Oil Palm seedlings take 18 months before they can be ready to plant, and the bank can confidently confirm that within two years 896 farmers have been able to benefit from these funds, so far totaling sh1.2bn.
The Ugandan government, through a credit facility managed by Equity Bank, has disbursed sh1.2bn to support 896 palm oil farmers who are part of the National Oil Project.
The National Oil project was officially launched by Fred Bwino Kyakula, the state minister of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries, today. He was joined at the ceremony by Equity Bank Director for Public Sector and Social Investment Catherine Psogmgen as several district leaders, councillors and various farmers gathered at Mayuge District Headquarters to witness the launch of the National Oil Project.
The government of Uganda selected Equity Bank as a partner, specifically to manage the credit facility. Through this, the bank is holding and dispensing the funds but also providing capacity-building to the smallholder farmers through various financial and investment solutions, incorporating enablers to reduce risk and maximize success.
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Oil Palm seedlings take 18 months before they can be ready to plant, and the bank can confidently confirm that within two years 896 farmers have been able to benefit from these funds, so far totaling sh1.2bn.
All of these have been educated on how to dig proper holes, supported with pesticides and fertilizers, and have been given seedlings that are ready to plant. And that is not all.
“Equity is also employing modern banking systems to track every transaction, verify beneficiaries and ensure funds reach the genuine oil palm farmers in record time,” Catherine Psomgen, Equity Bank’s Director of Public Sector and Social Investment, told the press during the project launch on Friday in Mayuge district.
Kyakulaga, in his remarks, noted that “This move is going to go a long way in transforming the people of Busoga from the chronic poverty which has affected them for so long.”
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So far, the project is at phase one with Buvuma, Mayuge, Bugiri and Namayimba as the first beneficiaries, with the other parts – Kamuli, Iganga, Jinja City, Bugweri, Namatumba, Luuka and Kaliro – set for the next year.
To benefit from this, each farmer or a group of farmers is supposed to have five hectares of land, to which each will receive Shs25 million, or those who don’t possess that much land but have half of that land will also get half of that money.
However, for appropriate use, not all the money is transferred directly to the farmer’s account. The largest chunk is managed through the bank.
Here, the ministry has suppliers who it directly pays to deliver pesticides and fertilisers, trim the trees and also educate the farmers on maintenance; the rest is then remitted to the farmers’ account and followed up for accountability.
Kyakulaga adds that “Uganda alone, minus exports, has a ready market for palm oil, soap, cosmetic products and various items which require palm oil as a raw material. At harvest each farmer will be directly earning UGX 2.5m monthly, and that runs for about 25-30 years. So, the Government of Uganda has answered the Busoga poverty and job crisis issue with this National Oil Palm Project.”