Govt maintains ban on agriculture exports to EU

By Alfred Wandera and John Odyek

GOVERNMENT has maintained the ban on the exportation of agricultural produce to the European Union (EU) market following persistent complaints over their poor quality, state minister for Agriculture, Vincent Ssempijja, has said.

Ssempijja said Ugandan exporters have failed to meet the minimum set standards for horticulture produce especially fruits, flowers and vegetables.

"The EU has complained for two years that Ugandan exporters were supplying poor quality agriculture produce. We received constant warnings and some of the products that were exported there were destroyed. They complained that the vegetables and flowers had excess chemicals and some had been mixed with marijuana," Ssempijja said.

He was speaking during the 4th National Agricultural Policy Forum at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala. It was organized by the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC)

The forum was held under the theme: "Intensifying smallholder crop production in Uganda: policy implementation opportunities and challenges".

 "The Government had to impose self-ban of the exports two months ago to show that we are concerned and as a proactive measure before the EU declared the ban. Once you are banned from exporting to EU, it may take you more than four years to be cleared again, which taints your international image," Ssempijja said.

He added that out of the 52 exporters that were exporting flowers and vegetables to EU, only 24 so far have been cleared to continue with the business.

Trade and Industry minister, Amelia Kyambadde, said the export ban on pepper to Europe that commenced in April could be stretched till August. The initial export ban was imposed to retrain 60, 000 farmers and over 50 exporters to prevent and detect produce affected by harmful organisms in line with stringent EU requirements.

Reports said 28 consignments from Uganda had been discovered with harmful organisms in Brussels, Belgium, since January, leading to a total ban. A total of 38 metric tonnes of hot pepper worth 142, 500 pounds (sh735m) are exported to Europe every week.

Ssempijja decried the use of fake agricultural chemicals and fertilizers by the local farmers, which has degraded agriculture production.

He urged fertilizer and chemical importers to do peer inspection to ensure quality supply of the agricultural inputs.

Dr. Swaibu Mbowa, a senior research fellow at EPRC, said Uganda's population has grown seven fold since 1950, yet arable land is declining.

He called for intensification of crop production through improved seed and fertilizer application, mechanization, knowledge extension and irrigation.

"In Uganda, only 30% of farmers use improved seeds and even the seeds are questionable; and only 0.9% of farmers practice irrigation and there is limited mechanization. We should focus on ecological zones and mechanise our agriculture the way Kenya has done.

Uganda's agriculture yield is stuck between 5 and 7 tonnes per hectare per year yet Kenya's is over 20 metric tonnes. But we have better soils for agriculture," said Mbowa.

EPRC research fellow, Mildred Barungi, said the recruitment of extension officers that is underway across the country is critical in improving the agriculture production, adding that most farmers lack guidance on the best practice, hence relying on rudimentary farming methods.