Small-scale maize millers in Busoga have opposed measures by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) that require them to package and brand their flour.
They argued that such standards should be applicable to large-scale millers since they produce for a wider domestic, East African Community, African and global market based on ISO standards, unlike them who mill for households within their localities.
Robinah Nakyejjwe, a small-scale miller in Buwenge sub-county, explained that she only produces for home consumption and the local communities, commonly referred to as kadongokamu.
“I mill for kadongo, who at times bring maize weighing between 10kg and 30kg; some tend to sell outside the mill purposely to buy other basic needs such as soap, exercise books, paraffin, salt and medicine,” Nakyejjwe said.
With such a scale of production, she noted that this could not warrant her starting to package and brand the flour as required by UNBS.
“I am looking at this as a ploy to drive us out of this business because at times I spend a week without getting customers; the standard guidelines do not favour me as a small-scale miller,” she said.
This was during a stakeholder sensitisation workshop that attracted the business community and farmers from Busoga at the Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja recently.
It was organised by UNBS in conjunction with the agriculture ministry, with support from TradeMark Africa.
Stanley Habyarimana, another small-scale miller from Buwenge town council, said his machine was closed by UNBS since October last year, yet he was also serving the kadongokamu.
He said UNBS accused him of poor hygiene and sanitation, as well as failure to paint the machine and tile the floor.
Even after fulfilling the requirements, Habyarimana said his facility remained closed, yet they had promised to return after two weeks.
“They gave me a time frame of two weeks to fix the anomalies, but it is now six months. Yet this was my source of income. I am struggling to have it opened, but again, the requirement of packaging and branding our products will drive me out of business,” he said.
Also, the millers lamented the high annual certification fee of sh500,000 to acquire a trademark and the sh400,000 for testing their products.
Janet Musene, a miller from Mayuge, said this was unaffordable to the majority of them, requesting that it be reduced further.
Additionally, Gladys Nyakajuya from Walukuba in Jinja city’s Southern division said the annual sh900,000 in total remains a burden with little returns.
In response, Abubaker Bakulumpagi, the head of the micro, small and medium enterprises division at UNBS, said the Government had already subsidised the certification fees for small and medium entrepreneurs compared to the sh1m for the large firms.
Leader weighs in
Abubaker Bakulumpagi, the head of the micro, small and medium enterprises division at UNBS, clarified that packaging was a requirement for all millers in the country, regardless of the size of one’s facility.
He said this is a condition governed by compulsory Ugandan standards, which could not be compromised as the law was already in place.
“We shall not compromise with the people who say they are just offering a service without placing the product on the market because the Government needs to have assurance that whatever people eat is safe, offers value for money, and meets the standards,” Bakulumpagi said.
He said proper packaging and branding promote traceability in case of any query.
“In case I brought my good maize when your system is not proper and it leads to contamination of the product, it would be easy to trace where it was milled as a result of packaging and branding,” Bakulumpagi explained.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Nyakajuya (holding mic) said the annual sh900,000 for certification and testing fees remains a burden for them to break even. This was during a stakeholder sensitisation workshop at the Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja recently.
