Reaping from organised Commercial Agriculture: 5.5 Million Shillings per share to be paid out to Kalangala Oil Palm Growers

Kampala, 1st December 2020. Farmers organized under the umbrella Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT) are set to receive dividends worth UGX 5.5 M per share.

This has been communicated in the official dividend payout letter from the Directors of Oil Palm Uganda Limited to the Management of the Trust and signed off by the Company Secretary.

According to MAAIF Permanent Secretary Mr. Pius Wakabi Kasajja this progress is as a result of farmers being well-organized under the coordination of the Ministry using the Public Private Producer Partnership (4P) model of the National Oil Palm Project.

More about the National Oil Palm Project

The National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) evolved from the Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) to scale up support for commercial Oil Palm growing across the country.

VODP which was implemented in 2 phases with phase 2 having run from 2010 to 2018, supported organised commercial growing of Oil Seeds ( including sim sim, sun flower, ground nuts and soya bean) and Oil Palm as follows.

The Oil Seed Component was rolled out to 52 Districts coordinated by Oil Seeds Project Hubs.

The West Nile Hub coordinates the districts of Arua, Zombo, Nebbi, Yumbe, Moyo, Koboko and Maracha.

Another Hub in Gulu coordinates the Districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, Pader, Adjumani, Lamwo, Nwoya and Agago.

The third Hub which is in Lira coordinates the Districts of Lira, Apac, Masindi, Serere, Kaberamaido, Oyam, Amuria, Soroti, Kiryandongo, Amolatar, Alebtong, Otuke, Ngora, Katakwi, Dokolo and Kole.

The fourth Hub which is in Mbale Coordinates the Districts of Mbale, Bukedea, Kumi, Manafwa, Pallisa, Sironko, Bulambuli, Bukwo, Kapchorwa, Kween Bugiri, Tororo, Busia, Jinja, Iganga, Mayuge, Budaka, Butaleja, Namutumba, Kaliro and Kamuli.

The National Oil Palm Project evolved from the Oil Palm Component of the project to cover more districts. More details about the project are available on the project page accessible using the following link: https://www.agriculture.go.ug/national-oil-palm-project/

Notes for editors

About the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)

The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries is a Ministry in the Government of Uganda charged with creating an enabling environment in the Agricultural Sector.

The Ministry formulates, reviews and implement national policies, plans, strategies, regulations and standards and enforce laws, regulations and standards along the value chain of crops, livestock and fisheries.

Vision: A competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector.

Mission: To transform subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.

Strategic Objectives

• To initiate the formulation and review of the policy and legal framework for the sector
• To establish and implement systems for service provision in the sector
• To strengthen and implement strategies, regulatory framework, standards, institutional structures and infrastructure for quality assurance and increased quantities of agricultural products to access and sustain local, regional and export markets
• To design and implement sustainable capacity building programmes for stakeholders in the agricultural sector through training, re-tooling, infrastructure, provision of logistics and ICT
• To develop strategies for sustainable food security
• To develop appropriate agricultural technologies for improved agricultural production, productivity and value addition through research
• To develop effective collaborative mechanisms with affiliated institutions and
• To take lead and establish a system and institutional framework for agricultural data collection, analyses, storage and dissemination to stakeholders including Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is made up of four Directorates including the Directorate of Crop Resources, Directorate of Animal Resources, Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services and the Directorate of Fisheries Resources each with Departments, Divisions and Partnership Projects.

The Departments of the Ministry which do not fall directly in the above include the Department of Agricultural Planning and Development, the Human Resource Department, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Agricultural Infrastructure, Mechanisation and Water for Agricultural Production.

The Ministry is also made up of seven Agencies including the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Cotton Development Organisation (CDO), Dairy Development Authority (DDA), Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and Coordinating Office for the Control of Trypanosomiasis in Uganda (COCTU) and the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Databank (NAGRC&DB).