For years, growers in the region have depended almost entirely on Hoima Sugar in Hoima District and Kinyara Sugar factory in Masindi District. Farmers say the two mills dominate the market, dictate prices that barely cover production costs, and routinely fail to collect harvested cane on time, leaving crops to dry in the field or suffer fire damage.

Ndibwami B. Yosia, the Kagadi District Local Council V Chairperson, said farmers were frequently asked to harvest their cane only for buyers to delay or not show up at all. He said many growers had taken loans to invest in sugarcane cultivation and were now accumulating debt as produce went unsold or was purchased at deeply discounted prices.

John Kahuma Ashaba, a farmer in the area, told the publication that he has over 40 acres of mature cane with no buyer in sight. He said 20 acres of his ready cane had been destroyed by fire at one point, and over 50 tonnes had dried in the field after factories that had requested harvesting failed to follow through. He estimated harvesting costs at around Shs 600,000 per truck, with approximately 20 workers needed to load each consignment. Farmers also reported that the price per tonne of sugarcane had fallen from around Shs 90,000 to approximately Shs 70,000 or below.

Lubanga Charles, another farmer with over 100 acres of ready cane, said the market squeeze had disrupted normal harvesting cycles. Sugarcane is typically harvested three times over three years, he said, but the absence of consistent buyers had reduced that to a single harvest, compounding losses significantly.

The farmers’ hopes have increasingly been pinned on a proposed sugar factory planned by local investor Amon Kakama. Kakama initiated the project in 2023 but said efforts stalled at the time due to the absence of a regulatory body. Following the establishment of the Uganda Sugar Industry Stakeholders’ Council in October 2025 under the Sugar (Amendment) Act, 2025, Kakama reapplied for a licence. Despite assessment teams visiting the area and reporting favourable findings, the licence has not been granted.

Kakama said he holds over 4,000 acres of sugarcane and has supported more than 1,000 farmers to grow cane, though he noted that around 2,000 acres were destroyed by fire under unclear circumstances. He said the factory was intended to bring the market closer to farmers, cut transport costs, and end dependence on distant mills, adding that he suspected vested interests in the sector were trying to block competition.

Two members of the Uganda Sugar Industry Stakeholders’ Council who participated in a field assessment on April 8, 2026, said the area had sufficient cane to support a factory. Council member Issa Budugo, who led the delegation, said findings from eight sample areas showed farmers had more than enough sugarcane and that Kagadi Sugar met the requirements for a licence. Council committee member Joyce Laker Santa echoed this, noting that Kakama was the only Ugandan investor in the sugar industry and deserved support as a role model. A prior council delegation had also visited on January 31 with similar conclusions.

Milton Lugese, Chairperson of the Sugarcane Farmers’ Cooperative in Kagadi District, said denying the investor a licence was unfair and left outgrowers with no recourse. He said there was no processing facility between Hoima and Katara in Kyenjojo District, despite a significant farming population in that stretch. The Kagadi Sugarcane Growers Cooperative Association has approximately 400 members. District leaders and farmers are now planning to petition the Office of the Prime Minister to seek intervention and resolve the licensing stalemate.