By; Francis Lubega

20th November 2019

Coffee farmers in Bugisu sub region have opposed the 2018 National Coffee Bill currently before parliament that seeks to provide for the registration and licensing coffee farmers across the country.

The Bill wants, among other provisions, to reform and provide for the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) to regulate, promote and oversee the coffee sub-sector.

The bill also proposes that land, where the coffee is to be grown, shall be evaluated by Uganda Coffee Development Authority-UCDA to determinate whether or not it is suitable for coffee growing.

If the bill is enacted into a law, in cases where the landowner is different from the coffee grower, the landowner and details shall be registered.  The bill also proposes that the size and number of coffee trees, names and details of the farmers, coffee buyers and sellers among others are registered.

Appearing before the parliamentary committee on Agriculture during consultations of stakeholders on the bill, farmers from Sironko and Bududa districts rejected the idea of individual registration and said that this can be done through their cooperative societies.

This comes as Ugandan coffee dealers are halting exportation of hundreds of tons of coffee flowing a drop in coffee prices by 25% from $46.3m (Shs 169bn) in August to just $34.7m (Shs 125bn) in September 2019.

According to the Ministry of Finance report on performance of the economy for October 2019, coffee earnings fell because there was a decline in the volumes Uganda shipped in September.

The ministry said the low global coffee prices compelled exporters to stock up inventory hence the decline in the volume of coffee exported. Uganda only exported 360,000 bags (60kgs) of coffee in September, down from 490,000 bags exported in August.

Locally, dealers are quoting a kilogramme of robust dry cherries at Shs 1,000 down from Shs 2,300 a year ago.

The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) is quoting Kiboko at Shs 2,000-2,300 per kg while Arabica parchments at 4,000 to 4,400 per kg. The farmer does not receive this fare as much it goes to the middlemen.


Wednesday 20th November 2019 05:24:23 PM