Katikkiro (Prime Minister) of the Kingdom of Buganda,Mr. Charles Peter Mayiga has condemned the central government’s decision to sign a coffee agreement with Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited- UVVCCL, a privately owned firm, to process and export Uganda’s coffee without consulting the key stakeholders like Buganda that has many coffee farmers.
In February this year, the Finance Minister Matia Kasaijja signed the deal on behalf of the government while Ms. Enrica Pinetti signed on behalf of UVCCL, a deal that would see the European company get “preferential treatment” in the coffee sector.
Government has continued to defend this deal amidst mixed reactions from stakeholders including legislators who have punched holes in this agreement saying it’ll hinder coffee farming & business in Uganda.
The incentives include “taking all reasonable measures to give priority of supply of coffee to the company” before allowing any export of coffee beans.
Also, the company will pay for the priority “quality coffee beans at a premium price to be determined by the company” but in any case, the price determined will not be lower than the price determined by a relevant authority, whichever is lower.
The Uganda National Farmers Federation-UNFF says this creates a monopoly and will make it hard for local companies to develop unless they are given similar or better offers.
The line cabinet Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries-MAAIF & key UNFF personality, Frank Tumwebaze, distanced himself and the ministry from the deal, saying he knew nothing about it.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Mr. Ramathan Ggoobi has defended the deal saying that the company will buy the coffee at a premium price, the first pricing system in Uganda,but Mayiga said the government move must include the stakeholders.
In his Easter Message, Mayiga also said that the government must recognize the role of Buganda Kingdom in coffee development and the government should seek advice from them before signing any agreement.
Mayiga further encouraged people not to lose hope because of the new deal and encouraged them to continue growing coffee. He also asked the clergy like Archbishop Paul Ssemwogerere of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala, to encourage priests to embrace coffee growing, and people to start consuming coffee to increase the local demand which will balance the interest of foreign companies.
In 2016 Mayiga under the Kingdom of Buganda inaugurated a campaign dubbed “Emwanyi Terimba”. He engaged the Uganda Coffee Development Authority-UCDA and formed a partnership in an attempt to boost coffee growth in Buganda Region.
The UCDA was to provide seedlings and partner with the kingdom’s Buganda Cultural and Development Foundation-BUCADEF to provide technical knowledge on the new development, while Mayiga was supposed to ensure people embrace growing coffee again.
Mayiga revealed that people have embraced the campaign, and coffee growing has increased by 35%. He also revealed that the Buganda region contributes 30% of the coffee exported from Uganda.
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