By Jackson Kitara
Coffee farming is picking up very well in northern Uganda as farmers are now embracing coffee as one of their commercial crops.
This could be due to continuous support from Uganda coffee development authority (UCDA) to farmers inform of providing free seedlings.
In the early 1900s, the colonial government segmented the country into agro-ecological zones with each specializing in a certain cash crop considered fit for its soil. For instance, Acholi sub-region specialized in growing cotton, while West Nile concentrated in tobacco and Central Uganda was a coffee-growing region.
However in 1997, coffee was introduced in the Acholi sub-region by former vice president Dr. Specioza Wandira Kazibwe as an alternative perennial crop to cotton, to fight rampant household poverty, but it did not pick up due to negative mindset from farmers.
Michael Okot, a representative of coffee farmers in Acholi sub region said they have over 4,000 registered members where they operate nursery beds for coffee and support upcoming farmers.
“We have supplied 74,000 seedlings to 1,356 coffee farmers in the districts of Gulu, Lamwo, Nwoya, Omoro, Pader and Kitgum where they planted in 87, 282 acres of land”, he said.
Okot said the major problems affecting coffee growing is prolong dry spell, roaming animals during dry season and wildfire which he requested local government to pass a bylaw on setting wildfire during dry season.
Jackson Lakor, production officer Gulu district said they have 1471 farmers growing coffee where last year they produced 452 metric tons of coffee.
Michael Odong, chairperson of coffee farmers in Wii Lac Village, Paidongo parish in Bobi sub-county, Omoro district said they started coffee growing last year after they got 40,000 coffee seedlings and planted 40 acres of land as a group and also as individual persons.
He said this year, they are targeting to plant coffee on over 50 acres of land as they have 400 acres of unutilized land and requested for more coffee seedlings, banana suckers and fruit tree seedlings.
Odong also requested UCDA to provide them with a soft loan so that they can borrow to help them in buying irrigation pumps, pesticides and herbicides for killing termite, pest and other diseases.
William Pike Ongaba, a coffee farmer in Oluba village, in Ongako sub-county in Omoro district said he started growing coffee in 2014 on 10 acres of land after retiring from work.
He said last year, he harvested 5.5 tons of coffee, sold and got sh18m. He said he is hopeful that if he irrigates his plantation this year, will get over sh30m.
Ongaba who is a retired extension staff of UCDA with vast experience in coffee growing said his coffee is now flowering and he is fearing that his coffee may abort due to the dry spell which will affect his harvest this year.
He requested UCDA to provide him with an irrigation pump so that he can water his coffee plantations.
Fred Bakaki, the farm manager Eden agric Forestry Company limited in Lakang sub-county, Amuru district said they are supplying coffee seedlings to farmers
He said the land in Amuru district is fertile and good for growing coffee
Land for regional laboratory
Vicky Atim, the vice chairperson Gulu district said they have donated 2 acres of land to Uganda coffee development authority for the construction of a regional coffee laboratory.
She said the land is located in Awach Town council near the new site for district headquarters.
“As Gulu district, we pledged to work with UCDA to promote coffee growing in Gulu district in a bid to support farmers switch from subsistence to commercial agriculture”, Atim remarked.
According to Gordon Katwirenabo, the UCDA Quality assurance manager, the laboratory will be the regional coffee analytical and testing certification laboratory to coffee farmers that will serve the entire northern Uganda.
He said at the moment, they have regional offices in northern Uganda without a coffee laboratory. He said they have only three coffee laboratories in Uganda namely; Jinja, Busenyi, and national laboratory in Lugogo.
Katwirenabo said they are constructing one in Kasese and planning to build one in Mbale that will serve the coffee farmers in Eastern region
“The regional laboratory will act as a training Centre to coffee farmers, enhance service deliveries and reduce cost and time of going to Lugogo national laboratory for analysis”, he said.
Katwirenabo said that if the government releases the money, they will start construction in the next financial year as they have approved the plan.
UCDA’s interventions
Dr. Gerald Kyalo, the Director Development Services at UCDA said supported farmers with seedlings with a target to increase coffee production to 20 million bags by 2025 as per the Coffee Roadmap.
He said for the last five years, coffee production has increased in Uganda from 7.04 in 2018/2019 to 7.8 to 2022/223 with exports increasing from 4.168 to 5.761.
Kyalo said in the last five years they have supported 29 districts in northern Uganda with coffee seedlings, banana suckers, shade trees and seeds of cover crops, wet mills, and training among others
“Over the last 5 years, we have invested sh8.03billion to fund coffee interventions in the Northern region mainly targeting farmers, processors, traders, nursery operators and exporters. The interventions in the north are a strategic direction being taken to expand coffee growing to new areas as per the national Coffee Roadmap”, he said.
Kyalo explained that from financial year 2018/2019 to 2022/2023, they have distributed 868,865 coffee wilt disease resistant seedlings, distributed 27,935,111 elite Robusta seedlings, distributed 2.2459,416 Arabica coffee seedlings and distributed 21 metric tons of seeds to farmers.
He said they have also certified 258 coffee nurseries and established 263 technology demonstration sites in northern Uganda which supply coffee farmers in northern
Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye Niyibigira, Managing Director UCDA said they are committed to support coffee farmers in northern Uganda.
“It is only in northern Uganda where we can make expansion of coffee growing in Uganda because they have big unutilized land”, he said.
He explained that coffee growing in northern Uganda was a challenge because people think it will not grow well and most farmers were growing the colonial crops.
Dr. Charles Francis Mugoya, a board chairman of UCDA said they will support farmers in accessing financial services so that they can borrow loans with low interest rates.
He requested the farmers to be in a cooperative society so that supporting them is easy.
Martha Wandera, the board member, asked the farmers to add value to their coffee so that they sell at a good reasonable price and make more money from coffee production.
