Museveni to launch Soroti Fruit Processing Factory

By David Lumu & Enock Kakande

President Yoweri Museveni will today launch the proposed fruit-processing factory in the Eastern region, which Government expects to boost employment figures and also create a viable market for the fruits, especially mangoes and oranges of Teso farmers.

The factory will be development under a public-private-partnership. Government will own 40%, South Korea 20% and the people of Teso 40%.

Government contributed $2.2m towards the infrastructure development such as roads, electricity, piped water, waste management and land.

On the other hand, the South Korea Government provided $7.4m towards the equipment, specialized machinery and training of Ugandans, who will be directly employed by the factory.

Museveni is expected later today to break the ground to give way for the final- construction stages of the multi-million factory by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

According to the Uganda Development Cooperation (UDC) officials, the factory would be refining 120 tons of fruits per day, a development that will rectify the plight of farmers in the region, whose fruits, due to large quantities, go to waste or rot because residents cannot consume them all.

The availability of a factory will also change the price dynamics of the fruits in the region. Farmers in Teso have been selling oranges and mangoes at a low price due to lack of a ready-market.

Situated in Arapai Sub-County in Soroti district, along Moroto road, the factory is in line with Museveni’s agro-processing economic trajectory for the country. 

By launching the factory, Museveni would be fulfilling his pledge to the people of Teso that Government will construct a factory to process the fruits that the region produces.

So far Government has completed the works on the road, water tank, perimeter wall, drilling of a production well and the fencing of the transformer.