NAMAYINGO — Furious sugarcane farmers in Namayingo District have confronted members of the Sugar Council, demanding an explanation for the prolonged delay in licensing CN Sugar Company, whose factory project has remained stalled for about three years.
The farmers, who gathered at the company’s stalled factory site in Kifuyo Village, Buyinja Sub-county, accused the Sugar Council of frustrating the project despite a directive issued through Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja calling for the licensing process to be expedited.
The farmers said the continued delay has left them struggling to find reliable markets for their sugarcane, forcing many to depend on middlemen and distant sugar factories that, they said, offer poor prices while increasing transportation costs.
They also accused some members of the Sugar Council of repeatedly visiting the CN Sugar project under the guise of helping to resolve the licensing impasse, only to allegedly solicit money from the investors.
The allegations were made during a heated meeting between the farmers, local leaders, Sugar Council officials and representatives of sugar companies and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. The allegations were not independently verified during the meeting.
At the CN Sugar site, construction activity has largely stopped, with machinery lying idle as parts of the property have become overgrown with vegetation.
Farmers said the stalled investment has deprived the area of anticipated employment opportunities, a ready market for sugarcane and other economic benefits associated with a functioning sugar-processing plant.
Before meeting the farmers, Sugar Council officials held a closed-door meeting that lasted about four hours. Journalists were not allowed to attend the session.
Those present included representatives of CN Sugar, Bugiri Sugar and Kakira Sugar, the Namayingo District Police Commander, Resident District Commissioner, Officer in Charge of Police, District Chairperson Ronald Sanya and members of his council, farmers’ leaders and officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives led by Kiiza David, who represented the minister.
The meeting was chaired by Robert Atugonza, who represented the chairperson of the Sugar Council.
When the officials emerged, farmers, including Deo Disiko and Idah Kigada, narrated the challenges they face, particularly the lack of a dependable market for their cane.
They said middlemen often take advantage of farmers’ limited marketing options to buy sugarcane at what they described as very low prices, leaving growers with little or no profit after accounting for production and transport costs.
The chairperson of Sango A Village in Kifuyo Parish, Buyinja Sub-county, became emotional as he questioned the government’s commitment to improving the economic wellbeing of residents.
He invoked the National Resistance Movement’s message of “prosperity for all”, arguing that the community could not realise meaningful economic transformation while a major industrial investment in their area remained inactive.
He said an operational CN Sugar factory would create employment, provide a dependable market for farmers and increase local government revenue through economic activity and related businesses.
Namayingo District Chairperson Ronald Sanya issued one of the strongest warnings during the meeting, saying the district could consider passing a resolution discouraging sugarcane growing if the licensing impasse persists.
Sanya said the district could reach a point where it would no longer encourage residents to invest in a crop whose market remains uncertain.
He also cautioned other sugar mills currently purchasing cane from Namayingo against actions that he said could undermine the establishment of CN Sugar.
Responding to the concerns, Atugonza said the Sugar Council had visited the area to establish what remained outstanding before CN Sugar could commence operations.
He said the council would prepare a report based on its findings and submit it in accordance with the law.
Atugonza attributed the licensing delay partly to objections raised by other sugar companies, including concerns relating to land.
He appealed to farmers to continue growing sugarcane, despite their concerns over the availability of markets.
The licensing dispute is significant because Uganda’s sugar industry operates within a regulatory framework intended to coordinate the establishment and expansion of sugar factories and protect the interests of existing producers, farmers and investors.
The licensing process is also closely linked to concerns over the availability of sugarcane, the geographical location of factories and competition among millers for cane-producing areas.
For farmers in Namayingo and neighbouring parts of Mayuge, however, the immediate concern is whether the stalled CN Sugar project will eventually become operational and provide the local market they anticipated when they invested in sugarcane.
CN Sugar’s land holdings is approximately 3,000 acres in Nawampogo Village, Bukabu Parish, Bukaboli Sub-county in Mayuge District.
