President Yoweri Museveni, who is currently in Western Uganda, has said government is planning to set up mini regional industrial parks for processing both agro and non-agro products such as coffee, cocoa and tanneries in order to promote value addition to home made products in various parts of the country.

“Farmers must change from peasantry to commercial farming so as to have enough supply of raw materials to attract industries in the regions; otherwise how will factories come when people are not producing enough,” he said.

The President was addressing leaders from Ntoroko and Bundibugyo Districts of Rwenzori Sub-Region in Western Uganda. The meeting took place today in Karugutu Town Council in Ntoroko District as he concludes his countrywide tour of sensitizing wanainchi to root for wealth and job creation in the struggle to banish household poverty.

President Museveni advised the people of the area to engage in both coffee and cocoa growing if they are to realize wealth in their homes. According to statistics, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo Districts have the best soils for arabica coffee growing and the crop commands the highest prices on the world market. 

President Museveni used the occasion to tip leaders of Ntoroko on enterprise selection saying that ½ an acre of fish ponds yield Shs.64 million shillings per year. He said that this fact has been empirically verified on Presidential farm in Kawumu, Luwero District in Central Uganda. He, therefore, called on them to embrace the venture especially those who live near wetlands.

Referring to the four-acre model farming, President Museveni recommended to farmers seven activities that yield high financial returns per acre, per annum. He identified coffee, fruits, food crops, pasture for dairy cattle, poultry for eggs, piggery and fish farming along the edges of wetlands as being the best activities to undertake in order to earn handsomely.

Regarding issues of human settlement, Mr. Museveni warned the people of the Rwenzori area in particular and Uganda in general over bad human settlement practices. He said that the practice disables land productivity because due to fragmenting the land on account of archaic inheritance rights. He advised the families to instead create family companies where children inherit shares in the products that are derived from consolidated property adding that this helps to sustainably create rich families generation after generation. 

During the meeting, the leaders of Ntoroko and Bundibugyo Districts joined their counterparts in the country to support President Museveni as the their candidate in the national elections come 2021 and beyond.

In their resolution that was read by Ntoroko District NRM Chairman, Mr. Mugume Vincent and seconded by the LC5 Chairman of Ntoroko and all the leaders in the Rwenzori Sub-Region, they cited the achievements of NRM, such as security, physical infrastructure development, among others, as their reason for rallying behind President Museveni and the NRM Government.

On his way from Fort Portal to Karugutu for the meeting, 14 kms from Fort Portal, President Yoweri Museveni inspected the work on the Fort Portal – Bundibugyo road and took time off for a chat with some people from the surrounding communities of Musandama village. The spot also of the stopover offers a beautiful view of the tourist attraction sceneries across the Semliki Rift Valley  Corridor at the foot of Rwenzori Mountains.

ENDS