By Stephen Nuwagira
Levi Tibenderana is a coffee grower in Kigarama lower, Bisheshe Division in Ibanda municipality.
Although he has been growing coffee for decades, he does not drink the beverage. He parts ways with it and ends at him selling the beans.
This kind of relationship that many farmers have with the coffee is partly to blame for the low prices for the bean and has jolted officials into action, promoting local consumption of the beverage.
“Many farmers don’t even know where the coffee goes or what happens to it after selling it. This is wrong,” Ibanda municipality senior agriculture officer Javenal Byaruhanga says.
The official adds that the district and municipality were looking to end “this old mentality and focus promoting on local consumption to spur demand”.
He says compared to Ethiopia which consumes more the 40% of its coffee, in Uganda, drinking coffee is taken as something for the elite. So, we want to create a culture of drinking coffee, which we believe will deepen the relationship and love for the crop among the coffee-growing communities. When this happens, the rewards are immense for the farmers and local economy,” he adds.
He explained that besides boosting the market, coffee drinking has health benefits since it acts as an antioxidant, which helps remove toxins from the body.
Farmers also gain more from adding value to the beans, he added, noting that a 150g tin of Nescafe was at shillings 18,000 when a kilo of clean costs about shillings 8,000 in Ibanda presently.
“So, we encourage you to drink coffee because it’s good for your health…This will also boost prices due to an increase in local demand,” he said.
The official was addressing farmers during a training workshop on coffee management on October 10, 2023. The training was hosted by Martin Bambeiha, a model farmer and attracted 30 coffee growers from Kigarama ward in Bisheshe Division, Ibanda Municipality and beyond.
Byaruhanga was, however, happy that there are some people who process coffee locally in Ibanda, which they hope to use to promote the beverage across the district.
Meanwhile, officials cautioned farmers who are still adamantly drying on bare ground, saying the practice must be stopped as it hurts the natural aroma of coffee, making it smell of soil.
Ideally, you should dry the cherries picked from the ground, and those that are not ripe or are overripe separately to maintain the quality,” Byaruhanga said.
He explained that when green coffee is picked and dried, it turns black (discolour), while the overripe cherries are not good because they have already fermented.
Rose Atusasire, the co-ordinator of Ibanda Coffee Co-operative Union, says coffee loses a lot of its quality at harvest time, with many farmers picking unripe and overripe cherries, which affect the quality and the taste and aroma of the beans.
Martin Bambeiha explained the benefits of picking only the ripe cherries, saying it ensures good outturn and hence better returns.
“This is how I was able to pocket shillings 5.14 million from 135 trees of coffee last season,” he told the participants, emphasising that ensuring good practices and quality pays.
Storage
The farmers were advised to always store the properly dried coffee on racks off the ground to avoid mould that develops due to moisture. “Don’t store the coffee in a place where you put other things as this can hurt the quality and aroma of the coffee,” added the senior agriculture officer.
Bambeiha, who has been in the coffee business for decades, said Uganda’s Robusta and Bugisu Arabica coffee are highly sought after on the global market because of quality, ‘sweet’ taste and rich aroma. So, we should guard this jealously to stay competitive on the world stage, he added.
PHOTO CAPTION: Javenal Byaruhanga says that increased local consumption of coffee has multiple benefits for the farmers and the economy. Photo by Stephen Nuwagira
