The Bufumbira North Legislator, John Nizeyimana Kamara, has voiced his concerns over fluctuating tea prices in Kisoro, which have prompted many local tea farmers to uproot their cash crop.
During a mobilization meeting with district leaders, technical staff, and other dignitaries known as Baraza, held in the Kisoro District Council hall, Kamara expressed his frustrations.
He disclosed that the government has neglected tea farmers in Kisoro and Uganda as a whole, leaving them reliant on outdated technology.
This has resulted in the production of poor-quality Ugandan tea that cannot compete in the international market, unlike tea from other countries that utilize advanced machinery.
Kamara also revealed his disappointment with the Uganda Development Bank for failing to provide funding for the construction of a tea factory in Kisoro, a pledge made by President Museveni to establish a two-line factory in the area.
Commissioner Fred Bamwine from the RDC Secretariat, Office of the President, urged tea farmers in Kisoro to practice mixed and subsistence farming, given the limited and fragmented land available.
He acknowledged that price fluctuations in tea are a nationwide issue affecting farmers and assured that the central government would address it as soon as possible.
Major Martha Asiimwe, Head of the RDC Secretariat/ACU in the Office of the President, advised small-scale tea farmers in Kisoro to consider alternative crops such as potatoes, maize, and beans, which can be cultivated on smaller plots compared to tea.
She encouraged the farmers to embrace President Museveni’s initiative of the four-acre model, which promotes economic diversification and encourages the cultivation of multiple crops to reduce dependence on a single crop.
