Masindi, Uganda: The Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom and the ENCOT Foundation on Monday signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at boosting soybean production and improving household incomes in the sub-region.
The partnership, signed at the kingdom’s headquarters in Masindi, will mobilise farmers across Bunyoro into small, medium, and large-scale soybean farming, supporting both livelihoods and regional development.
The ENCOT Foundation delegation was welcomed by the Bunyoro Prime Minister, Mr. Owek Andrew Byakutaga Atenyi, who praised the organisation for its sustained support in agricultural programs and financial services.
“The kingdom’s mandate is to preserve and promote culture, but this cannot be achieved when our people are still grappling with poverty and hunger,” Owek Byakutaga said. “His Majesty Dr. Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I has entrusted us with a 30-year vision of building a prosperous Bunyoro-Kitara. Strategic partnerships like this are essential to achieving that vision.”
The Premier encouraged households to engage in both long-term crops such as coffee and short-term crops like soybeans, noting that while coffee ensures future income, soybeans provide regular earnings to sustain families.
Mr Byakutaga also revealed plans to distribute free coffee, cocoa, and indigenous tree seedlings to smallholder farmers across Bunyoro in January 2026, in collaboration with Dutch partners.
ENCOT Foundation CEO, Mr. Solomon Karuhanga Amooti, highlighted that over 300 farmers in Masindi have already been enrolled under the soybean programme.
The foundation will organise farmers into a Cooperative to provide quality seeds, fertilisers, access to markets, and credit support where necessary. “Farmers will not struggle with marketing; prices will be predetermined, allowing them to focus on farming while the Cooperative handles the rest,” he said.
Mr. Alex Katusabe Atwooki, Chief Administrative Secretary of the kingdom, announced a forthcoming sensitisation campaign to reach farmers across Bunyoro-Kitara.
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