The President of Uganda, Yoweri K. Museveni, has given an additional three-year extension towards the rationalization of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) before it is merged with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAF).
Members of Parliament on the Agricultural Committee met with President Museveni at State House Entebbe on September 3, 2024, to discuss the rationalization of the coffee authority.
During the meeting, MPs implored the President to postpone the transfer of the roles of UDCA to MAAF to give time to organize the ministry and build their capacity to handle UCDA.
Basil Batalingaya, MP for Kashari North, highlighted the success of UDCA in imploring coffee standards, saying UDCA has done a commendable job.
Margaret Lamwaka, MP Chua East in Kitgum district, added that Ugandans have been mobilized to grow coffee, where UDCA has played a pivotal role, and rationalizing it would cause a setback in the development of Ugandans.
Prior to the meeting, Kimanya Kabonero MP Abed Bwanika warned that merging UDCA could lead to a distortion of both local and international markets since the agency is already accredited internationally and has entities within it that are certified by the World Coffee Market (WCM) to ensure quality and regulations.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture has several loans it has failed to utilize, and adding another responsibility would affect the production of good and quality coffee internationally.
According to UDCA autonomy as of December 2023, Uganda earned Ugx 25.7 billion from coffee exports, according to UDCA.
