By Prossy Nandudu
Stakeholders in the coffee value chain are meeting at Serena Kigo, in Kampala, to discuss the coffee value chain and how to position it further as an income-generating crop.
Some of the issues to be discussed in the two-day meeting, which ends today, include organising value addition and industrial production.
Outcomes from the meeting are expected to help the country beat the target of exporting 20 million bags of coffee by 2030 from the current seven million bags.
Information from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority indicates that although they now export slightly above seven million 60kg bags of coffee, the sector is still faced with challenges, such as a lack of processing infrastructure for value addition, and limited extension services, which affect the quality and production of coffee.
At the meeting, Dr Geoffrey Arinaitwe, the director at the National Coffee Research Institute NaCORI is expected to also highlight progress in research as far as soluble coffee production is concerned.
The dialogue is organised by the Office of the President, Operation Wealth Creation and the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, among others to build consensus and develop strategies for an inclusive, transformative, and sustainable coffee industry in Uganda.
