Igara Growers Tea Factory

1Igara GTF was established in 1969 and started processing black tea in 1970. It was established by government to process the smallholder farmers’ leaf within Bushenyi district. The management of Igara Tea Factory like all other smallholder tea factories in Uganda was by Uganda Tea Growers Corporation (UTGC), a government parastatal established in 1966.

In 1995 the factory was privatized by the government and sold to the farmers who are now the shareholders of the factory company. The shareholders manage their company through a Board of Directors who are democratically elected during an Annual General Meeting. Currently Igara has seven members of the Board of Directors who are elected in rotation after every three years and are highly experienced in the tea industry and management of such companies.

Kayonza Growers Tea Factory

2Tea growing in Kayonza was started by Uganda development Corporation. nurseries were established in 1959 and the field planting in 1961. The factory was commisioned in 1964 and was later acquired by the Uganda Tea Growers Corporation in 1971, a parastatal which was charged with developing tea growing among out growers and marketing their produce.

The factory suffered like all the other agricultural and business enterprises from the political and economic turmoil that charaterised the 1970’s and first half of the 1980’s.