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Why sugarcane farmers called off three-week-long strike
Workers gesture after loading cane on sugarcane trucks in Jinja City in 2024. PHOTO/TAUSI NAKATO.
What you need to know:
- Mr Godfrey Naitema, one of the sugarcane farmers, urged the government to intervene and find a lasting solution for the sugarcane price conundrum, lest the industry collapses.
Sugarcane farmers have called off their protest of supplying millers with raw cane after the latter promised to increase the prices of the raw material.
Sugarcane out growers supply approximately 80 percent of the available installed capacity of 53,200 tonnes per day to the 16 sugar millers in Uganda, except Shakit, CN and Kidera, which are currently under construction.
However, since July 7, the farmers had halted the supply of sugarcane to millers for close to three weeks after the price reduced from Shs240,000 last December to Shs90,000 per tonne, prompting millers without sugarcane nucleus estates to halt production.
The chairperson of farmers under Greater Mukono Sugarcane Out growers Cooperative, Mr Julius Katerevu, now says they have agreed to resume supplying cane to the milers as negotiations continue for a period of one month.
Mr Katerevu, however, says if millers fail to meet their demands within one month, they will again resume their strike in September.
“We can’t accept to be exploited by the millers; we currently make a loss of between Shs70,000 to Shs100,000 per tonne with the current prices, and are ready to resume the strike in case they don’t respond positively,” Mr Katerevu said in an interview on Saturday, as he gave an insight into a meeting they earlier had with millers.
The meeting, convened last week, was chaired by the Commissioner in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr Denis Ainebyoona at Farmers House in Kampala.
“We agreed to resume supply of sugarcane because the Ministry is liaising with the millers to ensure that they increase the purchase prices of cane,” Mr Katerevu said.
According to Mr Katerevu, the Ministry, among other key concessions, promised to finalise on the Sugar Bill (2023).
The Sugar Bill (2023) intends to protect the farmers, especially on the pricing formula, establish the Uganda Sugar Industry Stakeholder Council, which will replace and inherit the duties of the Sugar Board created by the Sugar Act (2020), and regulate the sector.
Regarding the new pricing formula, Mr Katerevu reckons it will offer a solution by introducing a new model of calculating sugarcane prices sold to millers based on international standards.
“During the meeting we had in Kampala, we told the millers that we want a 70-percent share of sugar from the cane and a-50 percent stake in other products like bagasse, molasses, fertilizer, sweets, and ethanol, among others,” Mr Katerevu said.
The Chairperson Uganda Sugarcane Growers Association, Mr Isa Budhugo, said their strike had a 97 percent success rate because with the exception of Kakira Sugar Limited, most factories closed operation.
“I have advised the farmers to resume supply of cane as they wait for their (millers’) response, but if they don’t increase the prices, I will again mobilise the farmers to halt supply of raw cane for another 30 days,” Mr Budhugo said.
Mr Godfrey Naitema, one of the sugarcane farmers, urged the government to intervene and find a lasting solution for the sugarcane price conundrum, lest the industry collapses.
“Many farmers are abandoning the industry; so, the government must find a lasting solution for sugarcane prices. We incur a lot of expenses in production, but are paid peanuts,’’ he said.
The millers, who were represented by the Chairperson Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association, Mr Jim Kabeho, pledged to respond to the farmers’ requests within one week.
