Sugarcane farmers applaud President Museveni’s directive on trash deductions
Farmers believe that once operational, the council will provide a more balanced and transparent platform to address their concerns and improve accountability in the sugar industry.
Masindi: Sugarcane farmers in the Bunyoro and Tooro regions have welcomed President Yoweri Museveni’s directive halting the deduction of trash charges by sugar millers and weighbridge operators.
While meeting with sugarcane farmers and millers at Kityerera State Lodge in Mayuge District on August 6, 2025, President Museveni instructed all sugar millers and sugarcane weighbridge operators to cease the practice of deducting a 5% levy for trash from farmers delivering sugarcane to factories.
The President’s directive comes in response to farmers’ complaints, asserting that the levy violates the recently amended Sugar Act.
Trash deductions levies imposed on sugarcane considered to contain husks, tops, or other “waste” have been a common practice in Masindi and other sugarcane-growing regions. However, farmers argue that the so-called “trash” is repurposed by factories into valuable by-products such as bagasse, electricity, and fertilizer, making the deductions unfair.
President Museveni emphasized that sugar factories should instead reject sugarcane deliveries mixed with excessive husks and tops, rather than penalizing all farmers indiscriminately.
He also directed the Ministry of Trade to expedite the formation of the Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council, a regulatory body established under the amended Sugar Act, which the President assented to in May this year.
Patrick Byamukama, Chairperson of the Bunyoro-Tooro Sugarcane Farmers Association, welcomed the directive, calling it a significant step towards safeguarding farmers’ interests. He urged sugar factories across the country to emulate Kinyara Sugar Ltd, which he praised for not imposing trash deductions on its farmers.
Robert Atugonza, Chairperson of Masindi Sugarcane Growers Association Ltd, said the President’s intervention would help shield farmers from undue financial losses.
“Trash deductions have been eating into farmers’ profits,” Atugonza said. “We appreciate that Kinyara Sugar Ltd is already setting a good example by not applying these unfair charges.”
Farmers have also expressed optimism about the establishment of the Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council, which is expected to regulate the sector. The council will include four representatives of sugarcane farmers, three from sugar millers, and the permanent secretaries of the Ministries of Trade, Agriculture, and Finance.
Farmers believe that once operational, the council will provide a more balanced and transparent platform to address their concerns and improve accountability in the sugar industry.
