Agriculture Minister hails 4P Farmer development model

The Kalangala oil palm project is the first major agricultural Public-Private-Producer-Partnership (4P) model in Uganda. It built an innovative partnership between the private sector, local and national governments and farmer organizations.

The Minister of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries Hon. Frank Tumwebaze has hailed the four partnership model commonly referred to as (4-P Model) of implementation that has enabled successful implementation of the oil palm project in Kalangala.

The model adopted by farmers, Government and private sector, brings together the four partners into close collaboration to enable tracked productivity until setting of prices for the product. The Minister said the 4-P model should be scaled for other enterprises and cash crops like sugarcane for attainment of better results. The model organizes farmers into a cooperative, ensures collective bulking, marketing and price negotiations with the investor.

“ This 4-P model is impressive, I see farmers benefit from the kind of arrangement and reduces the fears that exist between the farmers and investors thus leading to mistrust by all parties. We need to study it and replicate it for other enterprises. I urge the project team to avail a model factsheets on how successful the model is , so that we try to scale it up.” Said Frank Tumwebaze

The minister made the remarks after presentation of a progress report by Ms. Connie Magomu Masaba the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) Project Manager at the ministry headquarters. Ms. Masaba was among different Project Managers at the ministry who were briefing the new Ministers on the different projects.

Masaba informed the minister that farmers under the Oil palm model in Kalangala district and the investor were happy and had a lot of trust for each other. She said the model had further attracted more support to expand oil palm production in the country.

“ Farmers in Kalangala , who were the pioneers of oil palm production, have a Ssese Oil Palm Growers Cooperative Society Limited. Here the farmers are able to track the trending international prices and avoid exploitation by middle men and low prices from investors. Farmers are already sharing dividends totaling to over 60 billion shillings annually as a result of the 4-P model.” Adds Connie Masaba

The Kalangala oil palm project is the first major agricultural Public-Private-Producer-Partnership (4P) model in Uganda. It built an innovative partnership between the private sector, local and national governments and farmer organizations. Under the arrangement, the Government of Uganda (GoU) made available land and provided fiscal incentives to leverage the initial investment from the private sector; the competitively selected private investor then developed a nucleus estate and processing capacity, and provided seedlings, agricultural inputs and a transparent and reliable market to smallholder oil palm growers, hence the 4P model.

Through the project, GoU has improved critical infrastructure like farm roads, fertilizer stores, ferry services, tractors and provided the growers with financial, technical and organizational support through Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT). This has enabled smallholder farmers to plant a new industrial crop up to the same standards as the Oil Palm Uganda Limited nucleus estate, assured them of a market for their produce, and enabled them to become suppliers to the Crude Palm Oil (CPO) mill – making it a genuine 4P model.

The 4P model is primarily built on trust. Transparent land purchases (‘willing buyer, willing seller basis’) for the nucleus estate and tenants/landlord relationship are the starting point. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities, articulated in written agreements, as well as transparent and formal mechanisms for shared governance and decision making, have also been essential.