SWID Partners with DEI Group to Strengthen Cassava Value Chain in Busoga.

Kamuli District, Uganda — The Slum Women’s Initiatives for Development (SWID) has taken a major step toward transforming Uganda’s cassava sector following a high-level engagement today with the newly launched DEI Group Advanced Agro-Processing Park in Kamuli District.

The state-of-the-art facility—officially commissioned on 20 November by H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda—is set to process raw cassava into high-quality starch used in medicines and vaccines. The plant is expected to become one of Uganda’s most important agro-industrial hubs, boosting value addition and strengthening the country’s position in regional and international markets.

During the visit, the SWID team led by the Executive Director Kairamira Doreen King , the team held strategic discussions with DEI management to explore how women smallholder farmers and cooperatives can be integrated into the factory’s supply chain.

SWID presented the major challenges affecting grassroots women farmers, including limited access to transport, improved planting materials, and guaranteed markets.In response, DEI Group is committed to give a collaborative support plan that includes:Transporting cassava directly from rural communities to the factory,Providing disease-free and drought-resistant cassava varieties,Including SWID in all future consultations and coordination meetings.

DEI officials praised SWID’s organization and long-standing presence in the cassava sector, noting that SWID is among the most organized farmer-support organizations they have engaged with to date. Meetings between DEI and SWID-trained farmers are scheduled for Thursday and Friday this week.

SWID has been active in the cassava industry for several years, training over 300 women in Kamuli and Kaliro Districts in cassava production, agribusiness, and small-scale value addition.

Despite cassava being widely grown across Uganda, farmers have long struggled with limited value addition and inconsistent markets.The opening of the DEI Farm processing plant now completes a crucial missing link in the national cassava value chain—providing a reliable, modern, and competitive market for farmers.

This development positions Uganda to participate more effectively in global cassava-based industries, especially the growing demand for pharmaceutical starch.

The partnership between the Slum Women’s Initiatives for Development (SWID) and DEI Group marks a national milestone in advancing agro-industrialization, empowering women smallholder farmers, and unlocking greater economic opportunities within Uganda’s agricultural sector.