Museveni Pledges Shs 312 Billion Support for Tea Growers

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has directed the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries to draft regulations for tea growing and management in the country. The move is intended to protect the sector from the effects of low international prices, which have been attributed to poor tea management practices.

“We need to regulate those who grow tea so that they grow it properly, and the ones who buy tea, buy good tea. This will be done,” he said.

The President made the remarks today while meeting tea growers, nursery bed operators, and processors from Western Uganda at a gathering held in Bushenyi District.

He tasked tea growers to write to the government on the sector’s viability and to categorize tea as either a high- or low-value crop, so as to inform government’s strategic interventions.

“I want you to go back and write to me on the issue of whether tea is a high-value crop under intensive agriculture, or if we should continue with extensive agriculture. Some people say you can earn a net Shs 1.4 million per month. If you can do that, that will be good. I want this in writing,” he said.

“Let me get some advice so that we can confidently transfer tea from an extensive type of crop to an intensive one. Prof. Kabwegyere is saying that if everything is done well, you can get 8,000 kilograms from an acre. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu will coordinate all this so that we can produce a document to guide our people.”

President Museveni has in the past disregarded tea as a high-value crop, citing its relatively low returns compared to other crops such as coffee.

He also tasked the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries to establish desks for specific crops instead of creating separate boards or authorities, as stakeholders had suggested.

“Regarding the issue of the Tea Authority, that’s a colonial mentality and approach where they emphasized cotton, coffee, and copper. But the NRM has been telling you that you can make money from cassava—it is a cash crop. In the colonial times, they told you that cash crops were only coffee, cotton, tobacco, and tea. Bananas and the like were food crops. But NRM is telling you those are also cash crops. So, if we are to put up authorities for each cash crop, how many authorities shall we have?” he wondered.

The President further pledged to address the challenges facing the sector and promised government support.

“We need to get you a fund for fertilizers, and we shall get it,” he said.

He also confirmed Shs 312 billion in government support for tea growers and processors to help clear loans and improve the quality of Uganda’s tea production, making it more competitive on the international market.

On his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon. Frank Tumwebaze, urged farmers to push for self-regulation even as government fast-tracks the formal regulatory process.

The Chairperson of the Uganda Tea Outgrowers Association, Mr. Onesimus Matsiko, appealed to the President to expedite the introduction of a zoning policy and related regulations to streamline the industry.

“Your Excellency, if the issues of costly fertilizers and green leaf quality regulation are dealt with, we would solve more than 80 percent of Uganda’s tea industry problems,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, also attended the meeting, alongside Ministers, Members of Parliament, and other stakeholders.