By Charles Etukuri and Nelson Mandela Muhoozi
Uganda’s coffee sector has found itself at the centre of a heated debate, following the rationalisation of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).
At the heart of this debate is a major question — how will the merger help the local coffee farmer?
According to analysts and farmers, it is a mixed bag of predications as the coffee sector embarks on a new journey under the direct command of the agriculture ministry.
“Coffee reaches the local man and about 12 million people involved are surviving on this crop. For example, few individuals are involved in gold, but coffee reaches everyone and this is what we are only left with,” history researcher and coffee farmer Prof. Lwanga Lunyiigo said.
Lunyiigo, who this week discussed the political history of coffee with former Vision Group chief executive officer and coffee farmer Robert Kabushenga on X spaces, added: “Most of the leaders survived on coffee and they know the issues. So, the Government should try to hand over the economy to the natives.”
On Wednesday, Parliament enacted the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill 2024, paving the way for the dissolution of UCDA and subsequent transfer of its functions to the agriculture ministry.
The Bill now awaits President Yoweri Museveni’s assent before it becomes law.
What next?
However, the other big question farmers are asking is: What next for the coffee sector?
According to Martin Maraka, the chief executive officer of Uganda Coffee Federation (UCF), the key expectation of a local coffee farmer is “stability” and “efficiency” from the agriculture ministry.
“Coffee isn’t just a crop; it’s the lifeline of our rural communities and the backbone of Uganda’s export revenue. Our industry needs stability and efficiency, not interruptions. We’re watching closely to see if this merger will, indeed, bring the improvements the ministry promises,” Maraka said.
“The Government has been an essential partner in fostering a vibrant coffee industry through policies and public-private partnerships that prioritise liquidity and accessibility for farmers. If this merger weakens these dynamics, it risks compromising a system that has taken years to build,” he added.
Officials from the agriculture ministry, Maraka argued, should always trump up the need for the flow of cash into the pockets of the local coffee farmer.
“For Ugandan coffee farmers, cash flow is king. Our competitive edge has always been in providing farmers direct cash payments, enabling them to keep reinvesting. Coffee is felt across the entire economy as a form of rural National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to locals,” he said.
“Uganda’s reputation as a global coffee supplier hinges on its consistent quality and strong support from both private and public players,” the chief executive officer of UCF added.
Bernard Sabiti, a coffee farmer and exporter under Besmark Coffee Company, said that farmers are only rooting for the continuity of what he described as “top services” regarding coffee.
“I am not against rationalisation in principle, but I need assurance that the services we have relied on from the UCDA will continue. It is not just about merging departments; it’s about maintaining the support structures that enable us to thrive,” Sabiti said.
“For us as farmers, the proof will be in the delivery. The ministry promises better services, but if this merger results in delays or complications, we will feel the impact immediately in our day-to-day operations and earnings,” he added.
Yet for Dr Michael Mugabira, the leader of Devoted Coffee Initiatives Uganda (DCIU), the agriculture ministry must ensure that Uganda’s coffee does not lose its competitive edge within the global coffee market chain.
With a coffee production capacity of over 209 thousand metric tonnes of coffee beans per year, Uganda ranks among the top 10 coffee producers worldwide, along with Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Honduras, Ethiopia, Peru, India and Guatemala. Uganda’s coffee exports between September 2023 and August 2024 stood at 6.39 million bags, a move that made the country secure a spot in the elite “Club of 10”, which requires a production threshold of four million bags.
Tumwebaze’s take
Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze, in an interview with the New Vision, said there was no need to worry, adding that all rationalised agencies will be phased out in accordance with the roadmap put in place by Cabinet.
Tumwebaze added that the coffee sector will be better managed under the ministry.
“UCDA has been licensing actors in the value chain and regulating export standards. Is that work too complex to be done in the ministry? The same desk will be put in or returned to the ministry to do the same work, just like it will be for dairy and dairy products. So, there is nothing that UCDA has been doing that will be lost,” he said.
According to the agriculture ministry permanent secretary, Maj. Gen. David Kyomukama Kasura, a restructuring process has already commenced within the ministry in terms of agribusiness and extension services, coffee development, cotton development and dairy development.
“The roles performed by UCDA as a semi-autonomous body will still be performed by the department of coffee development under the ministry. All the coffee extension workers (who are 70 in number) will be absorbed into the ministry; they will add to the other 4,000 extension workers in the district and lower local governments. The function of extension will, therefore, be reinforced and more farmers will be reached,” Kasura said.
Quality control and regulation of the sector, he added, will also be handled by the department of coffee development under the agriculture ministry.
“It is, therefore, not true that the function of facilitating market access will disappear with the rationalisation of UCDA,” he stated.
Prices
To an ordinary farmer, coffee price is what matters. Farmers told New Vision that they enjoy “good prices”, with this year accounting to over sh10,000 per kilo of coffee beans.
The other fear, farmers added, is that the UCDA rationalisation will trigger a drop in coffee prices. However, agriculture ministry permanent secretary, Maj. Gen. David Kyomukama Kasura, said UCDA did not have a price stabilisation mechanism.
“Current coffee prices are determined by market forces of demand and supply. The factors at play today include the decline of coffee production due to disease and climate change in major coffee producing countries such as Brazil and increasing population of coffee consumers worldwide. UCDA plays no role in determining coffee price,” he said.
Kasura added that it is the preserve of the Government to ensure that Ugandan coffee complies with the international standards for all tradable commodities.
“Research on new technologies and best practices was and is being carried out by the National Coffee Research Institute (NACORI) under the National Agricultural Research Organisation, which focuses on research in coffee. UCDA was only accessing the improved technologies and passing them on to farmers, a function that will remain through the department of coffee development, as well as the extension network. It should be noted that the NACORI is an agency of the agriculture ministry that has not been rationalised,” Maj. Gen. Kasura said.
On the fear that the Government intends to create a monopoly, he said working with private sector players to set up factories to add value to coffee does not mean that the Government is buffering monopolies.
What farmers say
Julius Mwebe from Masaka Right now, we feel the future of the coffee sector is vague.
UCDA was closer to us and my request is now that the agriculture ministry is taking over their functions, they should ensure they maintain the structures of interaction that UCDA had with us. Kulsum Patel from Lwengo We have been facing a lot of frustration and bureaucracy within the government sector.
I had managed to farm about 100 acres out of the 200 acres in Lwengo district through a lot of diffi culties and I was forced to halt the coffee business because of frustration from Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
I now urge the Government to provide subsidies, especially on fertilisers and support continuous research into better coffee varieties, value addition and market for the products. We should also have structured agricultural extension services with value for money.
