Farmers urged to embrace markets as OWC boosts Agro investments in Acholi

Gulu, Uganda: The Government’s Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) has rolled out fresh efforts to lift farmers in Acholi out of poverty through seed distribution, coffee expansion, and deliberate investment in market linkages.

Uganda’s coffee earnings alone hit $9 billion last year, a dramatic leap from the $3 billion registered ten years ago before OWC began distributing seedlings.

To date, over 10 million seedlings have been supplied countrywide, making Uganda the leading coffee exporter in Africa. In the Acholi sub-region alone, one million coffee seedlings were distributed in the last year.

Despite these gains, poverty remains a stark reality. OWC Chief Coordinator, Gen. Salim Saleh, launched a deliberate dialogue in 2021 with leaders, women, youths, and cultural institutions to understand why communities remain poor despite multiple interventions. This gave birth to the Acholi Investment Profile, spearheaded by the Information Management Committee (IMC) under Kenneth Oketa, documenting investment opportunities in the region.

So far, the government has injected over UGX 300 billion into Northern Uganda, with Acholi receiving significant allocations to support farming. Beyond coffee, farmers have benefited from seeds of maize, rice, sunflower, and soya beans, distributed under a Public-Private-Community Partnership (PPCP). 

In Agago and Amuru districts alone, 176,000 metric tons of seed were planted on 147,000 acres in 2025, with an expected turnover of UGX 144 billion at farm-gate prices.

But the challenge now lies with markets. Farmers, though recording bumper harvests, often sell at giveaway prices to middlemen from Kenya and Tanzania due to poor road access, weak storage facilities, and lack of regulation.

“Farmers have planted and are harvesting, but the market always disappears. This mess must be sorted if we are serious about fighting poverty,” fumed Prof. Ogenga Otunu, urging government agencies to commit to securing markets.

Religious leaders have also joined the mobilization. Bishop Wilson Kitara of Kitgum Diocese said he has personally planted five acres of maize and sunflower, promising to use his harvest as a teaching tool for his congregation.

Farmers themselves are calling for practical solutions. Atiko Collins, a farmer from Patiko, urged OWC to integrate weather forecasting into their interventions, while Pader LCV Chairman Oyat Fearless Obwoya pushed for irrigation investments to reduce reliance on unreliable rainfall.

Agricultural officers in the region continue to point out the bottlenecks. Charles Ojwee, Agago District Agricultural Officer, revealed that while the district has benefited from seed distribution and coffee seedlings, poor roads, inadequate storage facilities, and a shortage of extension workers undermine progress. 

“One extension worker is currently serving over 3,000 farmers instead of the recommended 500,” he lamented.

Private sector actors are also weighing in. Vicky Ogik, an aggregator, urged government to expand tarpaulin distribution and regulate prices to protect farmers from exploitation. She pointed to AMSAF, an online agricultural marketing platform, as a promising avenue to connect Acholi farmers directly to buyers and cut out exploitative middlemen.

Despite the challenges, optimism remains. LCV Chairman of Kitgum, Arweny Christopher Obol, called for “a clean job without mixing politics” in order for OWC’s interventions to bear fruit.

Looking ahead, OWC has pledged UGX 60 billion for coffee in Northern Uganda, alongside exploring value addition ventures such as sausage-making from piggery and feed production for poultry.

“We want to make a deliberate effort so that Acholi comes out of poverty,” Mrs Sylvia Damalie Owori, Director of Operations-OWC, emphasized, adding, “District local governments must align their budgets to focus on production and market development.”

With leaders, farmers, and private players now aligned, the big test for Acholi will be turning bumper harvests into fair income and sustainable markets, a missing link that could finally help the region break free from decades of war-driven poverty.