Just wondering, what will it take for farmers in Uganda to stop being docile and passive towards legislation and government actions that put their livelihoods and their smallholder farms at risk? Case in point, in Uganda, where, according to the most recent Uganda National Household Survey, 72 percent of households earn a living from agriculture, the mention of government subsidies and price regulation is frowned upon. Why is that?

Indian farmers, for example, through well organised sustained protests, were successful in getting their Parliament to repeal legislation that was passed without them being consulted and which:

“Put their livelihoods and farms at risk and gave private corporations control over the pricing of their crops, which could crush smallholder farmers.”

Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters @ The Guardian Weekly

What will it take so that Ugandan farmers can proactively object to legislation that is passed without sufficient consultation with them – you know, like that coffee deal.

“This is a struggle between the comprador bourgeoisie, the agents of foreign interests, and the local bourgeoisie.” 

President Museveni on push back on Vinci Coffee Deal @ The Independent

The President would have us believe that the Vinci Coffee Deal is in the interest of our coffee smallholder farmers. Really, how so? A question that the 11th parliament is seemingly attempting to answer retrogressive, if at all; and after the deal was already made. Obviously, the deal was made without consultation of smallholder farmers, who are the producers of Uganda’s coffee.

That coffee farmers and farmers as a whole, the majority of Uganda’s population, are not on the streets protesting legislation that takes away from them, speaks volumes about the insufficient understanding among Ugandans of democratic governance and the obligation of duty bearers to listen to the electorate and not be dismissive of rights holders.