Cassava powder plant idle 3 years on

Oct 21, 2010

A sh90m donor-funded cassava processing factory in Nakasongola has for the past three years failed to start production due to lack of electricity.

By Frederick Kiwanuka

A sh90m donor-funded cassava processing factory in Nakasongola has for the past three years failed to start production due to lack of electricity.

Ronald Magado, the co-ordinator of Nakasongola District Farmers’ Association, which ‘manages’ the plant, said farmers cannot afford the sh32m power connection fee.

Magado said the factory, which is like a ghost in the area, was constructed with a grant from the Nairobi-based FARM-Africa to help the farmers get better markets for their crop through value-addition.

Magado revealed that after getting cost estimates from UMEME three years ago, the farmers have been lobbying for support from the agriculture ministry, the Private Sector Foundation-Uganda and the rural electrification secretariat to no avail.

The plant was also expected to improve the wellbeing of farmers in the district by guaranteeing a ready market for their cassava.

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