By Swift Reporter
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has directed Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja to immediately operationalize the Sugar Act and decisively address persistent land grabbing and exploitation affecting sugarcane farmers, particularly in Bunyoro and other major cane-growing regions.
The directive was issued on Wednesday as the President addressed thousands of supporters at a rally in Masindi during his ongoing nationwide campaign engagements. President Museveni said the prolonged suffering of sugarcane farmers, marked by unfair pricing, delayed payments, and coercive practices by dominant millers, must come to an end.
He noted that the Sugar Act was enacted specifically to correct long-standing imbalances in the industry but has failed to achieve its full impact due to delayed implementation and weak enforcement.
For more than a decade, Uganda’s sugar industry has been characterized by what farmers have termed a “Sugar War,” pitting smallholder out-growers against a small group of powerful millers commonly referred to as the “Big Four.” These millers have historically exercised overwhelming control over cane pricing, weighing processes, payment schedules, and market access.
As a result, farmers across Busoga, Bunyoro, Buganda, and parts of northern Uganda have endured under-weighing of cane at mill-owned weighbridges, delayed payments stretching into months, unilaterally imposed low prices, exclusion from policy discussions, and dependence on single buyers. This imbalance has entrenched poverty and indebtedness among many farming households.
Sugar Act: A Long-Awaited Reform
Parliament enacted the Sugar Act to address these structural injustices by regulating miller–farmer relations, protecting out-growers from exploitation, promoting independent and community-owned weighbridges, ensuring fair and transparent pricing, clarifying zoning arrangements, and fostering competition among millers.
However, resistance from entrenched industry interests and slow implementation have limited the law’s effectiveness. President Museveni said his latest directive is intended to break that stalemate and ensure farmers finally benefit from the law.
“Our people must be protected. The Sugar Act must be enforced immediately to stop exploitation of sugarcane farmers,” the President said.
He tasked the Prime Minister to fast-track the Act’s implementation, ensure compliance with fair pricing and weighing standards, resolve long-standing land conflicts in sugar-producing areas, and protect out-growers from predatory practices.
The President’s remarks come amid growing recognition of changing dynamics within the sector, following the entry of new players such as Victoria Sugar Ltd in Luweero. Farmers have cited the company’s operations as an example of a more transparent and farmer-centered approach, including competitive cane pricing, support for community-owned weighbridges, prompt payments, and clearer supply chain practices.
Such developments have increased pressure on other millers to align their operations with the spirit and letter of the Sugar Act, particularly on transparency, competition, and respect for farmer rights.
President Museveni emphasized that communities must benefit from the sugar industry rather than suffer because of it, warning that continued non-compliance by millers would not be tolerated.
With the directive now issued, farmers across the country are hopeful that the long-running Sugar War may finally shift in their favor. If fully and vigorously implemented, the Sugar Act could usher in a new era of fairness, transparency, and accountability restoring confidence in the sector and ensuring that sugarcane farming becomes a sustainable and dignified livelihood for thousands of Ugandan households.
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