{"id":3131,"date":"2021-05-05T16:33:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T16:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=3131"},"modified":"2021-05-05T16:33:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T16:33:15","slug":"oil-palm-growing-ushering-in-sustainable-long-term-incomes-for-households","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/oil-palm-growing-ushering-in-sustainable-long-term-incomes-for-households\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil palm growing ushering in sustainable long-term incomes for households"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Peter Wambog-Mugirya<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat began as a simple adaptive research for oil palm growing in Uganda in 1970s by young scientists notably: the late Dr. Israel Kibirige Sebunya [former State Minister for Agriculture], Mr. Sabastian Matovu and later on Dr. Patrick Wetala, resulted into over 11,000 hectares of oil palm plantations on Bugala Island,\u201d says a report by the Uganda Media Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, wild oil palm fronds have been growing naturally in various parts of Uganda, more prominently in Kalangala District, the Ssese Islands \u2014 a clear\/strong indicator that oil palms are most suitable crops to commercialize there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following years of research, in 199 government started on the road to commercialize oil palm growing on the island. This was done through a People Public Private Partnership (4PPP), where a private investor partner was sought to inject funding along the public and the people (smallholder farmers). The aim was to get an investor with skills and knowledge in the field of oil palm growing and willing to work with the community to pass on the skills. The intention of promoting oil palm growing on Bugala island was to alleviate poverty, increase domestic production of vegetable oils and reduce Uganda\u2019s heavy reliance on vegetable oil imports. Initially, palm oil in particular used to account for 90% of oil imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) was established to be in charge of the project, which was succeeded by the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). An agreement was signed between BIDCO Uganda Limited (BUL), a refinery company to develop oil palm in the Uganda. BIDCO together with Wilmar, an International oil palm plantation company based in Malaysia established the Oil Palm Uganda Limited (OPUL), which is charged with running the nucleus estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OPUL ensures the production of crude oil that is shipped to Jinja via a ferry on Lake Victoria to make final products by BIDCO, like soap and cooking oil from the palm oil fruit.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palm oil, the product of oil palm, is the world\u2019s most versatile vegetable oil. It is used in food, cosmetics, and automotive industry among others. The worldwide demand for palm oil is robust. Palm oil is employed in the treatment of high blood pressure, malaria, cyanide poisoning, and high cholesterol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndonesia remains as the market leader for exported palm oil. Global sales from palm oil exports by country totaled an estimated US$23.2 billion in 2019,\u201d states a report by the New York-based Zion Market Research (ZMR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa, Asia and Latin American regions offer the most favorable atmospheric conditions such as proper sunlight, warm temperatures, and plenty of rainfall for healthy growth of plants leading to the maximized crop production. Africa almost exports nothing yet land and an unemployed population to work the plantations are in plenty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Uganda, the National Oil Palm Project wants to change this narrative by expanding oil palm growing from Kalangala District to other areas. Currently, planting is ongoing in Buvuma Islands with further expansion expected in Mayuge, Masaka, Rakai, Bundibugyo and other parts of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Target Beneficiaries                                                                                                                   <\/strong>The first target group are the prospective smallholder oil palm farmers in the new hubs like Buvuma, who may currently be practicing subsistence farming. These households will benefit from project support with development financing to enable them to establish oil palm gardens while keeping some land for food crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the direct target group many more people are expected to benefit indirectly as a result of the employment opportunities created by the smallholder oil palm growers and the nucleus estates such as the one being set up in Buvuma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the communities within the targeted area for smallholder oil palm development will indirectly benefit from the broader spill-over economic and social benefits resulting from project interventions targeting the communities in which oil palm growers live, together with the improvements in infrastructure and social services that will accompany the core oil palm investment. As the spill-over effect of oil palm increases, socio-economic activities and services will further develop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Peter Wambog-Mugirya \u201cWhat began as a simple adaptive research for oil palm growing in Uganda in 1970s by young<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Farmer-Kalangala.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3435,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/national-oil-palm-project-is-protecting-the-environment\/","url_meta":{"origin":3131,"position":0},"title":"NATIONAL OIL PALM PROJECT IS PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"June 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"About 17 years ago, Uganda introduced the Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) to establish oil palm-growing and commercialize it in mapped regions of the country, with financial backing of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Uganda (GoU). VODP, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Agriculture"","block_context":{"text":"Agriculture","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/agriculture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/NOPP-EHSO-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/NOPP-EHSO-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/NOPP-EHSO-scaled.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/NOPP-EHSO-scaled.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/NOPP-EHSO-scaled.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3193,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/government-launches-oil-palm-project-in-buvuma\/","url_meta":{"origin":3131,"position":1},"title":"Government launches oil palm project in Buvuma","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"May 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Reporters The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon Vincent Ssempijja, has commended the private sector for their contribution to the development of the oil palm sector in Uganda. The minister made the remarks in Buvuma while launching oil palm growing on the island. \u201cThe private sector\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Agriculture"","block_context":{"text":"Agriculture","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/agriculture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Buvuma-launch.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Buvuma-launch.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Buvuma-launch.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Buvuma-launch.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3079,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/government-should-aggressively-promote-oil-palm-farming-due-to-its-immense-socio-economic-opportunities\/","url_meta":{"origin":3131,"position":2},"title":"Government should aggressively promote oil palm farming due to its immense socio-economic opportunities","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Peter Wamboga-Mugirya \u00a0 .\u201cDid you know oil-palm making Malaysia\u2019s economy tick originated from Africa?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did you know that oil palm which today is one of Malaysia\u2019s key sectors of the economy, originated from Africa, to be specific, from Nigeria? 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