By Ibrahim Ruhweza
Ankole Diocese is directing its efforts towards coffee growing, with a target of earning sh4.6b per season and about sh9.2b annually. Simon Kwikiriza, the Ankole Diocese household and community transformation co-ordinator, said the 203 acres of the diocese’s demonstration gardens are covered in coffee plantations.
“Demonstration gardens are not one broad garden; they are on different pieces of church land, but they make up 203 acres. Through this programme, we are trying to show our people that agriculture is the way to go and can change the economic status of everyone,” he said.
By 2024, the church hopes to have planted 400 acres. Kwikiriza revealed that there is high youth participation in this project, which is running alongside apiculture, so that the bees can pollinate the coffee flowers.
“The bees will also enable the youth to get an extra income from honey sales,” he said.
Although the church is yet to realise its first harvest, the project employs 82 workers. And more people will get jobs as the acreage grows, coupled with value addition.
“The production and value addition chain will come with a lot of opportunities in the areas of plantation management, harvesting, transportation, packaging, branding and many more,” Kwikiriza said.
He said from the 91,350 trees, the diocese will earn about sh4.6b in a season. Each coffee plant can yield berries worth sh50,000, which is the expectation when the plants reach maturity in 2024.
“The older it grows, the more the yield,” Kwikiriza said.
He also said the church has given coffee seedlings to households to increase the supply base once value addition begins. About 138 acres have been planted. This means these households will be capable of earning sh3.1b every season. BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT In 2021, Ankole Diocese and Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) entered a partnership to improve household income through coffee growing, targeting 46,000 households. UCDA donated 22,500 coffee wilt disease-resistant robusta seedlings to the diocese during the launch of the partnership in Kinoni Archdeaconry, Rwampara district. The seedlings covered 50 acres of church land. The church also established demonstration gardens to attract more farmers into coffee growing. The Bishop of Ankole Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Sheldon Mwesigwa, said supporting farming is part of the diocese’s community and household transformation agenda.
“We will be answerable to our God if we let our people continue to suffer in poverty. You cannot claim to have spiritual growth in a church when your people are languishing in poverty. We serve to grow our communities in spirit and economically,” he said.
As one of the nation’s traditional cash crops, coffee has continued to play a leading role in the economy of Uganda, contributing between 20- 30% of the foreign exchange earnings. To spur exports, Uganda has set up a coffee development plan. Foreign exchange earnings from coffee exports are projected to hit $1.5b (about sh5.6 trillion) by 2025, boosting the livelihoods of over 1.8 million households. According UCDA, coffee exports for the 2020/21 financial year amounted to 6,078,638, 60kg bags worth $559.26m, compared to 5,105,881 bags valued at $496.28m the previous financial year. The coffee exports in 2020/21 were the highest in 30 years. The central region (Buganda) is Uganda’s leading coffee producer, with 2,454,474, 60kg bags produced in 2018/19, according to UCDA. Whereas almost all districts in central Uganda grow coffee, Greater Masaka is the best known for being highly involved in coffee production. The region largely grows robusta coffee. The central region is followed by the western region, producing 1,726,696 bags.
If Ankole and Kigezi were added to the western Uganda grouping, the region would be Uganda’s leading producer with 2,637,900 bags. Bugisu sub-region, known for growing arabica coffee, comes third. The region produced 675,850 bags in 2018/19. It is closely followed by Busoga, having produced 672,281 bags in the same year. West Nile produced 228,126 bags, while Sebei delivered 205,283 bags in the period under review. Lango sub-region recorded 110,465 bags. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics report, agriculture accounted for about 23.7% of the gross domestic product and 31% of export earnings in the 2020/21 fiscal year. The same report indicated that 70% of Uganda’s working population is employed in the agriculture sector.
