A conference held at the Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja City was attended by local government leaders from Busoga Kingdom in partnership with the Busoga Ministry of Agriculture and Farming to sensitize locals on modern, mass coffee production for international markets.
The Busoga Kingdom signed a partnership with the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) to work together and improve the quality of coffee from Busoga to help it compete favorably in international markets.
According to Owek. Nkenga Sam, the Busoga Minister for Agriculture and Farming, “UCDA wanted to know the number of farmers producing coffee and the size of plantations to help estimate the possible output that can be sold in international markets.”
The data being collected will enable the Busoga Kingdom, in partnership with UCDA, to source essential resources such as technical expertise, funding, and herbicides, among others, based on the size of the plantations and estimated outputs, he added.
This initiative will enable farmers to access extension services from UCDA technicians, who will provide guidance on how to care for coffee plantations until harvest, while monitoring the plantations by location based on the data collected.
It will also help the Kingdom, in partnership with UCDA, to seek better markets for Busoga coffee based on the estimated outputs from readily available and monitored plantations.
The primary reason for inviting local government leaders to the conference was to increase enforcement, as they are readily accessible to the people. This will enable the Kingdom and UCDA to revive mass coffee production in the Busoga sub-region, driven by demand in international markets, Owek Nkenga said.
He, however, called upon all coffee farmers in Busoga to comply and register with UCDA, as this will bring better opportunities and a license that will give farmers an upper hand in determining coffee prices in the market.
The Resident City Commissioner (RCC) of Jinja City, Mr. Richard Gulume Balainho, thanked Busoga Kingdom for initiating the program to teach farmers modern coffee production methods. This, he said, would lead to improved household incomes due to mass production.
He also warmly welcomed the Busoga Minister for Agriculture and Farming, Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), Local Council Chairpersons (LCVs), Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), District Technical Officers, UCDA officials, and coffee farmers from Busoga for honoring the invitation to join efforts with Busoga Kingdom in eradicating poverty through agriculture.
Coffee has been Uganda’s leading cash crop since the 1980s; however, due to industrialization and rural-urban migration, many able-bodied youths have migrated to towns and cities, abandoning agriculture. This has greatly decreased coffee production in Busoga and Uganda as a whole.
However, through the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), the Ugandan government aims to revive mass coffee production. In this initiative, all coffee farmers will be required to register their farms and obtain licenses, which will aid in proper accountability and planning for Uganda’s coffee sector, he added.
Mr. Elijah Kagoda Dhikusoka, the LCV of Kaliro District, thanked Busoga Kingdom for involving political leaders in sensitizing the people about proper coffee production. He noted that coffee is a durable crop that can be harvested for over 50 years with minimal attention, unlike other crops like sugar cane, and is also traditionally inheritable.
He therefore promised the required support and also called on fellow leaders to invest time in teaching people how to eradicate poverty through various projects that the government and Busoga Kingdom are developing, such as modern coffee production for international markets, which will offer better financial returns.
Mr. Kagoda also urged Basoga to fight poverty at the household level, rather than waiting for government support, as other regions are rapidly progressing. He advised those still owning land not to sell it but rather to utilize it effectively through appropriate agriculture and farming.
He also discouraged deforestation in favor of farming, emphasizing that trees help in rainfall formation, absorb carbon dioxide, and maintain favorable climatic conditions. He noted that forests can still be utilized for agriculture by planting coffee and other crops that can grow alongside trees.
Dr. Emmanuel Lyamulemye, the Managing Director of UCDA, revealed that the government of Uganda is committed to registering all coffee farmers and establishing the National Traceability System to comply with European Union regulations on deforestation-free products.
He also stated that the register will assign unique identifiers and geolocations to all coffee farms, as the European Union is engaged in a Territorial Approach (TA). The deadline for UCDA to have the national register and traceability system in place, where each farmer will have a unique code, is 31st December 2024.
