RONALDO N
Tea farmers, transporters, and factory owners in Kanungu District have been urged to embrace quality over quantity.
Following the fall of tea prices in Kanungu and Uganda at large, tea farmers, transporters, and factory owners around Kanungu have been urged to maintain quality if they want to boost prices and compete with other farmers in Rwanda and Kenya for the market.
Initially, a kilogram of green tea was at seven hundred shillings (shs700), but prices fell to four hundred (shs400), which forced some farmers to resort to growing other profitable cash crops like coffee.
However, speaking to Nkwasibwe Godwin, the Production Officer of Kanungu District, stressed that they are optimistic that prices of green tea can rise to one thousand (shs1000) per kilogram only if farmers maintain quality.
Nkwasibwe expressed dissatisfaction with some farmers who harvest immature tea, noting that this contradicts standards, leading to a fall in prices.
Nkwasibwe cautioned tea transporters against transporting tea with animals and people, noting that this damages tea. He therefore urged factory owners to avoid buying poor-quality tea from farmers.
Lastly, Nkwasibwe revealed that, as authorities, they have already designed a program in partnership with some factory owners to sensitize farmers on modern farming methods and how to maintain quality.
