Uganda's coffee industry faces a pivotal moment as Parliament deliberates on the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill 2024, which proposes to dissolve the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and integrate its functions into the Ministry of Agriculture. The move, part of the govern
By Ezra Suruma In 1986 when the National Resistance Movement captured the apparatus of government, coffee was by far the most important export product of Uganda. Coffee had enjoyed this supremacy since the 1950s when it overtook cotton as the most important “cash crop” and expo
The government yesterday dispatched 776 pieces of equipment comprising 556 solar direct drive refrigerators and 220 electric refrigerators to districts to ensure safe storage of vaccines in rural health facilities. This initiative, the Health Ministry and Unicef say, is critical in addre
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) Maj. Gen. David Kasura has said the European Union funded improving food security and resilience of food production systems project is set to enhance resilience and support sustainable food and nutrition s
Butambala Member of Parliament Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi has said he resisted intimidation by President Museveni during their phone call last Thursday over the controversial National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Mr Kivumbi, who is also the chairperson of the Buganda Parliamentary Caucus
It is midday and Gaudensia Tankobatagira is sitting quietly on a stool beneath the shade of an avocado tree at her home in Kabigyemire Village, Busiriba Sub-county in Kamwenge District. Surrounded by her grandsons, the 63-year-old woman patiently shells beans. Dressed in a simple gown, p
On October 4, the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) published in this newspaper a “notice of intended application for licence” for the development of the proposed 20 Megawatts waste-to-energy power plant in Ddundu Village in Kyampisi Sub-county, Mukono District. The notice, a pr
The growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda has reached an all-time high, with an estimated 1.1 million SMEs operating across various sectors, according to a World Bank report. Despite this growth, one-third of Ugandan SMEs, especially small businesses, fail to survive their
Ministry of Health says the disease can be prevented when couples intending to marry and or have children know whether or not they have a sickle cell trait that can cause the disease. The government wants to enact a law that would make it mandatory for all intending couples to first unde
Coffee, a long-cherished perennial crop, has for decades been the backbone of household incomes in some parts of Uganda. Today, coffee is at the centre of regulatory policies and renewed campaigns targeting both sustainable production and output. The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (
