Igara Growers’ Tea Factory in Uganda is embroiled in a new crisis, with farmers facing four months of unpaid dues for their green leaf deliveries. This has sparked outrage among the Buhweju farmers, who are demanding autonomy from Igara and threatening to withhold further supplies until their demands are met.
Frustration runs deep among the tea growers. Despite supplying millions of kilograms of green leaf, their paychecks remain elusive. This financial hardship is especially acute as tea is their primary income source. The situation is further compounded by a decline in green leaf prices, which have plummeted from Ush 600 per kilo to a mere Ush 150-200.
Adding to the farmers’ woes, reports indicate that Igara’s processed tea fetches less than a dollar per kilo in the Mombasa auction market due to poor quality. This has exacerbated the factory’s financial woes, pushing it to operate at a loss of 4 cents per kilo, significantly worse than other factories in the region.
The frustration has boiled over into calls for separation. Buhweju farmers, who make up a sizeable portion of the factory’s 7,000-plus shareholder base, want to establish their own independent tea processing facility. Buhweju Tea Factory, established in 2006 as a presidential pledge, already boasts a respectable annual processing capacity of 17 million kilograms and 2,400 shareholders.
Fuelled by anger and a desire for control over their livelihoods, the Buhweju farmers have held crisis meetings and unanimously agreed to stop supplying green leaf until their concerns are addressed. They have also appealed to President Museveni for his intervention and formed an interim board to spearhead the separation process, a move they acknowledge will be challenging.
With over Ush 50 billion in annual turnover, Igara Growers’ Tea Factory faces a critical juncture. Addressing the farmers’ grievances, improving tea quality, and navigating the separation demands are crucial steps towards ensuring the factory’s future and the livelihoods of thousands of tea farmers.
