Tea growers, BKCU to hold AGMs soon
KAMPALA – Shareholders of Kayonza Growers Tea Factory [KGTF] Limited will attend the company’s 27th Annual General Meeting on July 14, 2023, according to the company secretary, Kenneth Mutabaruka.
Mutabaruka in the June 15, 2023 notice of the AGM to be held at the factory’s head office in Kanungu district, says among others, the shareholders will receive the annual report of the company for the year ended December 31, 2022.
They will also appoint external auditors of the company for the year 2023 and authorise the board to fix their remuneration.
The shareholders of the company will also amend the Articles of Association to provide that the company may convene an annual or special general meeting using online means in the event of a natural calamity, or disease pandemic that makes it impossible or dangerous for the convening of the physical meeting.
Further, the shareholders will amend Articles of Association to include online meetings as one of the ways in which the board may meet to dispatch its business.
KGTF is a success story of how a farmer-owned organisation can create positive change in a community. KGTF has been working to improve its members’ livelihoods through increased tea production, bulking, value addition, and access to tea markets.
However, in its early years, KGTF focused solely on export markets, neglecting the local demand due to a lack of tea packaging machinery.
In 2017, KGTF received a US$250,000 grant from the United States African Development Fund [USADF] to purchase machinery for packing tea bags and sachets, construct a state-of-the-art tea processing facility, and acquire a van to transport their products. The strategic investments paid off tremendously, with farmers’ incomes from tea sales skyrocketing to US$11.5 million within three years. By the time the project concluded in March 2020, KGTF’s total sales had surged to an impressive US$22mln.
“KGTF achieved even greater success by utilising the USADF’s Mastercard Farmer Network (MFN) platform project to digitize marketplaces, payments, and workflows within the agriculture sector. With this new platform, KGTF could pay farmers for their produce digitally and in real-time, eliminating cash transactions and reducing risks for farmers and KGTF.”
KGTF, officials say, has been able to increase its profits and expand its reach while also improving the livelihoods of its members. This demonstrates how investing in farmer-owned businesses like KGTF can lead to growth and positive change in communities globally.
Meanwhile, Banyankole Kweterana Cooperative Union [BKCU] Limited will also hold its 50th AGM on June 28, 2023, according to its general manager, Margaret Birungi.
However, Birungi in the notice published on June 13, 2023, did not give the details of the AGM.
https://thecooperator.news/tea-farmers-decry-high-prices-of-fertilisers/
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