NAMAYINGO — Sugarcane farmers in Namayingo District have asked the Sugar Council to resolve delays in licensing CN Sugar Company, saying the stalled factory has left them struggling to find reliable markets for their produce.
The farmers raised the concerns during a meeting with Sugar Council officials at the CN Sugar factory site in Kifuyo Village, Buyinja Sub-county, where they said the project had remained largely inactive for about three years.
They said they had expected the factory to provide a nearby market for their sugarcane, but its failure to commence operations had left them dependent on middlemen and sugar mills located far from their farms.
Farmers Deo Disiko and Idah Kigada were among those who described the challenges facing growers, saying limited access to buyers had weakened their bargaining power.
They said middlemen often offered low prices, while transporting cane to distant factories increased costs and reduced farmers’ earnings.
The farmers also alleged that some Sugar Council officials had repeatedly visited the CN Sugar project to discuss the licensing dispute but instead solicited money from the investors.
The allegations were made during the meeting and could not be independently verified.
The farmers said they were particularly frustrated because a directive had reportedly been issued through Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja calling for the licensing process to be expedited.
At the factory site, construction activity appeared largely stalled, with machinery lying idle and vegetation growing around sections of the property.
The farmers said the delay had also denied residents employment opportunities and businesses they expected to emerge around an operational factory.
The meeting followed a closed-door session involving Sugar Council officials and other stakeholders that lasted about four hours. Journalists were not allowed to attend the session.
Representatives of CN Sugar, Bugiri Sugar and Kakira Sugar attended the meeting, alongside the Namayingo District Police Commander, the Resident District Commissioner, the Officer in Charge of Police, District Chairperson Ronald Sanya and members of his council.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives was represented by Kiiza David, who attended on behalf of the minister.
Robert Atugonza represented the chairperson of the Sugar Council and chaired the meeting.
The chairperson of Sango A Village in Kifuyo Parish, Buyinja Sub-county, appealed to the government to resolve the impasse, questioning how residents could improve their household incomes while a major industrial project remained inactive.
He said the factory would create jobs, provide farmers with a nearby market and stimulate economic activity in the area.
Sanya said the district could consider discouraging sugarcane production if the licensing dispute continued.
He said local leaders could not continue encouraging residents to invest in sugarcane when farmers remained uncertain about where they would sell their produce.
Sanya also cautioned other sugar mills buying cane from the district against actions that he said could frustrate the establishment of CN Sugar.
Atugonza said the Sugar Council had visited Namayingo to establish the outstanding issues that must be addressed before CN Sugar could commence operations.
He said the council would compile its findings into a report and submit it through the required legal process.
Atugonza said objections from other sugar companies, including concerns related to land, had contributed to the delay.
He nevertheless appealed to farmers to continue growing sugarcane despite the current market challenges.
The dispute highlights competing interests in Uganda’s sugar industry, where the licensing of new factories can involve questions of cane supply, geographical location, land and competition for farmers’ produce.
CN Sugar has land holdings of about 3,000 acres in Nawampogo Village, Bukabu Parish, Bukaboli Sub-county in neighbouring Mayuge District.
For farmers in Namayingo and neighbouring parts of Mayuge, the unresolved question is whether the stalled investment will eventually become operational and provide the local market they had anticipated.
