KAPCHORWA, August 11, 2025 –– The Kaserem Area Cooperative Marketing Enterprise [KAMCE], a key agricultural cooperative serving farmers in Kapchorwa district is facing a major setback as its coffee processing machine and maize mill remain idle due to a prolonged lack of electricity.
The cooperative, which supports hundreds of smallholder farmers, invested millions of shillings in state-of-the-art machinery aimed at adding value to locally grown coffee and maize. However, four years after installation, the equipment has yet to be fully operational due to delays in connecting the facility to the national power grid.
Leadership voices frustration
Speaking to theCooperator News, KAMCE Chairperson Alfred Mangusho Chesak expressed deep frustration over the ongoing electricity crisis.
“We mobilised farmers, secured funding, and purchased state-of-the-art machinery to help them earn better prices. But without electricity, the machines are just sitting here gathering dust. It is a huge loss, not just for the cooperative, but for the entire community,” he said.
Mangusho explained that although the cooperative has complied with all requirements to facilitate a power connection, progress has stalled due to administrative and technical delays by the relevant authorities.
Previously, in partnership with Rural Electricity Agency [REA] UMEME Ltd implemented rural electrification, but that responsibility shifted to the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited [UEDCL] earlier this year after UMEME’s contract to distribute power in the country expired at the end of March this year.
“We have written letters, held meetings, and even offered to contribute labour to get the connection done, but nothing has materialised. Our farmers are running out of patience,” Mangusho added.
Manager’s concerns
Cooperative Manager Munibu Kitiyo said the continued lack of power is eroding members’ trust in the cooperative.
“Some farmers had already made plans to process their coffee here instead of transporting it to far-off towns. Now they are stuck incurring additional transport costs, or worse, selling unprocessed produce at lower prices,” Kitiyo said.
He noted that both the coffee huller and maize mill were intended to create local employment, reduce post-harvest losses, and increase household incomes by facilitating value addition at source. With no power, however, none of these goals can be realised.
Farmers bear the brunt
Local farmers are equally disillusioned. Simon Magwali, a coffee grower from Kabeywa Parish in Sipi Sub-county, said he had high hopes when the cooperative installed the processing machine.
“I used to take my coffee to Kapchorwa town for processing, which is both expensive and time-consuming. We thought things would change once the machine was in place, but it hasn’t even been switched on,” he said.
Winnie Chelangat, a maize farmer and cooperative member from Ngesi Parish in Kaserem Sub-county, voiced similar frustrations.
“The maize mill would have helped us a lot, especially women who process grain for both household use and sale. Instead, we’re still using manual methods that are labour-intensive and inefficient. The delay is also costing the cooperative in lost revenue from service fees, which could be used to support other programmes,” she said.
Calls for urgent intervention
Energy access remains a significant challenge in Kapchorwa District, where many rural communities are still not connected to the national grid. Although the government has been rolling out the Rural Electrification Programme, progress has been slow and inconsistent, leaving enterprises like KAMCE unable to realise their full potential.
Agricultural experts warn that without immediate intervention, the cooperative’s ambitions for local value addition could collapse entirely.
Mangusho called on REA and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to urgently prioritise the connection of KAMCE’s facility to the national electricity grid so that livelihoods of the locals can be enhanced.
“This isn’t just about one cooperative. It’s about the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers and their families. Every day that passes without electricity, farmers lose income and the community loses opportunity,” he said.
As the coffee huller and maize mill sit idle, they remain a stark symbol of the disconnect between rural investment and infrastructure delivery. Unless urgent action is taken, KAMCE’s investment in value addition risks becoming a costly missed opportunity.
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