By KT Reporter
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is calling upon all Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, specifically those under the Parish Development Model (PDM), to mind the standards for agricultural products. This, it says, will help PDM beneficiaries to easily access the formal and export markets.
This is in line with the government Programs of the PDM, Export Promotion, Import Substitution, and industrialisation, all aimed at achieving the ten-fold economic growth of Uganda from 50 billion to 500 Billion Dollars by 2040. Sylvia Kirabo, the Head of Public Relations and Marketing at UNBS, told a sensitisation seminar with MSMEs from Busoga sub-region that the government had prioritised 18 products under the PDM program and that the standards agency had developed standards for all these products.
“Therefore, we are currently training and empowering MSMEs at the grassroots level, dealing in the PDM selected value chains to acquire UNBS certification because without the UNBS certification mark, they cannot access markets,” said Kirabo. The 18 products are coffee, cotton, cocoa, cassava, tea, vegetable oils/palm oil, maize, rice, sugarcane, fish, dairy, beef, bananas, beans, avocado, shea nut, cashew nuts, and macadamia nuts.
The event was organized by UNBS in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF), with support from Trademark Africa (TMA). The PDM program is the last-mile strategy for service delivery by the Government of Uganda, aimed at improving the incomes and welfare of all Ugandans at the household level.
To date, UNBS has developed and domesticated more than 1,133 product standards in the agriculture value chain. This development is also in line with the UNBS value proposition of handholding MSMEs to enable them to acquire the UNBS certification mark.
Abubaker Bakulumpagi, the Head of the MSME division at UNBS, said that the government recently subsidised fees for MSMEs, which are now required to pay 500,000 Shillings audit fees compared to 1 Million Shillings paid by Medium and Large enterprises per year.
However, he acknowledges that some SMEs still find this costly. “This amount is exclusive of testing fees. We acknowledge that further subsidisation of the fees is needed, however, we also need to appreciate the recent subsidisation efforts by the government, aimed at facilitating the development of MSMEs,” said Bakulumpagi.
Alexander Ssamula, a Senior Inspector at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, encouraged MSMEs in the agricultural value chain to work with extension officers to understand the agro-chemicals suitable for use on their products, and how to use them.
“Some chemicals have components that have been banned internationally. Farmers should take note of this and reject such chemicals. The recommended chemicals are available on the MAAIF website, district offices, and with extension officers at the parishes,” Dr. Ssamula said.
Over 600 agro-industrial MSMEs have been sensitised and trained by UNBS and MAAIF on standards and certification under the Standards Partnership Project awareness campaign in the Lango, Buganda, Ankole, Bugisu, and Busoga sub-regions.
The Standards Partnership Project implemented by UNBS and MAAIF, with support from TradeMark Africa is designed to align Uganda’s agricultural practices with Global Good Agricultural Practices (Global GAP) and other international standards, aimed at elevating the economic viability of Uganda’s agricultural sector by ensuring products meet the stringent quality and safety standards required by the domestic, regional and international markets-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
