The Managing Director of Bukona Agro Processing Limited, Praviin Kekal, has been advised by the NEMA Chairman to engage a private waste management company to collect all waste, both organic and chemical, to avoid environmental hazards. Currently, Bukona Agro Processing Limited releases 40 tonnes per day, while the factory produces 40,000 litres of Ethanol capacity out of raw materials, Maize and Cassava.

NWOYA DISTRICT-FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2026.

By Okumu Livingstone Langol, (Uganda Correspondent)

On April, 28, 2026. A team from the Ministry of Water and Environment, through the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), paid a noble visit to access the Bukona Agro Processing Limited factory in Nwoya district, and they recommended that the MD Praviin Kekal carry out drastic reform on both environmental hazards to scale down air pollution and avoid decomposed waste leaking to the River Ayago.

Dr Bariregga Akankwasah, Executive Director of NEMA and Prof. James Okot Okumu, who led the NEMA Board Members to tour the Bukona factory in their welcome address during the Board meeting conference hall at Bukona Factory, disclosed that they were very excited when touring the Ethanol Cooking Stove workshop. Including all NEMA Board Members, they were very surprised to witness the Ethanol Cooking Stove, which produces 100 cooking Stoves per day.

Every one of the NEMA Board Members hinted that this Ethanol Cooking Stove machine should be installed in their areas.

Dr. Bariregga Akankwasah, however, made a lot of explanations and put to task the MD Praviin Kekal, who made welcoming remarks that they began the construction in May 2026, and the Bukona factory was completed in December 2018.

The commercial production started in 2019, later they established Sanitisers during COVID-19, and later Bukona Agro Processing Limited joined UDC as a partner with BAPL with 28 per cent Equity Holding. KOKO Network’s approach to supply Ethanol in 2022, with Ministry of Energy Development grants incept for the Ethanol Blending department and Ethanol Manufacturing.

The MD Praviin Kekal, further adds conduct supply to KOKO at 5 million liters through VIVO Energy and VAPL’s root to Ethanol manufacturing set up, which partners with UDC in 2020. BAPL’s complete cooking solution.

All our employees are in NSSF, early we worked with the farmers in Nwoya District, and we paid them through a structured Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Designed to provide guaranteed Markets for maize and cassava, which are used to produce ethanol for fuel blending.

Baririega Akankwasah opened the discussion. Thank you very much for your introduction. We can propose to have a tour, and we can have a discussion, Bukona Agro Processing Limited.

Chairman of the NEMA Board, Prof. James Okot Okumu, interjected that if you don’t help the country, it will not grow. The MD Kekal argued that since we have signed the PPP contract, we face a lot of challenges from the middlemen from Kampala.

The ED, Dr Baririega Akankwasah, is on shift at the right time. We are coming in on the task. The way we uncalculated includes why you are not doing the work faster. We have checked the BOQ from the last time, and from the last time, for 2-3months. It means the discharge is on land; it is very important to monitor because it will sink down, and it will accumulate. What we call what is the shock and the waste, and what you have done.

Bukona MD, response, it varies from 0.5-06. The process fluctuates from 00.1-005 depending on the wind.

DR Baririega Akankwasah asked, “Is this the Lagoon line?” Where do you test the implementation? It would be good to do the testing step by step. I doubt if you do the DOND?

Isaac Okurut Tom, NEMA Regional Officer, de-briefing: What is your efficient discharge issue? Financing issues, including poor environment management, and low capacity utilization is the main cause of problems.

Other areas of concern are timelines to be set, no waste handler?? HCHO, when water quality analysis is done, a recommendation is to be written with a specific timeline.

Prof. James Okot Okumu, NEMA Chairman Board, thanks for your wonderful presentation, fired armful of questions, says I am registered for Environmental Audit. I want some explanation on blending. I don’t know who controls the quality of blending.

You talk about the quality of Air, you told us you’re now supplying Bio. Ethanol Stove, how is quality control? How are the people you employ? You have Maize Cassava, and you mention something of fuel from Sugarcane?

“When you talk about Sugarcane, I am 100% against it. We have seen from Busoga, let the people hear, you encourage them to grow Maize and Cassava. When it comes to Chemistry, I am the chief chemist.” Prof. James Okot Okumu asserted.

Prof. James Okot Okumu insisted, “You have the issue of smell, it can be smelled as far as 5 kilometres, I have a land in Opok village near here. When it comes to work inside the factory, we can discuss from Kampala. When it comes to the quality, we have some industries in Kampala that are doing well. Why can’t you learn from them? Some of the NEMA Board Members who went to Nile Burewers have seen that the management of waste is very good.

Bukona Agro Processing Limited, MD Praviin Kekal, in his reaction to the question and answer from the NEMA Chairman Board, Prof. James Okot Okumu and Executive Director, Dr. Bariregga Akankwasah, explained that the dryers’ evaporator machine was to be delivered by the end of May 2026. Will be constructed at a capacity depending on the production capacity.

“Bukona Agro Processing Limited, a Ugandan firm based in Nwoya District, is taking action to address environmental hazards identified at its ethanol plant by enhancing its waste management and processing system. The company, which produces bio-ethanol for clean cooking from sorghum and cassava, is addressing concerns from regulatory bodies regarding effluent treatment and air pollution, as highlighted.” MD Bukona Praviin Kekal informed NEMA Authority.

He further elaborated that we have been advised to set up waste Management to collect all the organic waste and chemical waste. Once the Company installed Dryers Evaporators 40 tonnes per day, because 40,000 litres of ethanol capacity of raw materials of 70 tonnes of cassava and maize are processed on a daily basis. With the District, they will support us to organise VSLA groups.

In the plan, the factory plant has not been constituted, the factory will buy from VSLA, and the company fears using middlemen because the middlemen will leave the company.

“At the moment, the capacity is 70 tonnes of produced stillage or spent wash cooking stove. The manufacturing factory was in India; they were importing the machine, and the cooking stove was assembled from Bukona.

Machine functioning units of the cooking stove have been shifted to Nwoya District, the Bukona manufacturing machine, when it starts work it will reduce the cost by the end of May; the cooking stove units will be 200. 250 in a day.”

On the question of employing local community and advertisement, and for the chemists and casual workers, Bukona MD, acknowledged that the capacity building for the chemists and consult workers will be provided. At the moment, they are being trained on the job. But they will be taken for further training in India.

The Ministry of Energy, Mineral and Development have leincpt Bukona site to blend petrol fuel at Malaba, Uganda-Kenya Border. Bukona is blending petrol fuel at Malaba border, now blending is at 1% of ethanol. Other companies also blending petrol fuel are Mahathi, Modern Energy and Afro Kai companies.

In a month, we can blend 50 million liters of petrol fuel, which is why the company needs to expand from 40,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes litters.

“When we increase at 5% blending, we will not meet demand; we need more material and manpower. When the dryers and evaporators are finally installed, the company will run at zero waste discharge, when the Bukona discharges waste, every day, the company loses 50 million every day.

On the question asked by Prof. Okot Okumu, the NEMA Board Chairman, who reasoned that Bukona Agro Processing Limited will not produce or grow sugarcane, we have signed an MoU with Nwoya District as P.P.P for the community to grow sugarcane, and we buy from them as sugarcane outgrowers.

At the moment we don’t install sugarcane factory plants, but in future we are going to work on sugarcane factory plants.

Our Correspondent contacted Otim Alex, Chief Finance Officer, to confirm the issues of the MoU with Bukona Agro Processing Limited. Otim Alex, the CFO for Nwoya District, confirmed independently that Bukona Agro Processing Limited has bought 10,000 acres, which are ready for the production of sugarcane.

“Bukona has bought 10,000 acres ready to grow sugarcane; this is part of their project.” Otim Alex confirmed.

Azuma Geoffrey, the Public Information Officer of Nwoya District, has also confirmed that Bukona Company has acquired 10,000 acres of land to grow sugarcane.

“The Bukona company is ready to produce or grow sugarcane, that one I can confirm.