Hoima City: Members join forces to revive local cooperative business
HOIMA CITY, June 11, 2025 –– Members of Ageteraine Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited in Hoima City have pooled resources to connect electricity to their maize processing facility, breathing new life into a business that had remained dormant for years.
Founded in 2019 with 200 members, the cooperative has seen its numbers dwindle to just 40 active participants, who primarily produce maize and rice for processing.
In 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture, under the Agriculture Cluster Development Project [ACDP], constructed a maize processing plant for the cooperative. However, the facility remained unused due to a lack of electricity.
In a recent interview, Hamuza Karifa, Secretary of the cooperative, explained that a handful of dedicated members raised Shs 4 million to finance the electricity connection. “The facility is now operational, processing maize flour which we sell to the local community and schools. This has finally started generating income,” he said.
Due to limited internal production, the cooperative currently sources additional maize from non-members to keep the facility running. “The maize we had in stock ran out. At the moment, we rely on independent farmers, but we are hopeful that this season’s harvest will be sufficient,” Karifa added.
Looking ahead
Karifa revealed plans to purchase a truck for transporting their products, noting that the cooperative currently hires vehicles, which adds to operational costs. He also emphasised the need to re-engage inactive members.
“Our biggest challenge was electricity. Now that it’s been addressed, we believe other hurdles will be easier to overcome. Unfortunately, not all members were willing to contribute towards the power connection, but a few of us took the initiative, and now the facility has power. We need to mobilise the rest and make them understand that the main obstacle has been resolved,” he said.
John Mugenyi, one of the active members, expressed relief that the facility is finally in use. “We were disheartened to see such a valuable asset lying idle. While some members lacked the financial capacity to contribute towards the electricity, I believe the government should have included power connection in its support package,” he remarked.
Hoima City Mayor, Brian Kaboyo, acknowledged the broader issue of power connectivity for similar groups. “Many community-based projects struggle with electricity access due to lack of funds. As leaders, we have written to the Minister of Energy requesting free power connections for such initiatives,” he said.
https://thecooperator.news/hoima-media-sacco-launched-with-boost-of-shs-60mln/
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