Government
has said that the proposed registration of coffee farmers will cut off
middlemen and also ensure development of the coffee sector in the country.
Government through the National Coffee bill 2018 seeks to register and license
coffee farmers.
The bill also proposes that land, where the coffee is to be grown, shall be
evaluated by the authority and deemed to be suitable or not for coffee growing.
In the bill, it also proposed that the size and number of coffee trees, names
and details of the farmers, coffee buyers and sellers among others are
registered.
It also proposes that where the landowner is different from the coffee owner,
the landowner and details shall be registered.
Appearing before the parliamentary committee on Agriculture which is
scrutinizing the bill today, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority ((UCDA)
and Government through the Ministry of Agriculture said the registration of
farmers will organize the sector and work to the advantage of the farmers.
Apollo Kamugisha, the Director Development Services at UCDA says with the new
proposal, the middlemen will be cut off as coffee growing will be standardized
and farmers will have better market opportunities.
He says currently, coffee farmers get peanuts in terms of pay while the
middlemen are enriching themselves.
Kamugisha says there is need to know coffee farmers, the quantity and
quality of coffee in the country, and in cases of diseases, how many coffee
trees are affected so as to facilitate Government intervention.
He says the registration will help in comprehensive planning of coffee farmers
when it comes to issues of connecting buyers to farmers, setting up irrigation
systems and extension services.
The Minister of Agriculture Vincent Ssempijja says that there are no records on
the exact number of coffee farmers are in the country. He says registering
farmers will ensure credibility in the Ugandan coffee sector, as Government
will be involved in supporting the farmers.
He says in order to achieve the coffee target of exporting 20 million bags by
2022, there needs to be deliberate action on coffee business.
Janet Grace Okori-moe, the Chair of the committee asked the Government to go
slow on the process and ensure that Ugandans understand the purpose of the
bill. She says that Government should look at regulating the sector and not
restricting the farmers.
According to UCDA, Coffee exports in March 2018 amounted to
333,346 60-kilo bags worth US $ 35.74 million. This comprised of
224,036 bags worth 21 million of Robusta and 109,310 bags worth 13.88
million of Arabica.
-URN
