MP faults UNBS for allowing fake fertilizers on market

The Bushenyi District Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Annet Katusiime Mugisha, has decried the presence of fake fertilizers on the market, arguing that the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has not done enough to save Ugandans.

During an interview with the Monitor on Monday, Ms Katusiime said a number of farmers in her constituency, have continued to count losses stemming from fake agricultural inputs, fertilizers in particular.

"I come from a constituency where many people engage in perennial cash crop growing. These crops include coffee, tea, bananas, and others. However, we have a big challenge with fake and expensive fertilizers. Very many farmers are registering losses, and they have opted to uproot some of the plants. Where is UNBS in all this?" she asked.

Ms Katusiime asked the government to also consider subsidizing the prices of fertilizers so that they can be obtained by all farmers. The legislator called upon fellow MPs to be at the forefront in spearheading the construction of fertilizer plants in Uganda, something she says will provide affordable fertilizers for farmers.

"This will give us a big milestone in causing the social-economic transformation that President Museveni has always pushed for," she noted.

Ms Sylivia Kirabo, the Head of Marketing and Public Relations at UNBS, said that it is not their mandate to handle issues of fake fertilizers, explaining that such are addressed by the Directorate of Extension Services in the Ministry of Agriculture.

"That is the work of the Ministry of Agriculture. Our mandate is on products for trade like fish feeds and others to do with value addition. As UNBS, our enforcement is for specific products that have mandatory standards. If the issue is the quality of agricultural products like fertilizers, and insecticides, that is handled directly by the Ministry of Agriculture. They have a directorate of extension services," Ms Kirabo told this publication.