NEWS- The Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Anita Among has given Parliament’s assurances to the distraught and disappointed players in the tea sector, that government will look into their industry which is currently hurt by price drops and expensive inputs.
Speaker Among made the assurance in a meeting with Sector Tea Farmers from Kabarole District who presented a petition, and Speaker Among acknowledged that the otherwise profitable crop has been ruined by neglect, and that Parliament will exhaustively address their concerns.
“We are going to exhaustively look at your concerns and handle them one by one” Speaker Anita Among said.
She also thanked them for choosing Parliament to handle their issues, but regretted to note that she has heard that other farmers are cutting down their tea plantations out of frustration, and said that Parliament through the Committee on Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries will adequately address their concerns.
Speaker Among noted that unlike coffee and cotton which has various systems supporting its marketing, the tea sector is noticeably bereft of any institutional framework to support its marketing and negotiate better prices and subsidies.
“There is no marketing strategy for tea and we don’t have appropriate mechanisms to promote tea, yet it is strategic and brings in so much money; we should have a legal framework to support its growing, marketing and quality management,” She added.
The farmers’ petition was presented by Sifar Sanyu, in the presence of Richard Rwabuhinga, the President of Uganda Local Government Association and their main concern centered on prices, a comprehensive policy on tea among others.
“Government through Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries is to spearhead a faster processing of enacting a comprehensive tea policy which will address issues of green leaf and processed tea quality thus increasing the selling prices of Uganda’s tea on the global market,” The petition reads in part.
The tea farmers prayed for a Ugx 5 billion stabilization fund to bail out those struggling in the sector, a one year waiver on corporate statutory obligations and a subsidy on inputs especially fertilizers for the tea sector.
It should be noted that Rule 30 of the Parliament Rules of Procedure provides mechanisms for managing petitions, which starts with a Member of Parliament presenting it to Parliament, sent to the relevant Committee, and then disposed of by the House through considering specific concerns raised in the Committee.
