Uganda’s coffee sector is walking a tightrope. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires countries to adduce proof that all products sold to the EU were not grown on land cleared after 2020 and that production is in accordance with national laws, is coming into force on December 30. By the close of last financial year, coffee had become Uganda’s biggest foreign exchange earner. Coffee exports earned the country $2 billion (approximately Shs7 trillion) from the export of 7.43 million 60kg bags of coffee. That amounted to 30 percent of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings. Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that up to 72 percent of Uganda’s coffee exports go to the EU, with Italy alone consuming up to 40 percent of the commodity.
The importance of the EU market cannot be overemphasised. Any interruption of exports to the EU is certain to have serious ramifications for the economy. That is why we should prioritise alignment of the operations of the sector to meet the demands of the EU market. Uganda will now be required to track coffee production to a Global Positioning System (GPS) farm, which is always going to be a very big challenge given that the country does not have many large holder coffee farms. Most of the crop is produced on small, untitled farms that operate largely informally. This must change if we are to keep hold of the EU market.
Whereas the country has for quite a while now been talking about reviving the cooperative movement and modernisation of agriculture through adoption of appropriate and climate-smart technologies, most of those proposals have been gathering dust on the shelves of government ministries, departments and agencies. It, therefore, follows that while the coming into force of the EUDR is a threat of sorts, it also presents the country with an opportunity to streamline aspects of the agricultural sector and enable farming communities to take that giant leap into formal production. Most farmers work on small, untitled land holdings.
Whereas ignorance is a major factor behind the failure by some of them to acquire land titles to their holdings, the prohibitive costs associated with the land registration processes have also been a major impediment. That is where the government must intervene and fund land registration processes. That will not only curb persistent land wrangles, but also give farmers the kind of security of tenure that paves way for investments and increased production. That is why EUDR must be seen as a blessing, for it presents the country with the opportunity to make things right.