Coffee planted on former forest land will not gain access to the European market starting January 2025.
Dr Emmanuel Lyamuleme, the executive director of Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), said the new EU regulations apply to people who planted coffee on forested land as far back as 2020.
Speaking to journalists after meeting Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga, he said farmers who destroyed forests to plant coffee trees had wasted their time.
“Anybody who destroyed forests to grow coffee by December 2020 his or her coffee will not be sold in Europe,” said Lyamuleme.
He said the authority will to talk to all affected farmers to forge the way forward.
Some farmers claimed that government was trying to frustrate coffee farmers especiallythe poor.
Under the new EU regulations require compliance with local legislation in production and a due-diligence statement covering the entire coffee supply chain indicating no more than a negligible risk of non-compliance.
If you are, for example, buying coffee from farmers in Kasese, you must have a list of those farmers and you must show their GPS coordinates which prove that in this area where you are getting the coffee from, there is no deforestation taking place.
Exporters must attach a due diligence certificate.
