James Baba, the Member of Parliament for Koboko County, who represented Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, the Minister of State for Agriculture
The Consultant working on the Principles of Cocoa Bill 2022 and the key stakeholders of the high value crop have found it fit to have Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) regulate the Cocoa sub sector.
Cocoa is one of the high value priority crops being promoted by the Government of Uganda as a means of increasing household incomes in line with Vision 2040.
James Baba, the Member of Parliament for Koboko County, who represented Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, the Minister of State for Agriculture, during the National Consultative Workshop for drafting Principles of the Cocoa Bill held at Serena Hotel in Kampala on Thursday, said that cocoa has been struggling on its own “yet the government is realizing a lot of money from the very little export.”
“In NDP III, it is prioritized as a key strategic crop yet no resources are allocated to it. So, this time, in bringing up this Bill, it is a very good start in streamlining the sector,” Baba said.
He added that there is need to focus on research and extension services to guide farmers on good agronomic practices.
“I appeal to you all to fully participate and support the drafting of the principles to enable Government to put in place a clear and efficient regulatory system to uplift the cocoa sub sector to its full potential and address highlighted challenges,” Baba said.
Cocoa currently has a desk in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, but it is largely taken care of by UCDA under the European Union funded government of Uganda project called the European Union – East Africa Community (EU-EAC) Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP).
The Programme is supporting the private sector to enhance production and productivity, improve harvest and post-harvest quality practices and standards for the coffee and cocoa sectors.
Developing the principles of the Bill is a key deliverable of MARKUP that is being implemented by MAAIF through UCDA.
Once the proposal is approved by higher authorities (including Parliament), Cocoa will be a Directorate under UCDA.
According to Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye, the UCDA Managing Director, it is time the government organized the Cocoa sub-sector.
“Cocoa is an important commodity and its high time we focused on it. Cocoa is the 4th export earner since the 1950s but has not got the prominence it deserves yet, there is great potential. There has been a lot of uncoordinated efforts between NGOs and other players. It’s high time we organized the system. We want to see best practices by deploying two extension staff; one for coffee and one for cocoa. With the capacity we have developed (over time), we will accept the assignment,” Dr. Iyamulemye said.
Speaking at the same event, Dr. Drake Rukundo, a consultant, revealed that a Situational Analysis for Institutional alignment (to arrive at where to place Cocoa) carried out between MAAIF’s Crop Directorate, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), UCDA and National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) found out that UCDA has the laboratory capacity, technical capacity and manpower in terms of coverage, similarity of commodity quality parameters, specialty specifications and tenure, history and related expertise to regulate the cocoa sub sector.
During the meeting, participants voted by show of hands on whether UCDA should be given the mandate to regulate Cocoa with specific conditions. Only four participants out of over 150 voted against UCDA.
Once approved by higher authorities, Cocoa will be a Directorate under UCDA. This means that the Authority will regulate both Coffee and Cocoa, a model already practiced in Indonesia, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon.
Hassan Baguma, the Chief Executive Officer of Kakogha Cocoa Agronomists, a group of cocoa extension workers specializing in pre- and post-harvest handling, says that UCDA is best placed to regulate the Cocoa sub-sector.
“There is no better research without NaCORI. There is no better management without UCDA. So, UCDA is the best to take this role in partnership with NaCORI,” Baguma told Business Focus on the sidelines of the stakeholder engagement.
Data shows that in 2021, Uganda exported 44,470 tonnes of cocoa worth US$ 100 million.
