Access to Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods - Natural Resources Institute

Processing of fruit is almost non-existent – a co-operative pineapple juice enterprise in
Masaka failed and was bought out and converted to a coffee processing factory, and although
the government is promoting simple solar fruit dryers to women’s group, there is not much
demand for the product. Lack of suitable agroprocessing facilities and/or markets for
processed products prevents farmers from being able to add value to their produce, and forces
them to sell perishable goods at low prices during the harvest period when markets are
glutted. However, traditional products such as beers and spirits remain popular with local
consumers, and brewing and distilling are important rural and household based forms of
agroprocessing for sale.
In pastoral areas there is some production of ghee, primarily for sale to travellers on the main
Masaka-Mbarara road. In forested areas and woodlands there is production of charcoal,
primarily for sale to urban markets, including Kampala.
There is also a historical record of artisans – today these include carpenters, builders,
blacksmiths, brickmakers, and potters. Traditionally women were only involved in
agroprocessing, but through support from NGOs they are now involved in pottery and, to a
lesser extent, brickmaking as well.
Constraints to the development of industry in the district include low levels of production of
raw materials in an economy which is still primarily based on subsistence farming, and a lack
of modern equipment and services. In the past, governments concentrated on industrialising
urban areas, particularly Kampala, and did not see the provision of services such as electricity
and running water in rural areas as a priority. However, in recent years there has been more
of an emphasis on the private sector, and service provision is improving in rural towns and
trading centres.
Lack of appropriate skills and knowledge is also a constraint to the development of industry
and other businesses in rural areas, with the most qualified tending to live in the major urban
centres where life is more comfortable. Some own businesses such as maize mills in rural
areas but tend to employ others, often family members, to manage them for them, with
varying degrees of success. Many qualified people also shy away from the risks of
entrepreneurship, preferring to work for government from whom they receive a regular salary
and a pension. Some of this lack of skills and knowledge could be addressed by reforming
curricula at all levels to offer more practical, technical subjects with relevance to the society
and economy in which students live, as well as improving living conditions in small towns.
Most of the major investors in industry (i.e. agroprocessing) come from within the district,
although there is a national policy implemented by the Uganda Investment Authority which
supports outside investment in rural areas. Many are local government employees, either
current, or retired or retrenched, while others are commercial cattle ranchers. The former tend
to be well educated, well informed, and well connected, and are able to secure loans against
their salaries or use their termination payments to get started, while the latter are able to use
their existing ranching businesses as security for credit, and are also often well connected –
connections, networking, political influence, and access to information are perceived to be
key issues in establishing medium or large scale (by local standards) businesses. Some
groups are underrepresented in business ownership, for example fishermen, who often make
a lot of money, but who allegedly have a culture of spending it all “on beer” as “the lake is
always there”, instead of diversifying and investing, and pastoralists who could access credit
by using their herds as collateral, but who apparently tend to prefer their traditional lifestyle.
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