KIKUUBE– The board members and managers of cooperative societies in Kikuube district have been told to develop a spirit of transparency and accountability to ensure the sustainability of the existing cooperative societies in the area.
Speaking in Buhimba Sub-county during the commissioning value addition equipment for Ruhunga Tweymbe Maize Growers’ Cooperative Society, Justus Isingoma, the chairman LCIII, said that several cooperatives in the area have collapsed due to lack of transparency and accountability.
Isingoma noted that four years back, Buhimba Sub-county had three cooperative societies that were fully equipped with processing facilities but have now collapsed due to poor management.
Tweymbe Maize Growers’ Cooperative Society got the Shs 150 million value addition through the Matching Grant Facility under the Agriculture Cluster Development Project [ACDP].
Under this project, the cooperative has established a processing facility, equipped it with two maize milling machines
Bernard Nuwamanya the chairman of the cooperative commended the government for the support adding that farmers have started utilising the facility.
He noted that the facility will benefit farmers from Kyankwanzi, Kakuumiro, and Kikuube districts since the facility was established at the border of the two districts.
He noted the Cooperative society started as Banyankole Tweyabe Association in 2013 and has 64 members with savings of Shs 8 million.
He said the cooperative is helping the farmers to benefit from government projects.
However, noted members are still using manual tools such as hoes. He appealed to district leaders to lobby them for agro-machinery to be able to engage in commercial production.
He added that inadequate power is also a challenge for the facility adding their transformer has a low capacity of 50KV compared to 300KV needed to run two machines at the facility.
While commissioning the facility on the behalf of the Kikuube district Chairman Peter Banura, Nicolas Kiiza, the Kikuube district councilor for works and secretary for production, market and Natural resources promised that the cooperative would get a tractor in the second phase of ACDP.
He noted that the government through ACDP has supported five cooperative societies in the district to establish processing facilities. He underscored a need for the farmers to utilise the facilities. He urged to stop selling grains, saying they fetch good prices.
He was optimistic that when farmers embrace the value-addition mechanisms, they will be able to sell their finished products at good prices.
John Aliguma Kikuube district assistant commercial officer called the leadership to mobilise more farmers to join the cooperative society.
He said that the members of the cooperative are still few yet cooperatives survive on membership.
He urged cooperatives not to give loans carelessly, stating several cooperatives have collapsed due to poor recovery of the loans from the debtors.
During the function, the cooperative society was given a two-year certificate of registration.
https://thecooperator.news/acdp-processing-machines-installed-for-masindi-cooperatives/
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