UNBS installs new board of directors

Jun 17, 2015

A ten member board of directors has been inaugurated by trade minister, Amelia Kyambadde to serve at the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) council.

By Edward Kayiwa

A ten member board of directors has been inaugurated by trade minister, Amelia Kyambadde to serve at the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) council.

The team was inaugurated Friday by Kyambadde, who laid emphasis on fighting counterfeit agriculture products flooding the market.

“Our biggest challenge is counterfeit agricultural products on the market and that is where you should lay emphasis,” she said.

Kyambadde urged the new  board to clamp down on traders found to be dealing in fake seeds and inputs because farmer have lost millions in buying such products

“The role of UNBS is to protect consumers against dangerous, fake and substandard goods, and this is a duty you should execute diligently,” Kyambadde told the new board.

Counterfeit seeds and farm inputs have been on the rise in recent years, following the liberalisation of the agriculture sector.

The Uganda National Agro-input Dealers Association, (UNADA) data indicates that close to sh14b is lost annually through counterfeit agro-chemicals.

Data also indicates that counterfeits in the agro-chemicals business account for 15-30% of all counterfeits and the trend is increasing.

The fake and expired drugs and chemicals are neatly placed on the shelves, from where unsuspecting farmers get them only to cause more harm to the health of users, crops and animals

Masitula Munyaami Male, the new board chairperson, whose team will lead for three years, noted that there are gaps in monitoring and enforcement that needs to be closed.

“We will work in close consultation with the minister and all stake holders to close these gaps, and free Uganda of counterfeits,” she said.

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