The Government has moved to reassure coffee farmers and exporters that Uganda’s coffee trade will not be crippled by the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) set to take effect on December 30 this year.
The EUDR is designed to protect the environment and cut greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring that agricultural exports to the EU do not result from deforestation or environmental destruction.
The rules target commodities such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood, but Uganda’s main concern lies with coffee, as the EU buys 65 percent of the country’s beans.
By the December deadline, all coffee producers exporting to the EU must meet strict requirements, including mapping farms for traceability, capturing detailed farmer and farm data, and uploading it to a national database.
With less than four months to go, anxiety has been growing in the sector over the readiness of systems and farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries says it is setting up systems to issue due diligence certificates to exporters by October 15 to meet the EUDR standards.
Assistant Commissioner for Coffee Production, Keimusya Rauben, says that 1.5 million farmers and their farms have already been registered.
He adds that between 2.5 and 2.8 million farmers will be included in the database and assigned traceability numbers by the October deadline.
Keimusya was speaking during a multi-stakeholder dialogue organized by SEATINI Uganda in partnership with the Department of Coffee Development under the theme: “Unpacking Uganda’s EUDR Risk Classification and Exploring Options for Compliance.”
In May, the EU classified Uganda as a “Standard Risk Country” under the EUDR, meaning exporters must carry out full due diligence on farms.
SEATINI Uganda says this move has “far-reaching implications for Uganda’s coffee exports.”
Keimusya insists the classification is not a sign that Uganda is failing on compliance.
He says the country is actually ahead of most African nations in meeting the EU rules.
The December deadline applies to large coffee farmers, while smallholder farmers have until June 2026 to comply.
Some farmers, however, feel the outreach has been insufficient.
Patrick Nayum Akab, a farmer in Mbale, says registration under the EUDR is not clearly communicated in some coffee-growing areas.
He adds that many farmers are suspicious the exercise is a tactic to bring them into the tax system.
“Farmer registration under EUDR in some coffee-growing areas lacks clear communication and sensitization, leaving many farmers confused about the process,” Akab says.
He warns that without proper sensitization, enforcement measures like restrictions on selling coffee due to deforestation concerns could harm farmers.
Akab also laments that extension work is no longer felt on the ground since the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) was abolished last financial year.
Keimusya says all UCDA staff were absorbed into the Ministry’s Department of Coffee Development and the functions remain unchanged.
SEATINI-Uganda Executive Director Jane Nalunga, who is also a coffee farmer, commends the government’s efforts but says many farmers remain uninformed.
Nalunga warns that the current readiness efforts seem skewed toward large farmers, yet smallholder farmers produce a significant share of the crop.
She says Uganda should not focus only on the December deadline because exporters will start buying coffee for the December export period as early as September.
She cautions that for farmers, EUDR enforcement could effectively come earlier than what is on paper.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives says the African coffee market should be developed urgently to reduce dependency on international buyers.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Georgina Nampeera Mugerwa says the African market offers growth opportunities if supported by national and regional cooperation.
“Trade facilitation initiatives, such as simplified customs procedures and the electronic single window platform, are helping ease coffee exports, especially important for landlocked countries like Uganda,” she says.
Under the EUDR, countries are classified as low, standard, or high risk based on the likelihood of deforestation linked to production.
High-risk countries face the most checks, low-risk countries face minimal scrutiny, and standard-risk countries like Uganda fall in between.
Only Belarus, North Korea, Myanmar, and Russia are high-risk, with 9 percent of their exports checked.
Fifty countries, including Uganda, Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia, are standard-risk, with 3 percent of exports checked.
Most countries, including the US, China, and all EU states, are low-risk, facing only 1 percent checks.
Rwanda, Kenya, and Burundi are the only African low-risk countries, jointly holding 1.6 percent of the EU coffee market.
Low-risk exporters enjoy simpler due diligence but must still confirm compliance before accessing the EU market.
