the threat of boycott comes during a political season, a timing that could play in favour of the farmers since the ruling NRM would be more ‘earful’
Sugarcane farmers in Bunyoro have appealed to the government and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) to take immediate action regarding what they describe as impunity and unfair closures of weighbridges in the sub-region.
Under their umbrella body, the Bunyoro Sugarcane Farmers’ Cooperative Union Ltd, they voiced their concerns on Wednesday during a meeting attended by hundreds of farmers in Masindi.
Mahmoud Kazimbiraine, the chairman of the union, stated that previously, independent weighbridges had been put up to ensure that each farmer could accurately determine the weight of their produce.
He noted that these weighbridges were essential in countering Kinyara Sugar Ltd’s monopoly, enabling farmers to sell to other sugar millers that provide more competitive prices.
This, he claimed, has led to Kinyara’s jealousy and subsequent sabotage of the weighbridges.
In January, the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Cooperatives ordered the immediate closure of weighbridges in Madindi following reports of widespread sugarcane poaching and sale
The weighbridges were later reopened following a petition from the union to the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
Nabbanja issued a letter on February 25, instructing Otafiire to remove police from the weighbridges and allow farmers to resume their business.
“I am in receipt of a petition from the sugarcane farmers under the Bunyoro Sugarcane Farmers Cooperative Union Limited alleging disruptions and immense inconvenience occasioned onto them by police officers in their transactions with sugar factories,” the premier wrote.
“The blocking of their sugarcane-loaded vehicles from accessing these weighbridges has caused them not only too much unnecessary suffering but very big losses in their businesses,” she added.
Nabbanja further directed Otafiire to investigate the circumstances surrounding the closure and report back with findings and recommendations.
However, on Wednesday, the union reported fresh closures of the weighbridges, and impunity at the hands of police authorities.
Kazimbiraine explained that while they initially used Kinyara’s weighbridge, it was insufficient to accommodate the volume of farmers, with around 400 trucks arriving daily.
This prompted them to establish their own weighbridges.
The creation of these weighbridges has led to tensions between the union and Kinyara, with the latter claiming that the new weighbridges facilitate the theft of cane from their estates—an allegation the union denies.
