By David Magere
In order to enhance farming practices, harvest quality and productivity among farmers in northern Uganda, Pelere Group Limited, an oilseed company, has dedicated itself to improving shea nut production through value addition.
The factory aims to empower at least one million smallholder farmers in northern Uganda, helping them adopt new techniques for adding value to their shea nut and other oilseed crop harvests.
The company is currently constructing a central processing facility on seven acres in Gulu city to add value to raw materials such as shea nuts, soya bean, sesame, groundnuts and sunfl ower.
Sandra Latio, the managing director of Pelere Group, announced at a ceremony to break ground for the new factory in Gulu city that they aim at increasing production of shea and oil seed products to up to 20 tonnes of raw materials per day, doubling the current output of 10 tonnes.
Latio said the factory is the company’s second, following their main facility in Matugga, Wakiso district, established in 2013.
The new factory is strategically located in Layik-West village, Agonga ward, Gulu city, due to the abundant supply of shea nuts, simsim, soya bean, groundnuts and sunfl ower in the area.
Latio encouraged local farmers to embrace the development, describing it as a ‘game changer’ for the industrialisation of northern Uganda.
Samuel Baker Ongom, the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) northern regional manager based in Gulu city, disclosed that UDB has partnered with Pelere Group, providing a start-up loan of sh1.5b.
He said 1,000 farmers in the northern region who accessed loans have successfully transitioned into commercial farming, signifi cantly improving their livelihoods.
Ujhazy Juraj, an investor, said northern Uganda and some West African countries, such as Ghana, have the potential to develop a thriving shea nut industry with long-term benefi ts.
Juraj, who has been working with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to support this venture, emphasised that the shea nut business offers lifetime employment opportunities since the trees, once grown, produce continuously
“Shea trees mature over 200 to 300 years, with each tree yielding up to 45kg of nuts, worth approximately sh33m,” he said.
Juraj added that the shea nut industry provides an alternative to environmental degradation caused by deforestation for charcoal.
He noted that selling shea products at high market prices is more profi table than selling charcoal.
Maggie Kigozi, a representative from PSFU, urged farmers to avoid cutting down shea trees for charcoal production and instead focus on adding value to shea nut products.
She also encouraged farmers to enhance both the quantity and quality of their products to meet market demands.
