Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny Dollo during the launch of the commercial macadamia production.
Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny Dollo Cigamoi has flagged off the commercial production of the high-value macadamia tree nuts in the Acholi Sub Region.
At least 525 pioneer beneficiary farmers received 10 tree seedlings each at the inauguration held Tuesday at Patongo Sub County headquarters in-Agago district with plans of rolling out the campaign to other parts of the sub-region.
According to Owiny Dollo, the decision to roll out the commercial macadamia tree production is aimed at encouraging farmers in the Acholi Sub-region to embrace the cultivation of the high-value crop since it offers high economic returns to farmers and will also help to restore the degraded environment.
He said that the idea of introducing the high-value crop in the region under the Make Acholi Green Again (MAGA) initiative follows various visits to macadamia producing countries and assertions that macadamia is one of the most lucrative cash crops in the world.
Owiny Dolo noted that this kind of fruit and nut tree remains underexploited in the region yet it has a high potential to boost Uganda’s economy through earnings from export revenues from the global market.
Simon Odoch Ojok, the Technical Specialist on Macadamia production in Acholi Sub Region, said that they started piloting the growth of macadamia in the Agago district at the onset of the dry season around October last year and the nut tree has proven that it can thrive and is adapt to the soils and climate in the region.
According to Odoch, macadamia prefers growing on fertile, well-drained upland soils with an annual rainfall of between 1,000–2,000mm and optimum temperatures of 25 °C and not falling below 10 °C.
Macadamia starts bearing fruits at three years producing approximately between 7 and 10 kilograms per tree, but when it reaches the maturity stage of between 7–10 years, the tree yields approximately between 50 and 60 kilograms of quality nuts and it continues to bear fruits for over 100 years.
Odoch says that currently on the international market a kilogram of organic macadamia nuts goes for between US$ 20 and 30 (approx. Uganda Shillings 120,000), meaning that a farmer with ten trees could earn a gross income of approximately Shillings 70 million in a year.
Macadamia nuts are also rich in food nutrients and beneficial in the management of several health conditions including heart diseases, improve digestion, weight management and blood sugar control among others.
Odoch says that the initiative will be rolled out to other districts in Acholi Sub Region with an emphasis on growing it on a large scale and they plan to make macadamia one of the priority perennials cash crops because of the available market worldwide.
The Agago district vice LCV Chairperson Morris Ocana reiterates that the launch of the commercial production of macadamia nuts and considering it a priority cash crop will help the populace sustain their livelihoods through the viable investment cash crop.
Ocana encouraged farmers to intensify the production of macadamia since initial cash crops including cotton and tobacco and other food crops are under threat of pests, disease infestations, natural calamities and climate change hence attracting low incomes.
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