KAMPALA, August 29, 2026 — The Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries [MAAIF], Desire Muhoozi, has faulted farmers in Soroti for failing to utilise an aflatoxin removal machine provided by government some time back.
The minister made the remarks in response to Bukedea County Member of Parliament David Okwere, who said that 80 per cent of cereals purchased by PELA Commodities Factory in Soroti contain aflatoxins.
Okwere said the discovery was made during a recent visit to Soroti Industrial Park, which houses PELA Commodities, a factory involved in adding value to cereals such as millet and sorghum, among others.
“What we learnt is that all the cereals which this factory is purchasing have got about 80 per cent of aflatoxins, and this is a red flag that all the people in Teso Sub-region are consuming aflatoxins,” he said.
Okwere called for intervention by the Ministry of Agriculture, warning that, if not addressed, residents of the Teso Sub-region risk developing cancer as a result of consuming food contaminated with aflatoxins.
However, Muhoozi said government had invested in an aflatoxin removal machine for the Teso Sub-region, but the equipment had remained idle since 2018.
“Ever since government availed the equipment according to your requirement, you have not been using it, and right now the Uganda Development Corporation [UDC] has taken on the responsibility to privatise it,” she said.
She called on local leaders to encourage farmers to utilise such equipment once it is made available.
The Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, David Bahati, said he would coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture to send a technical team to Soroti to establish the facts on the ground.
Aflatoxins are poisonous and cancer-causing substances produced by certain moulds, including Aspergillus fungi. They can grow on staple food crops such as maize, groundnuts, tree nuts and grains, particularly in warm and humid conditions.
Consumption of food contaminated with aflatoxins can cause severe liver damage and other long-term health problems.
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