Kikuube district council passes ordinance to protect cane farmers and boost food security

KIKUUBE, September 2, 2024 – The Kikuube district councillors have passed a Sugarcane Farmers’ Protection and Food Security Ordinance to protect farmers from exploitation, and promote food security in the district.The councilors passed the ordinance on Thursday during their meeting held at Kikuube district headquarters in Kisambo village, Kiziranfumbi Town Council.

The ordinance was presented by Christopher Asiimwe, a councillor representing the elderly in the district council. He said the ordinance if approved by government legal experts, would check millers who exploit the sugarcane farmers.

Asiimwe who was Chairperson of the committee that formulated the ordinance said it has received the support of all the stakeholders, including the millers, farmers, and political leaders.

Among others, the ordinance provides for regulations, penalties, and fines to both farmers and sugar millers. For instance, farmers are required to grow both sugarcane, and food crops for food and nutrition security.

Clause four of the ordinance says each farmer possessing four acres of land shall be compelled to plant and maintain a minimum  three acres of sugarcane and an acre of food crops mainly cassava, banana, sweet potatoes, throughout the year.

Still in clause four, those farmers with three acres wishing to grow sugarcane will be compelled to spare a portion of the available land for planting cassava, banana, and potatoes.

Also under this clause four, any farmers who will fault on the regulation above shall face seasonal prosecution of either three-month imprisonment or paying 2 currency points [ Shs 40,000] or both.

In clause five of the regulation all people hiring land to grow sugarcane or other plantation crops shall be required to comply with clause four and above or else face similar prosecution.

Farmers, factories and industries growing sugarcane and food crops shall be required to follow recommended agronomic practice and post-harvest handling as per required standards.

The local government shall ensure provision of training and technical assistance to farmers including women sugarcane farmers and other groups of people to enhance their productivity skills and decision making and failure to observe, shall attract prosecution in clause four.

The ordinance also indicates that harvesting farmers’ sugarcane shall be done timely at maturity period not exceeding 18 months and farmers shall have a right to be present when their products are being weighed.

It says payment of farmers shall be made within 30 days after supplying sugarcane to the millers and all company driven deductions and cost related to service offered to farmers shall be rendered with the knowledge of the farmers including interest accrues from the services.

The ordinance also will require farmers to have a representative on the board of the sugarcane millers [sugar company].

The ordinance also requires all farmers contracted to by sugarcane companies to belong to an association or cooperative society and companies, factories and industries shall be required to contract insured companies to offer them services.

The ordinance also requires the sugarcane companies and other agro-based factories to nurture, protect and restore the environment focusing on biodiversity   and ecosystem health conservation in their area of operation.

The document also says, “There shall be no sugarcane companies and other Agro-based factories planting and carrying out any prohibited activity within the mandatory buffer zone of the swamp, river, forest and lakes as provided by the NEMA Act, 2019 and National Forest and Tree Planting Act of 2003.”

It also requires sugarcane companies and other agro-based factories to support their farmers indigenous trees to restore degraded wetlands and riverine forests adjacent to their sugarcane field.

The sugarcane farmers commended Kikuube district council for passing the ordinance, saying it is going to curb the mistreatment of the farmers by the sugarcane companies.

Amlan Tumusiime, Kikuube Resident District Commissioner said that ordinance has come at the right time when farmers are facing several challenges related to sugarcane growing.

“This ordinance is good. It is going to protect the environment, farmers and the investors and also promote food security. Most farmers have abandoned food growing and they are all going in for sugarcane growing, something that is creating food insecurity in the district, yet our district has been a food basket for Bunyoro Subregion,” he said.

Chris Nkalu, Speaker of Kikuube district commended the councilor for passing the ordinance, adding that they will soon submit the document to the Solicitor General for advice before it can be enforced.

He noted that once this ordinance gets a limelight from the Solicitor General, it will protect farmers, sugarcane companies and also address the challenge of food insecurity.

“Our farmers have been suffering a lot. there has been an increase in food theft in the district, but many farmers are going for sugarcane growing instead of food production, leading to lack of enough food, but all these are going to be addressed with the ordinance in place,” he said.

Nicolas Kiiza, Male District Councillor expressed excitement with the ordinance, stating that if it gets approved by the Solicitor General, it will protect farmers and the investors and create peace and sustainable development of the district.

However, he underscored the need to train the farmers on proper agronomic practices to ensure that farmers benefit from growing food crops, adding that many are going sugarcane on excuse that they are no longer benefiting from growing other crops due to unreliable rainfall.