Tumusiime at her Nursery bed in Luwero town council. Photos by Arnest Tumwesige
By Arnest Tumwesige
LUWERO: Tumusiime Sarah, a 52-year-old mother of four, operates Gracious Fruit Tree Nursery Ltd in Binyonyi Zone, Luwero Town Council, where she has built a steady livelihood from raising and selling seedlings over the past 11 years.
Her enterprise specializes in fruit and commercial tree seedlings, including coffee, pine, orange, pawpaw, flowers, and eucalyptus. Coffee seedlings are sold between UGX 300 and 500, while clonal coffee seedlings fetch UGX 1,500 for small pots and UGX 2,000 for larger ones.
Tumusiime describes the business as highly marketable, driven by strong demand from farmers seeking improved planting materials, particularly clonal coffee.
“This business is marketable. There are many farmers who want clonal coffee. Sometimes I get overwhelmed, especially during the rainy season,” she said.
However, she remains cautious about venturing into clonal eucalyptus production due to the high risk of acquiring genuine seed cuttings for Grandis x Camaldulensis (GC) and Grandis x Urophylla (GU).
As a result, she focuses on eucalyptus grandis, which sells at UGX 200 per seedling, compared to UGX 400–600 for GC and GU varieties. Despite the higher price, the improved varieties are preferred for their fast growth, drought resistance, and superior timber quality.
For Tumusiime, the business doesn’t require a high input to start earning though the owner needs to put a lot of time to ensure it succeeds.
Scaling Tree Nursery Investments
In Nakazi Zone, also within Luwero Town Council, Kiiza John Bosco, 44, runs Planet Green World, a tree nursery enterprise he has managed for two decades. His operation focuses on GU 7 and GC eucalyptus varieties as well as pine seedlings.
Kiiza has also worked as part of the technical teams contracted under the Sawlog Production Grant Scheme (SPGS), a government-led initiative promoting commercial forestry and sustainable timber production. He estimates that since the program’s inception in 2002, approximately 2,000 hectares have been planted in Luwero District by 2022.
His nursery maintains a capacity of about 50,000 pine seedlings and 40,000 eucalyptus seedlings at any given time, with most clients coming from Kampala and purchasing between 5,000 and 10,000 seedlings per order.
Despite challenges such as fungal infections caused by cold conditions which reduce survival rates to about 70% the business remains profitable.
“If you plant 40,000 seedlings and manage to raise 28,000, it is still viable because each seedling can sell at UGX 600 within two months,” he explained.
Kiiza notes that with an initial investment of about UGX 5 million, returns can reach UGX 15 million within two months, making it a highly scalable enterprise.
Proceeds from his business have enabled him to construct a 10-room rental property, acquire three plots of land, and finance education for his children, including university tuition averaging UGX 2.5 million per semester.
Gov’t Support and Expanding Tree Cover
Tree nursery enterprises in Luwero are supported by government interventions such as the Farm Income Enhancement and Forest Conservation Programme, which has mobilized communities to establish backyard nurseries. The district now hosts approximately 100 privately owned tree nurseries.
According to Mijumbi Deogratius, the Senior District Forest Officer, research conducted in 2025 by the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) through the National Forestry Resources Research Institute (NaFORRI) ranked Luwero among the leading districts in tree planting since 2007.
This progress reflects a significant shift in land use patterns. Following the 1986 liberation war to early 1990’s, Luwero along with present-day Nakaseke and Nakasongola became a major charcoal production hub until the early 2000s, when government interventions began promoting reforestation.
The area, historically part of Uganda’s cattle corridor, has also undergone agricultural transition. As pastoralists migrated to neighboring districts due to climatic pressures, land use shifted to pineapple and rice cultivation, and is now increasingly turning towards commercial tree planting.
Institutional Partnerships Boosting Sustainability
Efforts to expand tree planting have been reinforced through partnerships with academic and faith-based institutions. These include Bugema University, Ndejje University, the Catholic Church in Nandere village, Nyibwa sub-county through the Bethany Land Institute, CAFÉ Africa, and the Uganda Coffee Farmers Alliance.
These collaborations are supporting knowledge transfer, sustainability practices, and access to improved planting materials strengthening Luwero’s position as an emerging hub for commercial forestry and agroforestry enterprises.
Forest Cover in Luwero
According to Global Forest Watch data, Luwero had approximately 47,000 hectares of natural forest cover in 2020, representing about 8% of its land area. There was an overall tree cover gain of 5.75 hectares registered from 2000 to 2020.
However, the district continues to face significant deforestation pressures: About 105,000 hectares of tree cover have been lost since 2001, in 2023 alone, 8,450 hectares of tree cover were lost and by 2024, an additional 1,900 hectares of natural forest had been cleared.
At the national level, Uganda’s forest cover currently stands at approximately 12% of total land area, below policy targets, highlighting the urgency of restoration efforts.
Globally, deforestation remains a major concern, with Uganda losing an estimated 120,000 hectares of forest annually, largely driven by charcoal production and agricultural expansion