Speaker Anita Among has assured the tea sector that Parliament is committed to helping with price drops and expensive inputs.
During a meeting with leaders from the Tea Farmers of Kabarole District, Speaker Anita Among promised to address concerns raised in a petition presented by the farmers to Parliament. The tea sector has been struggling due to price drops and expensive inputs, which has led to some farmers cutting down their tea plantations out of frustration.
Speaker Among acknowledged that the tea sector has been neglected and promised that Parliament, through the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, will address the farmers’ concerns exhaustively.
She expressed concern that unlike coffee and cotton, the tea sector lacks institutional support to negotiate better prices and subsidies and called for a legal framework to support its growth, marketing, and quality management.
The farmers’ petition called for a comprehensive tea policy to be enacted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries to address issues of green leaf and processed tea quality, increasing the selling prices of Uganda’s tea on the global market. They also requested a Shs5 billion stabilization fund, a one-year waiver on corporate statutory obligations, and a subsidy on inputs for the sector.
