RUBANDA – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has announced plans to establish a processing factory to add value to eggs, strengthening the economy, improving nutrition, and food security. The President noted that while the volume of eggs is increasing, the local market is insufficient, and processing eggs into powder and liquid forms will fetch higher prices locally and internationally.
“We need to establish factories to process these eggs into products such as baby foods and nutritional foods to feed the elderly and the sick for the whole country and also for export,” President Museveni said.
During his visit to Ms. Akampurira Evas, a poultry farmer and beneficiary of the Parish Development Model (PDM) in Rubanda district, President Museveni emphasized the importance of intensive agriculture and value addition.
“My people in Nyabushozi started milking a lot of milk—5.3 billion liters per year, yet Ugandans can only consume 800 million liters. What we did was process the milk into different forms and pack it, and now we are exporting to countries like Nigeria, Algeria, and the rest. This is what we want to do with the eggs and the pigs,” President Museveni explained.
The President also reminded residents that the only way to overcome poverty is through intensive agriculture, using small portions of land to produce high-return products.
“Whether boiled, scrambled, or mixed with chapati, commonly known as Rolex, cannot be exported, but once properly processed and packed, it can even attract international markets,” President Museveni said.
He encouraged them to adopt the 4-acre model, which includes activities like coffee, fruit, and food crop production, as well as poultry and fish farming.
“This is what we have been preaching since 1996, but the people don’t care,” President Museveni noted. “The government has been introducing support programs starting with Entandikwa, the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA), the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), and Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), but people did not pay attention, thus failing to get out poverty.”
Ms. Akampurira, who received shs. 1 million through the PDM program, shared her success story, having invested in poultry and piggery, and now earning significant profits.
“I heard the president in 2022 when he was launching the PDM to get Ugandans out of poverty. I also said I want to benefit from this money. I started preparing myself by constructing a poultry house,” Ms. Akampurira narrated.
“In September 2023, I received shs. 1 million, which later became shs. 990,000 after deduction of bank charge of shs. 10,000. I later spent shs. 375,000 and bought 50 young birds of chicken each at shs. 7500. I used the balance to buy chicken feed and drinking materials,” Ms. Akampurira explained.
“After 3 months, I sold each at shs.35,000 and got shs. 750,000 as profits. I later bought 100 layer chicks at shs.3500 each, and in 5 months I started collecting eggs,” Ms. Akampurira said, adding that after selling off the grown-up layers, she counted shs. 7,950,000 million as profits.
The Minister of State for Finance, Planning, and Economic Development (General Duties), Hon. Henry Ariganyira Musasizi, informed President Museveni that over shs. 14 billion has been distributed to the SACCOs in 70 parishes of Rubanda.
Hon. Musasizi, who is also a Member of Parliament for Rubanda East constituency, said the commissioned Mirama-Kabale high-voltage power line will facilitate industrialization in the region.
He also engaged President Museveni on the identification of potential investors who can establish an iron ore factory in the region.
The ceremony was also attended by the Vice President, H.E Jessica Alupo, Ministers, Members of Parliament, officials from the PDM Secretariat, and district leaders.
While in Kigezi, the President will visit several PDM beneficiaries, hold a live media interaction, and address public rallies in the sub-region.
