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The members\nwere trained in the process of making the product marketable. \u201cThis was a\nunique enterprise in the district and even the project file was deferred three\ntimes until they [ministry] noted that it [project] will definitely push these\nwomen out of poverty because majority of farmers were just selling\nunprocessed cassava and realizing little money,\u201d she said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe\nlittle profit earned from the sale is put to proper save and part of it repaid\nback to the loan\u201d she said. The Kiwani Women Value addition and marketing group\nwas formed on principles to focus on value addition of cassava. However,\naccording to Ms. Naguti, said that lack of access to adequate and sustainable\nmarkets has been a perennial challenge of cassava farmers in eastern Uganda,\nthe country\u2019s largest producing region, but the ministry of gender, gives a\nglimmer hope for buyers of the products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through the\ncassava, adding value project, led by the district\u2019s focal point, Ms Emily\nNanzala, the group has successfully lobbied for cassava chippers [equipment]\nthat help in the processing of their roots into High quality cassava flour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe\nprinciple of taking farming as a business has definitely paid off its members\nwho are slightly better off than other women around them because they [women]\nhave managed to meet their basic needs and improving on their household incomes,\u201d\nshe explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example,\neach kilogram of garlic is sold at UShs3000. \u201cThis is four times the price they\nreceive from the dried cassava chips. The Association is engaged into various\nenterprise productions like milling and packaging of cassava, bakings. Ms. Naume\nNaguti, the chairperson said that the challenge now is to find sustainable\nmarket for the products, and also certification from UNBS in order to\nreap even bigger from the processed High quality Cassava flour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Naguti\nexplained that the group have a signed a memorandum of understanding [MOU] with\na Ghanaian investor who intends to buy part of the garlic by\nsupplying 600 tons worthy UShs 6 million this coming March. She\nhowever, applauded government for availing capital to their initiative through\nUganda Women Entrepreneur ship programme [UWEP].<\/p>\n\n\n\n They said\nthat the capital has enabled them grow their enterprise and make profits\nwhich have been given to each individual members in support at their household\nlevel and as well re-pay back the loan. She said the Association pays back UShs\n210,000 per month, and which started in November 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are\nquite a number of achievements registered amongst the women members and among\nthem included, improved income, payment of school fees for their children, face\nlifting their houses and installation of electricity, procurement of goats and\ncows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe members have made progressive\nachievements, including education of their children [school fees], constructing\nsmall permanent houses and acquiring skills\u201d adding that, \u201cThe members have\nbeen exposed to the market,\u201d she said<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe association\nis doing well in terms of repayment despite starting a bit late because the\nministry delayed to release the funds but nevertheless, the association is\ncommitted to save and also re-pay the loan in accordance with payment schedule,\u201d\nshe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) is an initiative by\nthe Government of the Republic Uganda to improve women\u2019s access to financial\nservices, equip them with the skills for enterprise growth, value addition and\nmarketing of their products and services. The women are availed with\ninterest-free revolving credit to initiate or strengthen their enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another Member, Ms Agness Kayendo, said the intervention of the program\nhas pushed women a step forward \u201cThis was a timely intervention from the government and development\npartners to think about the women persons because many women previously taken\nas slaves but now the situation has completely changed\u201d she said<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding that, \u201cMajority of women in these projects have improved in\nterms of household welfare because they can at least afford to meet some\nof the essential services like medical bills, funding farming and paying school\nfees. This is quite commendable\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For \nHarriet Nankoma resident of Kiwani village, Kiwani parish, Kadama town\ncouncil said that the earnings from the UWEP program is what has helped\nin payment of school fees, injected part of it into farming and medical bills.\n\u201cThis could be enough to sustain my family and urge the government to continue\nsupporting us and also increase,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the\ndistrict focal person, Ms Emily Nanzala, noted that with the intervention of\nUWEP to empower women had made them to come to the limelight in general. \u201cWomen\nare on top compared to the previous years because of women emancipation through\nsome of these projects or programme like UWEP. Majority of women was just\nabandoned to do house cores but currently they are engaged into income\ngenerating enterprises,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\nchallenged the government through various platforms should continue to support\nwomen wholly either through setting up more cooperative banks in rural areas to\nenable them access these funds at no interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said\nthat most of the women groups in the district have overwhelmingly embraced the\nprogramme and is positively paying back the loan, which according the recovery\nrecords stands at 46%, thus implying that 54% remains not recovered. She said\nthat the district received UShs156 million, of which only 36\nmillion has been paid back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen have\ntotally embraced the programme and even the repayment mode is so good. I have\nnever had a challenge in the recovery and even if they don\u2019t fully pay the\nagreed amount as stipulated in the M.O.U, they next repayment schedule they\nmake sure complete that amount. This is quite interesting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The communication\nofficer, Ministry of gender, Labour and Social development, Mr Frank Mugabi\nacknowledged that women are more committed to embrace the programme saying that\nunlike Youth projects which have faced challenges in recovery of funds, he\nwas impressed with success stories registered by women who have benefited\nfrom UWEP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women make\nup 53%of the labour force hence an important target group for economic\ndevelopment of the country.However; Members asked the ministry more in\nparticular to inject more money in the UWEP program so as to further boost\nhousehold income<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms Meble Kadondi,\na member said that the government should increase on the amount of money in\norder to realize better outputs because in their case the group had applied for\nUShs12 million but was only given 8 million which could not\nsufficiently boost their project in cassava.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe got the\nmoney in 2018.We thank the NRM government for thinking about women. We look\ngood because of the funds they gave us,\u201d she said as could not hide her joy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Under Kiwani Women Value Addition and Marketing Group found in the eastern district of Kibuku, women are reaping big from processing fresh cassava tubers into high quality cassava flour. This women group has received funding from the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship programme (UWEP) to implement enterprises of their choice. The women group started in 2018 with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/kawogo2-1024x681.jpg\")
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