By John Ricks Kayizzi and Sarah Nabakooza
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) has embarked on the process of registering all coffee farmers in conformity with the National Coffee Act, 2021.
Under Section 26, the Act stipulates that it would be difficult to regulate the sector without knowing who is growing what type of coffee, when and where, on what acreage and in what volumes and quality.
According to UCDA, it is important to register all coffee farmers for traceability, planning, extension service forecasting and provision of on-farm support.
“We are to establish and maintain a national register of coffee farmers, which is not intended to levy a tax on them, but is part of the global best practices for planning and regulation. We shall not charge fees for registration of farmers,” part of a recently issued UCDA statement said.
Dr Emmanuel Iyamulemye, the UCDA managing director, said in addition to registering farmers, they are also taking the co-ordinates of the plots of land that are under coffee plantations around the country.
“As we await government support in this critical but expensive process, we have decided to work with partners such as the EU (European Union) and aBi Trust to kick-start the process, which commenced with a pilot study,” he said, adding that registration is set to end by December 2024.
EU regulations
Without undertaking this process, Uganda risks being shut out of the EU market, which brings in the biggest chunk of the earnings.
On June 29, 2023, the EU Parliament passed the EU Deforestation Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 and the regulation on deforestation-free products.
The regulation bans imports into the bloc of coffee products from land that was deforested after December 31, 2020.
The landmark EU legislations are aimed at improving corporate accountability for environmental and human rights impacts and mandates companies to conduct thorough due diligence across their operations and value chains, including subsidiaries and business partners.
The regulation will take effect on December 30, 2024, with an extended adjustment period for small and micro enterprises until June 2025.
Earnings rise
Further regulations have also become necessary due to a consistent rise in coffee export earnings year on year. It has henceforth become one of the Government’s key sectors for boosting economic transformation.
For instance, Uganda earned $1.14b from coffee exports in the fiscal year 2023/2024, up from $846m in the previous year, according to a UCDA report.
Uganda exported 6.13 million bags of coffee in the fiscal year 2023/2024, up from 5.76 million bags in the year before, UCDA said.
“This represents an increase of 6.33% and 35.29% in quantity and value, respectively,” the report said.
It attributed the higher yields to better production and post-harvest handling practices.
UCDA further reports that Europe is Uganda’s largest export market, followed by Asia, North America and Africa.
Sh112m EU donation
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) yesterday joined Uganda’s quest to document its coffee inventory by donating tools aimed at digitising the coffee value chain.
These included 45 Samsung tablets, at an estimated value of $30,000 (about sh112.2m), which is part of the support package estimated to go up to $750,000 (about sh2.855b).
In a collaborative project, titled ‘Unlocking the Potential of Coffee in Uganda through Promoting an Inclusive and Sustainable Coffee Supply Chain Process,’ Uganda will enhance the transparency and traceability of the coffee supply chain.
Charles Mugoya, UCDA’s board chairperson, said: “These regulations are dedicated to protecting the environment and maintaining high standards of corporate responsibility, aligning perfectly with our national laws. By adhering to these regulations, we are positioning Uganda as a global leader in sustainable coffee production.”
Abdourahmane Dia, UNDP’s operations advisor, said it is crucial to register all coffee farmers, as traceability requires procuring particulars of farmers, dealers and traders along the whole value chain, reason why the system should be digitised.
Sh35b bill
Gerald Kyalo, the UCDA director of development services, said they have a budget of sh35b for achieving compliance, which includes registration, sensitisation and acquiring the necessary tools of work.
“However, the Government has allocated sh13.9b to go towards this process this financial year, with the possibility of additional funding,” Kyalo said.
He said during the registration process, they will assign a single GPS coordinate for farmers with 10 acres or less.
“For those with more than 10 acres, we will create a polygonal map of their gardens. Starting January 2025, all coffee entering Europe must meet these standards, and the coffee registry will support our compliance efforts,” Kyalo said.
“Two years ago, we initiated a digitisation process by establishing a monitoring and evaluation system primarily for data capture and extension services. While this system has been useful, our reach was limited due to staffing constraints,” he said.
Kyalo added that the donated equipment will complement their existing resources, enabling them to register an estimated 1.8 million coffee farmers across Uganda’s 126 coffee-growing districts.
He said as part of the initial activities, the project will train and equip 1,000 youth and women with skills and tools for coffee nursery management, as well as train 100 additional individuals in the coffee value chain process.
Offences, penalties
The new coffee Act stipulates penalties ranging from two to four years of imprisonment, or sh2m or sh4m fines for individuals and entities that contravene the law.
These include operating an unregistered coffee nursery or coffee seed garden, selling or distributing substandard or diseased planting materials, harvesting or being found in possession of immature cherries or striping them off a coffee tree.
Penalties shall also accrue to persons who operate coffee processing plants without a licence, handle or process wet coffee with a mixture content above 15%, dry coffee on bear ground, process coffee without a valid licence, tamper, replace, remove or possess a security seal of UCDA without authorisation.
Other offences would be replacing inspected with uninspected coffee, boiling, contaminating or rough hulls coffee, adulterate coffee or being found in possession of adulterated coffee, including mixing coffee of different types or mixing coffee with non-coffee materials.
One would also be liable if they deny access or block an inspector or staff of UCDA or fail to render minimum assistance to an inspector
