A factory to process cassava will be set up in Amuria district, Teso sub-region, the agriculture ministry has said.
According to the ministry, the development was reached following a meeting between the line minister Frank Tumwebaze and large-scale cassava farmers and political leaders in the region.
They'll start with forming a "cooperatives union which they will use as a Launchpad for a factory establishment," the ministry said in a statement.
While in the area, the minister visited two of the biggest cassava growers in the sub-region: Musa Ecweru, who is also the minister of state for works and Augustine Okuttu in Amuria district.
The duo that grows NaROCASS 1 cassava variety said it would lead the formation of the cooperative.
“We have been thinking about this for some time and we are ready because we have cassava. We will organize ourselves,” Ecweru, also the Amuria County MP, said.
Tumwebaze said he was impressed by what he saw at Ecweru's 120-acre farm and Okuttu's 500-acre farm.
The minister was accompanied by among other officials Hellen Adoa state minister for fisheries; Dr Ambrose Agona, Director General National Agricultural Organization (NARO); Dr Samuel Mugasi, Executive Director National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS).
“I have opened up 1000 acres in Kapelebyong where I have animals, cassava and Simsim,” Okuttu boasted about his expansion plans.
Augustine Okuttu asked the government to look into giving him a cassava drier, a tractor and a Fuso truck which he said he would use to transport his produce.
The minister told the ministry engineers to work with NAADS to see that Okuttu's demands are met.
Lilly Eyal, the Amuria Resident District Commissioner (RDC), was upbeat about the construction of a cassava factory saying it will create employment opportunities for the youth.
“We can make many things out of cassava. We can make glue, sanitizers, food and others things," the RDC said. “A factory will be welcome here.”
Meanwhile, the government is also setting up agricultural mechanization centers across the country and they'll offer most of the services Okuttu was requesting for.
Tumwebaze on Tuesday officiated the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Bungokho Agricultural Mechanization Centre, which will serve farmers in the Elgon region.
He has also launched the construction of the Ongunga valley dam in the Ongongoja sub-county, Katakwi district.
"The valley dam will not only help cattle keepers in quenching the thirst of their cattle but also spur irrigation and fish farming," the ministry has said.
