President Museveni has signed into law, the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024, State House has said.
According to State House, the president assented to the bill on December, 20, 2024.
The bill, which was passed by Parliament on November 6, 2024, abolished Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and integrated its functions into the Ministry of Agriculture.
The UCDA that had been established in 1991 under the Uganda Coffee Development Authority Act regulated Uganda’s coffee value chain, supported research and maximised earnings for stakeholders.
Coffee, a major export for Uganda, generated substantial national revenue, and UCDA’s role was central to this success.
The Coffee Bill was passed amidst strong resistance, especially from opposition Members of Parliament and those representing coffee growing areas in the country who argued that the abolition of UCDA could negate all the gains achieved in the years.
However, government allayed any fears.
The scrapping of UCDA was part of the ongoing Rationalization of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) policy aimed at merging, mainstreaming, and rationalizing various government agencies, commissions, and authorities to reduce redundancy, eliminate duplication, and optimize public expenditure.
