Serere orange farmers count losses as prices drop

SERERE-Orange farmers in Serere district are counting losses following the drop in prices of oranges.

Serere, one of the districts in the Teso Sub-region, known for growing fruits, has had a surplus production of oranges and lack of transport which has led to a drastic drop in prices.

Currently, a bag of oranges goes for between Shs 20,000-25,000 from Shs 35, 000-50,000 last season.

Already this has affected the farmers who concentrated on growing citrus fruits than food crops.

Joseph Abau, a farmer and a resident of Kateta Sub-county, regrets he should have concentrated on food crops, saying the price being offered for oranges is discouraging.

Abau said Soroti Fruit Factory which government put in money has not helped much since it is buying fewer fruits. There is no market for the oranges and yet we have families to feed,” he said.

Francis Epau, another farmer who owns about two acres of oranges appealed to government to intervene so that farmers can access the market and insecticides for their oranges.

However, Vincent Ogiro, the district production, and marketing officer Serere, advised farmers to form cooperative societies so that they boost their bargaining power when it comes to prices.

Ogiro said the farmers are scattered, which he said does not attract potential buyers. ” We tell them to come together as marketing groups but they are adamant to take our advice,” said Ogiro.

He added that middlemen take advantage of scattered farmers’ groups and buy their products at a much lower price.

Recently Soroti Fruit Factory management announced they had acquired five more acres of land for the factory’s expansion following an outcry from farmers over the limited production capacity. Managers at the factory hope to boost production in the next three years.

In 2019 it was projected Teso Sub-region had more than eight million fruit trees to support the production of juice. However, the factory could not buy fruits from all the farmers when it started production, forcing some farmers to cut down orange trees since the company working with registered groups and associations to supply oranges and mangoes need arises.

Julius Martin Ekomu, the Finance Manager said after receiving Shs 56.9bln from the government, plans are underway for the factory to expand as more warehouses and warehouses and a water cleaning system will be established.

According to officials at the factory, a new mango line with the capacity to crush 120 metric tons per day was installed, which is an improvement from the lone 48 metric tons orange line that has been in use since 2019.

The factory is managed by the government-owned Uganda Development Corporation [UDC], which owns 80 percent shares while Teso Tropical Cooperative Union owns 20 percent.

This year, legislators on the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry in a fact-finding tour of the factory established several irregularities which included the rotting of the farmers’ fruits due to the limited capacity of the factory, financial mismanagement, and administrative weaknesses.

However, factory officials now say they now have a three-year development plan which should make the factory buy most of the farmers’ oranges and mangoes.

https://thecooperator.news/farmers-stranded-by-low-fruit-prices/

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