Sugarcane farmers from the Busoga sub-region are facing problems in supplying their cane to the Atiak Sugar Factory in Northern Uganda for crushing. They have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Atiak Sugar Factory to supply 1,500 tonnes of cane every day for six months.
The government has offered subsidized transport costs and made available trucks full of fuel to transport cane as per the agreement. The first consignment of 50 trucks was sent on January 11, 2021. However, the farmers are stating that they have a surplus cane and don’t have enough resources to transport cane to Atiak.
Godfrey Biriwali, the chairman of Greater Busoga Sugarcane Farmers’ Union (GBSGU), the organisation that signed the agreement said, “We need trailers to carry 20 tonnes and above cane to reduce the expenses on fuel.”
“Government has agreed to provide us funds for fuel but the bureaucracy is not providing us funds for the same,” he said.
