The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Agago, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 42,100 shea nut trees have been destroyed in Agago District in the past one and a half years, according to a mini-survey conducted by cultural leaders in the district.
A report from the mini-survey indicates that since the end of late 2023 to date, more than 6,500 shea nut trees have been destroyed in Arum Sub-county, 2,500 in Laperebong, more than 6,000 in Omot, 5,900 in Kuywee, and 5,800 in Wol Sub-county.
Meanwhile, in Parabongo more than 5,400 have been cut down, 4,500 in Lokole, at least 700 in Adilang, and more than 5,000 in Kot Omor sub-county.
Kasimiro Ongom, the chief of the Otongo clan in Agago district, who has been spearheading a campaign against the destruction of trees, especially the endangered shea nut species since 2021, told Uganda Radio Network that the mass destruction of trees is an indicator that there is a need for collected action against the vice before its effects become irreversible.
Locals complain that poverty drives them to cut the trees, but Ongom stressed that the youths in the sub-region can become economically empowered through other sustainable means, such as investing in enterprises such as tomatoes, coffee, bananas, and avocados.
Aldo Okec Okello, the speaker of Omiya Pachwa Sub-county, said a week ago, the council resolved that anyone found cutting a tree will be tasked to plant ten in replacement, including a fine of one million shillings.
Beatrice Akello Akori, the state minister in charge of economic monitoring in the office of the president and also the woman MP for Agago district, is optimistic that NUSAF IV will help in reducing the rampant cases of deforestation in the district.
NUSAF IV was approved in April 2025, and implementation is expected to start in July 2025 with at least 3 million people expected to benefit through improved inputs, investment capital, and value-addition equipment.
Akori appealed to the newly elected NRM structures to mobilize the community in northern Uganda to benefit from the project.
“I call upon these newly elected leaders of NRM to go and spread the president’s message of household income through strategic interventions like NUSAF IV, which is coming, so that the locals make good use of these programs,” Akori said.
Shea butter is valued internationally, with Maximise Market Research estimating its market value at $1.66 billion in 2024 and a forecast growth to $4.45 billion by 2032.
The medicinal, economic, and cosmetic values of shea butter have prompted Uganda to put a ban on its destruction.
On June 5th, the Global Environment Facility approved a 2.2 billion shillings grant to help safeguard the endangered shea nut trees in three districts in the Acholi sub-region namely; Agago, Pader and Kitgum, and Otuke district in Lango Sub-region.
It is hoped the grant will help to save 15,000 hectares of shea nut trees found in these districts, and the livelihood of 4,320 people who depend on the shea nut value chain in the project areas.
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