Mukono district farmers form cooperative union

One of the plantations owned by one farmer in Mukono district  

In an attempt to promote agriculture in Mukono district, the farmers here have come together to form a cooperative union, called Mukono New Farmers’ Union (MNFU). 

The new union is said to have been merged with Mukono district farmers’ cooperative union. The union now provides farming inputs such as quality seeds, fertilizers and herbicides among others.

The union is also involved in carrying out diagnosis to different plant diseases, conducting regular follow-ups, visits to farmers and marketing the produces from the farmers to local, national, and international markets.

However, the operation of this union is doubted by many farmers who cite failure of former unions. They say that many other similar unions were plagued by corruption, embezzlement and maladministration, and have since collapsed.

In Uganda, cooperative unions used to be strong and form great functions, especially during Dr. Milton Obote’s regime, between 1962 to 1971. However, due to such precedents, many farmers are no longer interested in being grouped into cooperatives for fear of their collapse. They say that many Ugandans are corrupt and thus cannot be trusted with huge sums of money.