FOOD SAFETY SHAKE-UP! Govt Tables Bill to Create Powerful Agriculture Regulator

The government tabled a Bill seeking to establish a single authority to regulate food products, agricultural chemicals, veterinary medicines and other agricultural inputs.

The Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority Bill, 2026, was presented to Parliament for first reading on Tuesday by Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Minister Frank Tumwebaze.

The Bill proposes the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority (FARA), which would oversee the manufacture, distribution, importation, exportation and supply of a wide range of products across Uganda’s food and agricultural value chains.

These would include agricultural chemicals, veterinary medicines and vaccines, veterinary devices, cosmetics, laboratory supplies, food products and animal feeds.Tumwebaze said the proposed authority would address fragmentation in the regulation of food and agricultural products by bringing key responsibilities under one specialised institution.

“The new authority will bring fragmented regulatory responsibilities under one institution to improve coordination, efficiency and accountability across Uganda’s food and agricultural value chains,” Tumwebaze said.

Speaker Jacob Markson Oboth-Oboth, who chaired Tuesday’s plenary sitting, referred the Bill to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture for detailed scrutiny.

The committee is chaired by Mawokota North MP Amelia Kyambadde.The legislation follows Cabinet approval of the proposal earlier in July.Government says the proposed reform is intended to address overlapping mandates among existing regulatory institutions and improve enforcement across the food and agricultural sectors.

Currently, regulatory responsibilities are shared among several institutions, including the National Drug Authority and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards.

Kassanda North MP Patrick Oshabe said the existing arrangement has resulted in duplication, inefficiencies and uncertainty over regulatory responsibilities.The proposed authority would be responsible for ensuring that food and animal feeds produced locally or imported into Uganda meet safety requirements and that agricultural and veterinary inputs comply with prescribed quality standards.

It would also regulate agricultural chemicals to ensure their use does not pose unacceptable risks to human health, animal health, plant life or the environment.

The Bill further seeks to strengthen the fight against counterfeit and substandard agricultural and veterinary products, including poor-quality seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and veterinary medicines.

Such products can affect agricultural productivity, increase production costs for farmers and pose risks to consumers, livestock and the environment.

The proposed reforms come as Uganda seeks to increase the quality and competitiveness of its agricultural products in domestic, regional and international markets.

Agricultural commodities, including coffee, tea, fish and horticultural products, form an important part of Uganda’s export earnings.

Access to some international markets also requires compliance with food safety, quality and sanitary and phytosanitary standards.

The government argues that a more coordinated regulatory system could improve compliance with those requirements, strengthen traceability and increase confidence among consumers and trading partners.

The proposed authority would operate within an existing regulatory framework that includes the Agricultural Chemicals (Control) Act, the National Drug Policy and Authority Act and standards enforcement mechanisms administered by UNBS.

However, the Bill is likely to face scrutiny over how the proposed authority would relate to existing agencies and how regulatory functions would be transferred or shared.

Lawmakers are also expected to examine the authority’s proposed financing, staffing, laboratory and technical capacity and the cost of establishing a new regulatory institution.

The committee will also have to consider whether consolidating functions would improve enforcement without creating additional bureaucracy or weakening specialised regulatory capacity already available within existing institutions.

The Bill will undergo detailed scrutiny by the Agriculture Committee before it returns to the House for further consideration.

If Parliament approves the legislation, the government will have to establish the institutional and technical systems required for FARA to carry out its proposed mandate.

The proposed reform therefore represents an attempt to create a more coordinated regulatory framework covering food safety, agricultural inputs and veterinary products, but its final structure and powers will depend on Parliament’s consideration of the Bill.