The\nproposed bill by the government to regulate coffee farmers has drawn controversy\namong Ugandans more especially coffee farmers from central region which is\npopularly known as the leading coffee growing region in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nan interview with Ug Mirror over the weekend one of the prominent coffee\ngrowers, the former legislator Makindye East John Simbwa has expressed his\nconcerns that the bill is a threat to all small coffee farmers claiming that\nthe bill only allows commercial farmers to register providing strict remedies\nfor unregistered coffee farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\nsays that anybody found growing coffee without registration will be either\nimprisoned for two years or he\/she will pay fines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nnoted that the bill states that, for one to register as a coffee farmer he or\nshe must be a commercial farmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf\nyou are not a commercial farmer you are not going to be registered and if you\nare not registered you will be imprisoned, so Mr. president look at that angle,\u201d\nhe noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nis also thinks that if the bill is enacted into law the young men who have been\nengaging into small coffee trade will be kicked out of the business hence\nrising unemployment rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow\nthe law says anybody who deals in internal marketing of coffee must have a\nlicense, must be registered; where will these young men who have been trading\nat small level in coffee go?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nnoted that the law might have a hidden agenda of kicking away small growers in\nthe business of growing coffee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s\nbecause the law only talks about commercial farming but when it comes to\npunishments, the law talks about anybody,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile\nLast week on the same issues concerning coffee farming, the Katikkiro of\nBuganda Kingdom Charles Peter Mayiga noted that the kingdom opposes some of the\nsections of the bill which require anybody who grows coffee to register or\nfaces arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nalso stated that the kingdom opposes a section that empowers the bill if\nenacted into law to arrest anybody who abandons the coffee farm among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, on Thursday last week president Museveni while addressing the nation called Mayiga a liar regarding the issue of licensing coffee farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read the full National Coffee Bill 2018 here<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposed bill by the government to regulate coffee farmers has drawn controversy among Ugandans more especially coffee farmers from central region which is popularly known as the leading coffee growing region in the country. In an interview with Ug Mirror over the weekend one of the prominent coffee growers, the former legislator Makindye East […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2270,"featured_media":10196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-10192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n