Soybean dealers throng Omoro district

Omoro, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hundreds of commercial dealers are thronging Omoro district in the quest for soybeans.

The dealers come from far as Lira city and Central Uganda in search of the lucrative crop which is a major raw material for producing edible oil among other food products.

They have thronged the sub-counties of Opit, Odek, Lalogi and Lakwana that in the last season produced several acres of soybeans.

A kilogram of soybean is currently being sold between Shillings 3,000 and 3,500 as compared to the previous seasons when it was being sold at Shillings 800 and 1,000 or 1,500.

Sseseko Mubutu, a middleman and wholesale dealer from Lira city who has pitched camp in Opit sub county says that he buys at least seven tones of soybeans after every two weeks.

Mubutu who buys from the farmers at 3,000 Shillings supplies his produce to Mount Meru factory in Lira city at Shillings 3,100 for the production of edible oil among other food nutrients.

Walter Otim, another dealer from Lira city has also pitched camp in Omoro district for the past one month to buy soybeans wholesale from the farmers and later sell to oil factories in Lira city and other parts of Central Uganda.

Otim says he has been in the business for more than ten years, he cites that there is a tremendous increase in the prices of soybeans due to the low production as opposed to the previous years when it would go for either Shillings 1,000 or 1,200 per kilogram.

The dealers have however complained of poor post-harvest handling among the farmers which they say have led to poor qualities or even reduced prices from the factories since they buy them while already packed in sacks.

Most of the produce is reportedly packed with soil, while not properly dried and poorly sorted.

Alice Atim, a member of Oitino Green Growers Cooperative says her members lack the requisite knowledge in handling their crops during and after harvests as well as proper storage and packaging.

She says that the group produces several tons of cereals but dries them on the ground which makes them prone to mixing with soil, hence poor qualities and being below the international market standards.

Tom Mboya Okedo, an agricultural inspector at the Ministry of Agriculture says that the poor post-harvest management among farmers has greatly affected their outputs and narrowed their sales only to the local market and at lower prices as well as diseases.

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