Uganda And Its Coffee Dream: The Vision 2040
Coffee is Uganda’s number one cash crop and has retained its dominant position as one as compared to its counterparts i.e cotton, tea, and tobacco.
Furthermore, coffee is Uganda’s third foreign exchange earner after tourism and remittances, putting Uganda in the second position as a major coffee producer in Africa and eighth position in the world.
Uganda’s coffee subsector is still largely made up of small household farmers with an estimate of 1.7 million household farmers involved in the coffee growing and 2.8 households whose livelihoods depend on it. Of the total household farmers involved in coffee growing, 1.17million grow Robusta coffee. Robusta coffee being an indigenous species could be the major underlying factor that leads to its mass growing in addition to Uganda’s weather and soils that could easily facilitate its mass growing amongst the population as opposed to Arabica coffee that is largely grown at high altitude.
Arabica coffee was introduced in the early 1990s and ever since it has grown in popularity due to its competitive prices and qualities which makes its cultivation a more lucrative engagement for the farmers due to its high demand coupled with more attractive prices which then translates into a higher return on investment for the farmers and all the stakeholders involved in the post-harvest stage.
In Uganda, Arabica coffee is grown in 44 districts (51%). On the other hand, 28 districts (32%) grow only Arabica, while 15 districts (17%) grow both Arabica and Robusta coffee. However, it is majorly grown in high altitude areas like on the slopes of Mt Elgon in the East and Mt Rwenzori (mountains of the moon) in the South Western parts of Uganda boarding with Kenya and DRC respectively.
Uganda’s production ambition is 20 million bags by 2030. This is part of a very ambitious plan, which came via a presidential directive that calls for urgent production increases of the cash crop.
This dream is not misplaced or unfounded: the world’s coffee demand has been increasing over the years and is forecast to keep doing so. It is predicted that the global demand increases at about 0.5 to 3 percent per year against an annual growth of 2 percent per year. This creates an excellent opportunity for Uganda to fill in the gap, especially considering an increasing demand for the fine Robusta for which Uganda is known. Arabica Coffee production can also be expanded/introduced in new areas of Uganda. The contribution of Arabica Coffee to Uganda’s export and foreign exchange earnings increased from 8.2% in 1991/1992 to 23% in 2017/2018 coffee year and therefore with the increase in growing areas, Arabica has unmatched potential.
The coffee roadmap targets an increase in the production of quality coffee from the current figure of about 6 million bags to 20 million bags, making Uganda one of the top global producers. Over the years, Uganda’s coffee has been growing in both quantity and quality. For instance, in terms of quantity, Arabica Coffee exports have increased from 14% to 28% in US$ value respectively. Furthermore, Uganda’s coffee was ranked 3rd best in the world by cup tasters who graded 1,229 coffees from around the world. The quality of Uganda’s coffee continues to improve and if everyone in the coffee value chain does it right, it has more potential to attain the no.1 position in the world.
Therefore with the global coffee demand projected to keep growing at almost 3% annually, the potential of Uganda’s coffee subsector is unraveled.
Farmers are being sensitized to grow the high-yielding Arabica Coffee varieties, employ good husbandry practices and participate in marketing through their Farm Level Organizations (FLOs) or cooperatives to benefit from bargaining power attained when marketing as a group. Uganda’s coffee roadmap targets an increase in the production of quality coffee from the current figure of about 6 million bags to 20 million bags, making Uganda one of the top global producers. The roadmap also aims at expanding the middle stratum of commercial farmers from the current 10% to 65% while reducing smallholders from 85% to 25% by 2040.
However, in order to realize this ambition in question, the government has provided $900 million backing to enable farmers to gain access to quality planting materials, quality farm inputs, finance, and facilitating extension services. It is now up to the Ugandan farmers and their associations to seize this opportunity to grow their incomes and play a role in meeting global demand. An enabling environment through public-private partnership and collaboration is also envisaged.
To reap the economic benefits from coffee production and attain the Government’s goal of middle-income status and vision 2040, it is recommended that good agronomic and post-harvest practices be applied by all categories of farmers, processors, and traders.
