Overview:
President Museveni has asked Iranian companies interested in Ugandan agriculture to invest in processing cocoa, coffee and pineapples rather than acquiring farmland, with local cooperatives supplying the raw produce.
ENTEBBE — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has asked Iranian investors to put their money into agro-processing plants in Uganda rather than acquire large tracts of land for commercial farming, signalling the government’s preference for foreign capital that adds value to produce grown by local farmers.
Museveni made the pitch on Monday, 26 October 2026, at State House Entebbe, during a farewell meeting with the outgoing Iranian Ambassador to Uganda, Majid Saffar.
The President’s remarks came after Saffar said Iranian investors were interested in setting up agricultural farms in Uganda. Museveni proposed a different model, in which Ugandan farmers grow the crops and foreign companies process them.
“The best way is to build factories in Uganda to process agricultural products from our Ugandan farmers. Let the people here produce, and your companies process,” Museveni told the ambassador.
He named cocoa, coffee and pineapples as products with processing potential and said agro-industrialisation would create jobs, expand trade and raise earnings from agricultural exports.
Saffar said Iranian companies were interested in processing those same crops and that Iran was ready to support cooperatives and agricultural unions.
“You’re rich in agriculture, and there are a lot of Iranian companies interested in processing Ugandan agricultural products such as cocoa, coffee, pineapples, and we’re ready to support cooperatives and agriculture unions in that line to promote trade and job creation,” he said.
Under the arrangement discussed, cooperatives and farmers’ organisations would act as suppliers of raw material to processing firms, rather than competing with foreign-owned estates for land.
The talks also covered the supply of seeds and fertilisers, agricultural machinery and wider investment opportunities, as well as cooperation in healthcare and education.
Neither side named the companies involved or put a value on the proposed investments, and no timeline was given for the projects.
Museveni also used the meeting to comment on tensions in the Middle East, urging Iran and Israel to recognise each other and Israel to recognise Palestinian statehood.
The meeting marked the end of Saffar’s tour of duty in Uganda.