uganda Limited, while 4,424 hectares are managed by the smallholder farmers. The smallholder oil palm farmers will plant another 276 hectares from March to June 2019 which will increase the smallholder scheme to 4,700 hectares and achieve the oil palm planting target of 11,200 hectares planted in Kalangala.

Government also established the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT) in Kalangala to provide extension and agronomic support to farmers, provide oil palm seedlings and other inputs to farmers, provide marketing services through ensuring the farmers implement best practices in harvesting, handling and loading their produce, managing the delivery of the produce to the palm oil mills, managing the production loans given to farmers and be the intermediary between the smallholders and the private sector - OPUL. So far, OPUL has established 2 Palm Oil Mills in Kalangala and a processing plant in Jinja and guarantees market for all the oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) produced by farmers.

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