Africa-Press – Uganda. Kalungu District Council has passed an ordinance to fight vanilla theft and promote good farming practices.
According to Mr Kamadi Nyombi Mukiibi, the Kalungu District chairperson, the ordinance is aimed at coordinating and regulating the growing and buying of vanilla in the district.
“Vanilla theft has been rampant in the district yet culprits were being given lenient sentences, forcing farmers to hire armed guards after losing trust in our judicial system. The ordinance will guide judges on punishments against any culprits,” he said during an interview last Saturday.
Under the ordinance, anybody found in a garden stealing vanilla will be jailed for at least a six months besides compensating the owners of the crop for losses incurred.
It also discourages some methods applied by farmers, such as the use of chemicals that reduce the organic content of the vanilla beans and culprits risk a penalty of Shs400,000 for using chemical fertilisers.
“We plan to use the same ordinance to regulate the operations of vanilla dealers through licensing, which will boost the district revenue base. The licences we plan to issue will be renewed every 12 months,” he said.
According to Mr Kamadi, the ordinance has since been forwarded to the Solicitor General and after his perusal, it will be gazetted.
Mr Paul Ssebaggala, one of the prominent vanilla farmers in the district, expressed optimism that the ordinance will help to reduce vanilla theft.
Currently, the Penal Code has no law that targets vanilla bean thieves, making it difficult to penalise culprits.
Many times, according to farmers, vanilla thieves have been caught and the issues have been settled in the court, with the judicial giving punishment at their discretion.
Kalungu District is among the leading producers of vanilla beans in central Uganda.
Uganda has some of the best vanilla in the world and this puts it at a competitive advantage with the rest of the world’s vanilla producers.
Most of Uganda’s black gourmet vanilla is exported to Europe.
In the mid-90s, vanilla became the leading source of income for many households in Mukono, Mpigi, Luweero, Bundibugyo, and Kasese districts, but some farmers abandoned the crop due to fluctuating prices and thieves who raided their gardens.
Available statistics indicate that Ugandan farmers produce 31.4 metric tonnes of vanilla annually.
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