By Mulengera ReportersFormer Trade Minister and Mawokota North MP Amelia Kyambadde has challenged Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) to build on its growing contribution to industrialization by exploring investments in cold-storage infrastructure that would help farmers preserve perishable produce and supply factories with reliable raw materials.
She made the appeal on Thursday at Pamoja Packaging Manufacturing plant groundbreaking in Namanve Industrial Park, where she commended UDC for supporting the establishment of a locally owned packaging manufacturing facility.
She argued that Uganda’s industrialization ambitions would deliver greater benefits if investment in factories was matched with infrastructure that protects agricultural produce from post-harvest losses.
“The narrative of industrialization is empty if you don’t have storage,” she said, pointing to the quantities of fruits and vegetables that go to waste because farmers and traders lack adequate cold-storage facilities.
Kyambadde, who chairs Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, said Uganda has made progress in establishing industries but still faces a major gap between agricultural production and industrial processing.
She cited mangoes and other fruits that rot along roads during transportation, explaining that while the country has facilities for storing some dry commodities such as maize and beans, perishable produce remains poorly served.
She said a nationwide cold-storage network would help farmers preserve their harvests, reduce losses and supply processors with better-quality raw materials throughout the year.
Kyambadde pointed to a cold-storage facility established by Flower Holdings Limited (FHL) in Entebbe as an example of the kind of infrastructure that could support agricultural production and trade, while calling for more investment across the country.
Her proposal presents another opportunity for UDC to extend its industrialization mandate beyond supporting factories and into the infrastructure required to sustain agricultural value chains.
At Pamoja Packaging, UDC is already supporting an investment designed to provide local manufacturers and agricultural processors with affordable packaging materials, reducing their dependence on imported supplies.
The project demonstrates the importance of connecting different stages of production, from the farmer supplying raw materials to the factory processing the product and the packaging company preparing it for the market.Kyambadde congratulated UDC for supporting the emergence of indigenous manufacturing capacity, noting that Uganda needs more locally owned companies capable of supplying the growing industrial sector.
She said the country has about 51 verified packaging companies, describing the development of indigenous players in the sector as a positive step in strengthening local industrial capacity.
UDC has positioned itself as a strategic partner in investments intended to address gaps that private investors may struggle to overcome because of financing and other constraints.
The cold-storage proposal would offer the corporation another avenue to support farmers, processors, exporters and manufacturers while reducing the losses that weaken agricultural incomes.
If developed as part of a broader national network, such facilities could help farmers preserve their produce, improve supply consistency for factories and create new opportunities for value addition.
Kyambadde’s appeal adds an important dimension to Uganda’s industrialization agenda, ensuring that the growth of factories is supported by infrastructure that protects the agricultural production on which many industries depend. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
