Uganda’s proposed Tea Bill must fix industry’s challenges, experts say
Tea farmers and industry stakeholders have urged Parliament to ensure the proposed National Tea Bill addresses challenges across the entire value chain, including low productivity, poor-quality tea, farmer support and fair pricing. They have also cautioned against excessive penalties and restrictive provisions, calling for wider consultations before the law is enacted.
Tea workers plucking tea leaves in a plantation. (File)
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Parliament’s October 28, 2026, decision to grant leave to introduce a National Tea Bill allows Uganda to rebuild an industry whose productivity, quality assurance, and farmer support systems have weakened over the years.
The proposed legislation, expected to provide a comprehensive framework for the tea sector, has sparked debate among farmers and industry stakeholders over the kind of regulation Uganda needs and whether it will address the challenges facing producers, processors and investors.
Sector players said the Bill’s sponsors deserve commendation for bringing the industry’s future to Parliament.
However, they noted that the success of the proposed law will depend on whether it addresses the structural weaknesses along the entire tea value chain, rather than concentrating on regulation of trading arrangements or establishing a domestic tea auction.
Onesimus Matsiko, a tea industry consultant and farmer, argues that Uganda must first restore production discipline, improve green-leaf quality and increase yields before expecting market interventions to deliver better prices.
He believes that higher volumes of consistently better-quality tea would strengthen Uganda’s bargaining position in international markets, potentially enabling international blenders to substitute some of the more expensive Kenyan teas with Ugandan teas at better prices.
“Let’s regulate and generate more yields of higher-quality teas. This will be a major step in marketing solutions,” Matsiko argues.
He cautions that a tea auction, although potentially useful in improving price discovery and market access, cannot resolve fundamental production and quality challenges.
According to Matsiko, the liberalised but inadequately regulated industry has weakened systems that previously supported outgrower traceability, tea fertiliser credit and green-leaf quality assurance.
The consequences, he argues, are declining productivity and poor-quality tea, challenges that cannot be corrected simply by introducing a Ugandan auction.
Regulation must address the entire value chain
Manifesto Implementation Unit director Willis Bashaasha, who is also a tea farmer, says the proposed National Crops Bills should provide for regulation of the entire value chain of the crops they cover.
He argues that legislation should address the specific challenges at every stage, including agronomy, post-harvest handling, processing and marketing.
His position highlights the importance of developing a framework that connects farmers’ production practices to the quality and competitiveness of the final product.
Protection without unnecessary restrictions
Although there is broad recognition of the need to address industry weaknesses, farmers have cautioned Parliament against introducing provisions that could make participation in the tea industry more difficult.
Tea farmer William Mbonigaba says the Bill should encourage responsible garden management, proper plucking, careful handling and transportation of green leaf, and fair pricing.
He also wants legislation to promote decent remuneration for tea pluckers and other employees, ethical conduct among industry players and the development of genuine outgrower associations and cooperatives.
As a relatively new outgrower, Mbonigaba is particularly concerned that the proposed law should encourage more people to enter tea production rather than introduce restrictions that discourage participation.
He argues that regulation should reward responsible production practices and discourage the abandonment or destruction of established tea gardens.
His concerns point to the need for a distinction between regulating harmful practices and restricting legitimate participation in the industry.
Smallholder farmers account for a significant proportion of Uganda’s tea-growing acreage, making their participation critical to the sector’s long-term sustainability.
Farmers said the law should therefore strengthen farmer organisations, improve access to extension services and inputs, promote transparent green-leaf pricing and provide mechanisms for resolving disputes between growers and factories.
The proposed penalties under the Bill have also attracted criticism from farmers, particularly over a proposed sh100m fine.
Dick Dunstan Turinawe, a tea farmer in western Uganda, questions whether such a penalty is proportionate and whether it could ultimately harm the industry by discouraging participation.
“Personally, I think a penalty of sh100m is anti-people, if not against the industry itself. What is the justification for such an outrageous penalty?” he asks.
Turinawe argues that the legislation should facilitate the industry’s operations and be developed through formal consultations with stakeholders to ensure that those expected to comply with it understand and support its provisions.
Stakeholder consultations are critical
Turinawe says the proposed legislation will only meet the basic requirements of legitimacy and practical application if Parliament undertakes formal consultations with all the major players in the tea value chain.
He identifies smallholder farmers, represented by the Uganda Tea Outgrowers Association (UTOA), as a critical constituency.
He also recommends engaging tea processors and factory owners through the Uganda Tea Association (UTA), alongside government institutions responsible for agriculture, finance, taxation, trade and standards.
Other stakeholders include the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), tea brokers, blenders, packers, exporters and the Uganda Export Promotion Board.
Tea pluckers, plantation workers’ representatives and district local governments in tea-growing regions should also be involved.
Such consultations, farmers said would help Parliament identify practical challenges that may not be apparent from policy documents and proposals submitted by industry representatives.
Additionally, they noted these consultations would provide an opportunity to examine the commercial implications of proposed regulations and establish safeguards against provisions that disproportionately affect particular categories of industry players.