Farmers accuse Nandala-led BCU of stifling coffee farming  

Mr James Nabutayi, a resident of Buwanyanga Village in Bubiita Sub-county, Bududa District, steps into the thin plantation beside his house and starts carefully pruning his coffee trees.
 “Coffee has been a fulcrum of my life and that of my father and grandfather; only that things are changing for worse,” a desolate Nabutayi says.

He adds: “Private companies have taken over coffee business because they pay cash, though less about Shs7,000 per kilogramme, as Bugisu Cooperative Union (BCU) continues to stagger. The hope we had is fading.”
 Mr Nabutayi alleges that misallocation of funds by the current leadership of BCU led by Mr Nathan Nandala Mafabi is partly the reason why the Union cannot afford to buy coffee with cash, thus failing farmers, who are the owners of the Union.

Mr Nabutayi says the Shs5 billion, which was allocated to renovate Musundi house into a five-star hotel, should have been put aside as capital to buy coffee from farmers so that they take their children to school.

Critics further say the cost of remodelling the building was inflated and that the space on which the building sits cannot accommodate a five-star hotel.
According to Union leaders, they currently have about 2 million kilogrammes of parchment coffee worth about Shs30 billion in its stores and waiting for the world market to stabilise before they sell to give farmers their money. The Union buys a kilogramme at Shs11,800, the highest price so far.
Mr Nandala, who is also MP for Budadiri West in Sironko and the secretary general of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), has been the chairperson of BCU since 2008.

His mandate (fourth term) was renewed in 2021 during the general annual meeting but his leadership has continued to face criticism.
Mr Juma Wasukira, a coffee farmer from Sironko Valley Zone, said BCU leaders have failed to avail coffee pulp machines at all primary levels.
“Lack of pulping machines affects the quality of coffee, leading to price fluctuations because the taste is not good compared to coffee which was pulped in time,” Mr Wasukira said.

Mr Peter Wasiebe, a coffee farmer from Lwakhakha zone, said they also face challenges of accessing agricultural loans at affordable interest rates.
“The Union has also not put enough money into sensitisation of farmers to adopt better farming practices, provision of agricultural input and fertilisers,” he said.

Mr Julius Nakiyi, the former Budadiri East MP contestant in Sironko District, said the habit by the Union leaders to hold coffee stock for long results in loss of value and also hikes others related costs.
“This also means the next season, the farmers will sell to their coffee to the Union competitor and coffee supply to the Union will down because farmers want money,” he said, adding in this era, the Union needs to be run like a corporate company with competent staff able to drive the business.

The board has been on numerous occasions accused of  failing to  recruit competent people to manage the Union Affairs, an allegation some of  board members interviewed by Daily Monitor deny vehemently.
BCU drives its mandate from member primary societies. It has 300 primary societies, though Daily Monitor learnt that some of the societies are housed in dilapidated structures while others  have collapsed or suspended.

Mr Richard Wambede, the chairperson of farmers in Sironko District and also a nursery operator, said the BCU leadership has suspended and also closed several primary societies using lacuna in the law that commits societies to supply more than 2500 kilogrammes of coffee annually in order to qualify to attend the annual general assembly.
“It was a good rule to encourage farmers but now it has been used to do away with delegates, who are deemed not loyal to the board members led by Nandala. This explains the decline in the number of delegates,” he said.

Each primary society that qualifies to attend the BCU Annual General Meeting is represented by two delegates from whom the board of directors are elected.
Mr Wambede explained that the current board, if not happy with a delegate, they use their money and powers to organise elections so that such delegate is voted out.

BCU leaders respond
However, Mr James Kutosi, the BCU director for Tsutsu zone in Bududa District, said they are doing their best to clean up the Union, adding that in previous season, they were able to  collect about  2.7 kilogrammes of coffee.

“We sell  at a good price so that we are able to pay farmers their money and also a bonus because we look for better markets,” he said, adding the previous leadership had buried the Union.

 The current leadership accuses the former leaders of selling, among other things, BCU properties, including land on Plot 23 Bishop Wasikye road, plot 29 on Eden road, Mt Elgon hotel – all in Mbale city and also 618 acres of land at Doko where Mbale Industrial park is now situated.
But Mr John Musila, the BCU vice chairperson termed allegations from the critics as distortions.

“We hold all BCU property and  nothing has been sold apart from that which was sold by the former leaders. We are renovating BCU buildings, including Musundi house and also preserving the Union land, including 3,300 acres of farmland in Bulambuli,” Mr Musila,  who is also the Bubulo East MP, said.

He said they have also established a Union Sacco with a capitalisation of about Shs1 billion to support farmers to access affordable loans. “We have established BCU radio and we are yet to establish BCU,” he said.
Mr Nandala, while addressing delegates during the Annual General Meeting at  the Union head offices in Mbale City last week, urged leaders to come together and fight for the survival of the Union.

 “The MPs should join and fight for the survival of the Union instead of fighting it. We need to work together,” he said.

Mr Nandala also asked the government to support the Union in value addition by providing a machine, which produces soluble coffee worth about Shs430 billion.
The State Minister for Cooperatives, Mr Frederick Ngobi Gume, said the government is ready to support coffee farmers under BCU, urging farmers to unite and support the Union leaders.

“I am going  to sell the idea of buying the machine, which processes coffee, to the President during Cabinet meetings which I am sure he will accept,” Minister Ngobi during the BCU annual general meeting.