Acholi women rallied to embrace technology to market agribusiness products

By Christopher Nyeko

Gulu: The Acholi Paramount Chief, Rwot Onen David Acana II, on Tuesday rallied women in Acholi who are engaged in agribusiness to embrace the available technology, such as the internet, to market their value-added goods to the entire world.

Rwot Acana was presiding over the event dubbed women in agribusiness EXPO 2023 under the theme “unlocking the opportunities for women framers”.

Acana said he was impressed after discovering that many Acholi women are engaging in agribusiness, adding that he was not believing Acholi women have started embracing value-added to their agriproducts.

The cultural leader, however, advised women to use the available technology to link them to the entire world to learn about their healthy and organic products.

Paulina Chiwangu, the UN-women country representative, revealed that 8 out of 10 women in Uganda are in agribusiness, and 9 out of 10 are women who are at the grassroots level, while 60 percent of these women are young people.

The 2023 regional agribusiness Expo was supported by UN Women, where numbers of women in agribusinesses are exhibiting their agriproducts, such as value-added coffee, shea butter, peanuts, honey, art and crafts, and processed foods, among other products, at the Gulu University playground.

According to Chiwangu, the purpose of the EXPO is to expose women in agribusiness and link them to other business clients.

Dr. Angela Nakafeero, commissioner in charge of gender women in the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development, praised young women for embracing the value addition of their agribusiness.

Angela, however, encouraged the women to take advantage of available markets in East African nations such as South Sudan, Kenya, and the Congo to market their agricultural products, noticing that the government of Uganda has established infrastructure like roads to ease movement to the market.

She appealed to the cultural institution to fight negative cultural norms, which are hindering women from effectively engaging in businesses.

Angela noted that gender-based violence is still preventing many women from engaging in business.

Jean Frances Olanya, one of the exhibitors, said climate change is one of the factors affecting women in agribusiness, revealing that in 2022 she ventured into hass-avocado growing after acquiring a loan of five million shillings, but all her seedlings dried up as a result of the dry spell.

However, Dr. Gillian Omara Adyeri, the director of D’Ligh Farm in Nwoya District, revealed that through agribusiness, she has employed over 6,000 youth at her various enterprises.

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