Arabfields, Maleeka Kassou, East, West & Central Africa Agriculture Correspondent — The Ugandan government has announced a comprehensive financial package worth approximately 83 million dollars to address longstanding challenges in the country’s tea sector and support its recovery as the second-largest tea exporter in Africa after Kenya.
State Minister for Agriculture Fred Bwino Kyakulaga revealed the initiative during discussions with industry stakeholders on April 11. The plan, totaling around 310 billion Ugandan shillings, forms part of a broader restructuring effort that includes the development of new laws and guidelines to strengthen oversight of the tea value chain.
Officials outlined three core components of the support program. These encompass a rescue package of about 40.6 million dollars for struggling processing factories, the settlement of roughly 29.9 million dollars in debts owed to tea seedling suppliers, and the distribution of fertilizers to farmers aimed at boosting yields and improving leaf quality.
A initial sum of 2.1 million dollars has already been released from the current budget to begin fertilizer distribution, with full funding expected in the 2026/2027 financial year. Minister Kyakulaga emphasized that, although the present budget did not fully anticipate the scale of the intervention, authorities remain committed to its implementation to prevent further decline in the sector.
The tea industry in Uganda has faced notable difficulties in recent years. Export volumes dropped by more than 22 percent between 2021 and 2024, falling from over 77,000 tonnes to approximately 60,000 tonnes. During the same period, export revenues declined by nearly 34 percent, reaching about 56 million dollars. Despite maintaining a strong position in terms of volume, the sector has struggled with lower value realization compared to neighboring producers such as Malawi and Rwanda, often linked to quality perceptions and limited value addition.
Victoria Ashabahebwa, president of the Uganda Tea Association, highlighted additional structural issues affecting competitiveness. These include labor shortages in processing facilities, insufficient mechanization, and inconsistent quality of raw tea leaves delivered to factories. She called for dedicated extension officers focused on tea, increased funding for processing units, and stricter enforcement of quality standards starting from the harvesting stage.
Farmers and factory operators have welcomed the announcement, viewing it as a timely response to prolonged low prices and operational constraints. One smallholder producer in the western region, who has cultivated tea for over a decade, noted that reliable access to quality fertilizers could significantly raise output per acre and help stabilize incomes for thousands of families dependent on the crop.
The intervention arrives amid a wider push to enhance Uganda’s agricultural exports. With overall national exports showing robust growth in recent periods, authorities see the tea sector as a key area for renewed contribution to foreign exchange earnings and rural employment.
Looking ahead, experts anticipate that successful execution of the plan could reverse the downward trend in production volumes and support a gradual increase in export earnings. Projections based on current sector data suggest that improved yields and better quality standards might enable Uganda to regain lost market share and achieve higher-value positioning by the end of the decade. Enhanced processing capacity and regulatory reforms are expected to attract further private investment, potentially creating additional jobs in both farming and factory operations while strengthening the industry’s resilience against global price fluctuations.
Industry observers will closely monitor the rollout of funds and the accompanying policy changes, which could determine whether the tea sector returns to a sustainable growth path in the coming years.
