Parliament drops contract farming bill, three others

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Kimaanya-Kabonera lawmaker Abed Bwanika has withdrawn his Contract Farming Bill 2023.

Contract farming connotes an agricultural production system where farmers enter into agreements with buyers or agribusiness firms before planting or rearing their crops or livestock. These agreements typically outline the quantity, quality, and price of the produce, as well as the specific production methods to be used.

It offers numerous benefits, such as access to better inputs, technology, and stable markets for farmers, while buyers secure a steady supply of quality produce.

The bill also provided for block farming, which involves consolidating small, fragmented farms into larger, contiguous blocks for more efficient and effective farming operations. With the end goal being optimised land use, improved productivity and better management of resources.

This unfolded during plenary on Thursday, March 12, 2026. The session was chaired by Speaker Anita Annet Among.

The bill was read for the first time on April 30, 2024. After which, it was sent to the requisite house committee for scrutiny within the prescribed 45 days. The committee presented its report on the matter on March 24, 2025.

However, the Speaker then, raising on a litany of issues, called for a harmonised position between the mover Bwanika, committee and the Attorney General (AG). Which process, Bwanika says, they had, and they reached consensus.

“We interacted with the Attorney General, and we picked on so many issues that were useful in the bill, and he advised that the Ministry of Agriculture take it on. We are supposed to interact more, but I believe we have been caught up in time. This is a crucial bill that requires all stakeholders to be in agreement in order to have it effective,” Bwanika told MPs on Thursday.

Other bills withdrawn

Other bills withdrawn on Thursday, March 12, 2026, include Mityana South MP Richard Lumu’s Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill 2024, which, among other provisions, sought to have the Leader of Opposition (LOP) elected.

Also, withdrawn was the Sexual Offences Bill 2024, moved by Soroti City Woman MP Anne Adeke Ebaju, which sought to punish those who share explicit images without consent, or a fine not exceeding 500 currency points (sh10 million), or both.

The bill was read for the first time on October 14, 2024 and subsequently referred to the joint legal and Gender committees.

Speaker Among explained that the Sexual Offences Bill sought to cure are already catered for in the law.

“During scrutiny of the bill it has emerged that the Government has reservations given that the object of the bill is to define and criminalise sexual offences, which is already covered under the existing laws. To conserve time and efforts, I will ask the sponsor of the bill, who was Honourable Adeke Ebaju Anne and who has delegated Honourable Flavia of Kassanda to bring a motion of withdrawal,” she ordered.  

The same sitting yesterday also saw the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (HART) Bill, 2023, moved by Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi, withdrawn.

At the core, the bill sought to regulate the bill sought to regulate Intro Fertilisation (IVF), surrogacy and fertility treatments, which are currently unregulated.

In the same sitting, the Human resource management professionals bill of 2025 of Margret Rwabushaija Namubiru was also withdrawn.