In a move that is set to reshape the country’s coffee industry, Uganda’s parliament has passed the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill 2024, which will lead to the dissolution of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and the transfer of its key functions to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The bill was approved on Wednesday during a tense parliamentary session, which saw 12 lawmakers suspended for misconduct following a scuffle. Despite this disruption, the majority of MPs voted in favor of the bill, which will see the end of UCDA’s more than three-decade role in overseeing coffee production, quality control, pricing, export certification, and the international promotion of Uganda’s coffee.
Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze strongly supported the bill, arguing that the merger would help reduce government spending. He emphasized that UCDA had become a financial drain due to inefficiencies and “wasteful administration.” According to Tumwebaze, the Ministry of Agriculture is better equipped to handle the functions of UCDA at a lower cost, providing greater value for taxpayers.
However, the bill has faced significant opposition, particularly from lawmakers representing Buganda, Uganda’s largest coffee-growing region, as well as from other critics within the opposition. They argue that dismantling UCDA could undermine the country’s coffee sector, which has long been a cornerstone of Uganda’s economy. UCDA’s role in regulating the industry, stabilizing coffee prices, and ensuring quality control has been credited with boosting Uganda’s position as the second-largest coffee exporter in Africa, behind Ethiopia.
In 2022, Uganda earned $813 million from coffee exports, with the sector employing over 5 million Ugandans and providing livelihoods for more than 1.8 million coffee-growing households. The wider coffee industry indirectly supports around 12 million people in a country with a population of more than 45 million.
The Ugandan government has assured that UCDA’s operations will be phased out gradually over the next three years to avoid disrupting the coffee supply chain. In the current 2023/2024 fiscal year, UCDA was allocated a budget of 65 billion Ugandan shillings (around $18 million).
The next step is for President Yoweri Museveni to either sign the bill into law, return it to parliament for revisions, or reject it entirely. If the president does not act within the next 30 days, the bill will automatically become law. This development marks a critical turning point for Uganda’s coffee sector, raising questions about the future direction of the industry.
