NEBBI, December 9, 2024 — Farmers venturing into cassava farming in Nebbi district are threatening to abandon the enterprise, citing low prices in the local and foreign markets.
They said a kilo of dry cassava has declined to Shs 300 this year from Shs 1,200 last year, prompting some of the farmers to shift to alternative enterprises like rice, beans, and maize growing, which they say are more profitable.
The farmers pointed to excess production that has even flooded neighbouring markets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan, leaving most farmers suffering losses although some of the farmers used loans to carry out production.
Okumu Francis, one of the cassava farmers said he used a loan to plant over 10 acres of cassava but won’t be able to recover even the cost of production due to the low price, adding that other cassava farmers in Nebbi district are facing a similar situation.
Okumu said local cassava factories which should have amplified the market are not connected to the national electricity grid, making them to unable buy, and process all the cassava produced in the district since they depend on thermal power which is expensive.
He added: “We were mobilised three years back under the Agriculture Cluster Development Project [ACDP] in the Ministry of Agriculture to boost cassava production but now we are making losses as farmers because local factories cannot buy most of the cassava .”
Another farmer, Leotisa Adongtho, said she invested Shs 300,000 in an acre of cassava expecting to reap about Shs 800,000 from the project but the low price could not let her achieve this as she only earned Shs 250,000.
“We can’t realise profits in cassava growing anymore because the cost of cassava production is very high besides the low price for cassava in the market today, which is so frustrating and this contributing to the farmers abandoning their cassava plantations. Now cassava is rotting in the garden due to heavy rains. There is no market for it,” Adongitho said.
On his part, the Production Officer Nebbi district, Laverus Nyakuni attributed that low price of cassava to the beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model [PDM] who decided to invest the money received from government into cassava production. He urged the cassava farmers to venture into other projects in the year ahead. “Among other reasons, crop diversification is good because it can reduce market risks,” he said.
However, the Resident District Commissioner Nebbi, Abak blamed the redundant cassava factories for the low prices, saying need to be connected to electricity to boost cassava value addition, which would lead to improvement in the price that farmers get.
However, he revealed that a new investor has been identified and would soon establish a factory to buy the cassava from the farmers. “The issue of low cassava price shouldn’t worry farmers because, in a few months, a local investor in the name of Oyoma General Stores would establish a cassava factory targeting cassava farmers,” Abak said.
He noted that soon the district leaders will engage West Nile Rural Electrification Company [WENRICO] responsible for connecting electricity in the region to provide electricity to factories that are currently off the national grid so as to boost the cassava value addition, which would in the end give farmers better prices.
https://thecooperator.news/nebbi-cassava-factory-lies-idle-due-to-high-running-costs/
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