Government to protect farmers against declining sugarcane prices

Government has offered to support sugarcane farmers’ value addition efforts as a protective measure against price fluctuations.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives – together with that of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, will support farmers through their cooperatives to embark on value addition.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said registration is the first step to organise the farmers and finance their value addition efforts. “Registration of these farmers will enable them to receive government support through the Parish Development Model, extension services from Ministry of Agriculture, joint marketing of cane and self-regulation,” said Nabbanja.

She added that the Ministry of Trade will, subsequently, support the cooperatives to produce ethanol, paper and fertilisers from sugarcanes for better income.  

According to the Prime Minister, the decline in sugarcane prices is attributable to farmers growing sugarcane without a prior arrangement with millers. Other causes, she said, is due to negative regional trade practices. “The imported sugar from global leading producers such as Brazil and India is much cheaper and renders Uganda’s sugar uncompetitive in the East African Community market. When there are external forces that distort the market, the prices drop,” said Nabbanja.

The Prime Minister spoke in response to a question by Hon. Kenneth Kiiza (Indep., Bujenje County) on low sugarcane prices across the country.

The sugar industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in Uganda’s economy, contributing over Shs300 billion in annual taxes and directly employing over 100,000 people.

The industry produces 600,000 metric tonnes of brown sugar and 75,000 metric tonnes of industrial refined sugar, and also produces over 150 megawatts of electricity from sugarcane pulp of which 70 megawatts are supplied to the national grid.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.