The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 1.7 million coffee farmers have so far been registered in the National data warehouse, as the country approaches the December 31st deadline to comply with the European Union’s deforestation-free commodities regulations.
In October, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, and the different partners rolled out the national coffee farmers registration exercise, as a crucial requirement for continuing to access the European Union coffee market, which currently is the key destination for Uganda’s produce.
Through the registration, farmers are issued unique identification codes to act as proof that they did not cut down forests to set up coffee plantations. The codes can be used in tracing the origin of the coffee, right from the plantation through the Global Positioning System (GPS) locators.
Reuben Keimusya, the Assistant Commissioner for Coffee Production in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, observes that the company entrusted with the responsibility of conducting registration has so far uploaded data for 1.2 million farmers from across the country.
He observes that so far, the results suggest that the country has a significant increase in the number of coffee farmers, as compared to the 2017 statistics, which the government has been relying on.
Keimushya is optimistic that the country will meet the set registration deadline, anticipating that at least 2.8 million farmers will be registered by the end of this year.
Keimusya says that besides fulfilling the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR), the registration is also a great opportunity for the country to update its farmers’ register, which will eventually facilitate better planning.
He states that the country has so far progressed far better than other African countries in the journey towards compliance with the deforestation-free regulations, which guarantee wider markets for its commodities.
Umar Kayizzi, the Chairperson for Lusango Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Lwabenge sub-county, Kalungu district, observes that the registration has now gained momentum, after the community leaders helped in dispelling the misconceptions that frustrated it at its inception stages.
Early this week, the Uganda Coffee value-chain taskforce started piloting two digital traceability software that will also facilitate efforts towards ensuring compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR).
****
URN
