Tooro tea farmers hold Museveni to ransom

Tea farmers in the Tooro sub-region have called on the government to intervene and rescue them from the continuing decline in tea leaf prices.

Tea cultivation, once the backbone of the local economy in the Tooro sub-region, has now become a symbol of frustration and disappointment for farmers who feel betrayed by the fluctuating prices of green tea leaves. .

Many farmers lament that their tea gardens have been left to offer beauty only to tourists, providing a green landscape for those who flock to Fort Portal City in search of stunning scenery and serene surroundings.

A small tea farmer can now only expect a net profit of between Sh130 and Sh150 per kilogram of green tea leaves, far from the Sh500 per kilogram he used to earn in the 1990s.

As a result, many farmers have reluctantly moved away from their once thriving tea gardens, and reports indicate that some have begun uprooting their gardens to plant coffee and food crops.

“Nowadays, because our tea gardens were abandoned, we often see people parking their cars to take photographs, especially those of us who have gardens on the side of the road from Fort Portal to Kyenjojo or from Kabarole to Kamwenge district . Green tea leaves provide an attractive background, but we don’t benefit from it. Shall we plant tea for a tourist attraction? James Kasoro, a tea farmer in Kiko, Kabarole district, said on Saturday.

He added that since a year ago, some tea gardens have grown too big because they no longer hire tea pickers due to low tea prices.

He said pickers demand 100 shillings per kilogram harvested, leaving farmers with only 50 shillings at most.

Mr George William Nabaasa, a tea farmer who has been in the trade for more than 15 years in Kyenjojo district, said that due to persistent low tea prices, he uprooted all of his 2.5 acres of tea and replaced with corn to ensure food security for his family. .

“It is unimaginable that a kilogram of green tea leaves is sold for only Sh150 at the farm level. With prices so low, how can a farmer support his family? Without government intervention, all tea plantations will be abandoned and overgrown,” he stated.

Farmers are now asking the government to intervene and revive the tea sector. During Labor Day celebrations in Fort Portal City last Friday, farmers expressed their disappointment over low prices to President Museveni.

“Your Excellency, we urgently need your intervention, especially for the people of this area to ensure that this issue is addressed quickly,” said Onesmus Twinamasiko, president of the Uganda Tea Growers Association.

The Tooro subregion is home to 13 tea factories, which contribute to around 40 percent of Uganda’s tea production.

Twinamasiko told the President that middlemen announced a reduction in tea prices from Sh150 to Sh130 per kilogram of green tea leaves, a drop which is expected to intensify the already high rate of abandonment of tea gardens.

He added that government regulation is needed to help both farmers and factory owners address the pricing issue.

He suggested that to revitalize the tea sector, President Museveni should direct the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to regulate green tea leaves as raw materials at the factory level, in the hope that this could force farmers to harvest quality tea leaves, thereby improving the overall standard of Ugandan tea.

“Even if the government provides fertilizers free of cost, without regulating the quality of green tea leaves entering the factory, it will be ineffective. We will continue to earn less than a dollar in the auction market, a price that cannot sustain the tea factories.

Some are misleading the President by saying that tea farmers need authority; what we really need is a policy that can be implemented to regulate the sector,” he said, adding: “The government promised a 50 percent subsidy on fertilizers as a 50kg bag now costs around 150,000. “Farmers were supposed to receive fertilizer in March to apply, but the application time has passed and we remain concerned.”

He further said that in the recently approved government supplementary budget there was no allocation for fertilizers and even in the next financial year’s budget there is no provision for it.

Representing the leaders of Tooro sub-region, the Minister of Tourism, Colonel (rtd) Tom Butiime, told President Museveni that tea farmers are currently suffering due to persistently low prices.

He appealed to the President and urged the Cabinet to swiftly implement his resolution to address the issue and alleviate the plight of tea farmers.

“Here we grow tea, coffee and sugar cane. Now we also have a sugar factory. I implore the government I am in to expedite the implementation of the decisions taken by the Cabinet on tea. This includes a 50 per cent subsidy on fertilizers, financial assistance for pruning and setting standards for tea,” he said.

He said the dire situation faced by workers in tea plantations and factories has forced many to return home without adequate means to support themselves.

President Museveni said tea is not a high value crop. He added that he has researched tea cultivation and that its global demand is not big compared to others like coffee.

“On our part there were some mistakes. We didn’t use fertilizers and had poor harvesting methods. This is what we are going to address in the Cabinet. In my four-acre, seven-activity model, I have never talked about tea cultivation. And you say that tea has problems, I know them and I studied them. That’s why I never included tea in my recommendation documents. I recommended seven companies for the poor; coffee, fruits, dairy and food crops for the home, poultry for eggs, pigs and fish farming. This is what I recommended in writing,” he said.