NAMAYINGO — Sugarcane farmers in Namayingo District have questioned the continued delay in licensing CN Sugar Company, saying the stalled factory has worsened their struggle to find a reliable market for their crop.
The farmers confronted Sugar Council officials on Friday at the company’s incomplete factory in Kifuyo Village, Buyinja Sub-county, demanding to know why the project has remained stalled for about three years.
They said they had planted sugarcane expecting the factory to provide a ready market but have instead been forced to sell through middlemen or transport their cane to distant sugar mills.
The farmers said the arrangement has depressed their earnings, with middlemen offering what they described as poor prices and distant factories adding transport costs.
The farmers also made allegations of misconduct against some Sugar Council officials, claiming that officials who visited the CN Sugar project to discuss the licensing impasse had at times asked investors for money.
The claims were made during a meeting attended by farmers, local leaders, ministry officials and representatives of sugar companies. They were not independently verified.
The meeting came after the farmers gathered at the stalled factory site to express their frustration over the project.
Construction at the site has largely stopped, with machinery lying idle and vegetation covering sections of the property.
The farmers said the delay has not only affected their market for sugarcane but has also denied the community jobs and other businesses they expected to emerge once the factory became operational.
Before meeting the farmers, the Sugar Council officials held a closed-door session that lasted about four hours. Journalists were not allowed into the meeting.
Representatives of CN Sugar, Bugiri Sugar and Kakira Sugar attended, alongside Namayingo District Police Commander, the Resident District Commissioner, the Officer in Charge of Police and District Chairperson Ronald Sanya and his council.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives was represented by Kiiza David, who represented the minister.
The meeting was chaired by Robert Atugonza, who represented the chairperson of the Sugar Council.
During the subsequent meeting with farmers, growers including Deo Disiko and Idah Kigada described the difficulties they face in marketing their cane.
They said farmers with limited access to buyers have little bargaining power and are often forced to accept prices offered by middlemen.
The chairperson of Sango A Village in Kifuyo Parish, Buyinja Sub-county, appealed to the government to intervene, saying the community had been waiting for the promised economic benefits of the investment.
He cited the National Resistance Movement’s “prosperity for all” message and questioned how residents could achieve economic transformation when a major industrial project in their area remained inactive.
An operational factory, he said, would provide employment, create a nearby market for cane and stimulate other businesses.
Mr Sanya said the frustration among farmers had reached a point where the district could consider discouraging sugarcane growing if the licensing dispute continued.
He said it would be difficult for local leaders to continue encouraging residents to invest in sugarcane when farmers could not be assured of a market.
He also warned sugar mills currently sourcing cane from the district against actions that could frustrate the establishment of CN Sugar.
Mr Atugonza said the Sugar Council’s visit was intended to establish what remained outstanding before the company could be licensed to operate.
He said the council would compile its findings into a report and submit it through the required legal process.
Mr Atugonza said objections from other sugar companies, including concerns over land, were among the issues that had contributed to the delay.
He urged farmers to continue growing sugarcane despite the challenges they face in finding markets.
The licensing dispute reflects wider competition within Uganda’s sugar industry, where the establishment of new factories raises questions about access to sugarcane, factory locations and competition among millers for farmers’ produce.
For Namayingo farmers, the question remains whether CN Sugar will eventually open its doors and provide the market they anticipated when they invested in sugarcane.
CN Sugar has land holdings of approximately 3,000 acres in Nawampogo Village, Bukabu Parish, Bukaboli Sub-county in Mayuge District.
written by @enock katamba
- Enock Katamba is a Ugandan Journalist and Founder of Uncovered UG, an independent digital news platform covering Uganda and international developments. He reports on politics, national affairs, entertainment, sports, business, education and other stories of public interest.
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