By Samuel Opio
The orange and citrus fruit farmers in Ngora district have petitioned Parliament seeking compensation following the massive losses incurred in the recent season.
The petition was presented by Hon. David Abala during a sitting of Parliament presided over by the Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, on Tuesday, 13 November 2018.
“This particular loss arises from the current government policy to encourage farmers in Teso sub-region to take to citrus fruit farming,” Abala said adding that a fruit processing factory should be built in the sub-region for value addition on fruits as a means for poverty alleviation and invariably wealth creation.
Abala said the farmers were losing money through middlemen who are offering the farmers as low as shs15,000/= for a double bag of fruits weighing over 150 kilograms.
“The middlemen have exposed the farmers to abominable losses and we are requesting the government to compensate the farmers on this loss,” Abala added.
The Speaker referred the petition to the Committee of Trade, Industry and cooperatives saying that they should inquire into the matter and also find out when the factory would commence operations.
“I will forward this petition to the Committee for their perusal and report back to the House,” Kadaga said.
