HOIMA, September 12, 2025 – The Prime Minister of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, Andrew Byakutaga Ateenyi, has urged farmers within the Kingdom to adopt commercial soybean farming as a viable strategy for boosting household incomes and accelerating socio-economic development.
Byakutaga made the appeal during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] between Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom and the ENCOT Foundation recently. The partnership aims to mobilise and support farmers across the Kingdom to engage in soybean production at small, medium, and large-scale levels.
Under the MoU, the ENCOT Foundation will provide farmers with quality seeds, fertilisers, crop insurance, credit facilities, market access, and training. Meanwhile, the Kingdom will be responsible for mobilisation, farmer registration, guidance, and monitoring of farming activities.
Byakutaga commended the ENCOT Foundation and ENCOT Microfinance for their ongoing contributions to the socio-economic transformation of the region through agricultural and financial support programmes.
He noted that while the Kingdom’s core mandate is to preserve and promote culture, this cannot be fully realised when communities continue to struggle with poverty, hunger, and lack of income.
“His Majesty Omukama Dr Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I entrusted us with a 30-year vision to build a prosperous Bunyoro-Kitara. Without strategic partnerships like this one – focused on improving the livelihoods of our people – that vision cannot be achieved. We therefore welcome all stakeholders who are ready to work with us on this journey of development,” he stated.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of adopting soybean farming to tap into the growing market demand and help families move out of poverty. He observed that, unlike other regions of Uganda where certain cash crops are already driving growth, Bunyoro-Kitara still lags behind.
He encouraged every household to cultivate coffee, even on just one acre, due to its long-term income potential. However, he also highlighted the need to integrate short-term crops like soybeans, which offer quicker returns while waiting for coffee plantations to mature.
Byakutaga further revealed that in January 2026, the Kingdom, in collaboration with new Dutch partners, will distribute free coffee, cocoa, and indigenous tree seedlings to smallholder farmers across the region.
ENCOT Foundation’s Executive Director, Solomon Karuhanga, announced that the soybean production initiative will cover all ten local governments that constitute the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom. He said over 300 farmers in Masindi district have already been enrolled under the programme.
Karuhanga explained that the registered farmers will be organised under the ENCOT Soybean Farmers’ Cooperative, which will ensure access to quality seeds, fertilisers, credit, and ready markets.
“Farmers will not struggle with marketing. Prices will be predetermined, allowing them to concentrate fully on production, while the cooperative handles sales and logistics,” he said.
He added that the Foundation had conducted extensive research and engaged various stakeholders across the soybean value chain to support smallholder farmers in Bunyoro.
“We have addressed key challenges farmers face. For instance, we have secured a reliable buyer, Mount Meru from Lira district, to purchase soybeans from our smallholder farmers. We have also signed an MoU with Soybean Africa, based at Makerere University, to support seed multiplication and ensure the availability of high-quality seeds,” he noted.
“In addition, we’ve partnered with the Insurance Company of Africa [ICA] to provide better insurance products, and brought on board several fertiliser companies, along with ENCOT Microfinance, to offer farmers affordable financial support.”
Chief Administrative Secretary of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, Alex Katusabe Abooki, concluded by announcing that a region-wide sensitisation campaign will soon be launched to educate and engage farmers throughout the Kingdom.
https://thecooperator.news/mtn-rallies-bunyoro-kitara-kingdom-subjects-on-shares/
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