Author: Mr Michael J. Ssali. PHOTO/FILE
With the recent violent passing of the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, it is now expected that farmers will mainly depend on the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (Maaif) for guidance on how to overcome coffee agronomic and marketing challenges.
Nobody should believe that without Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), the crop will lose its value. Coffee is said to be the most traded commodity on the globe after oil. It is actually the most traded agricultural commodity in the world.
It is not easy to tell why UCDA, which was set up specifically to promote coffee production, is to be swallowed up by Maaif. But as farmers, our real mandate is to grow more and more coffee.
On November 11, Daily Monitor published the amazing story of Mr. Joseph Ssekabembe, a resident of Kiryamakobe Village, Madudu Sub-county, Mubende District. It is the story of a very successful coffee farmer who has achieved nearly all his childhood dreams by growing coffee.
He and his family live in a much better house, and they own a beautiful car. According to the story, during the 2023–2024 harvest, Ssekabembe got over 160 bags from some 10 acres of coffee, which could have fetched him well over Shs100 million given the crop’s high prices that season. As the story goes, he has purchased more land, and he now has 32 acres under coffee, although most of the plants are still too young to bear fruit.
As we read in the newspaper, Ssekabembe testified, “I have always attended the coffee training workshops organised by Uganda Coffee Development Authority to get more knowledge about the coffee crop and sought advice from the experienced coffee farmers to get good yields.” He also revealed that he shares ideas with fellow coffee farmers near his home.
If we all follow his example of sharing farming ideas, coffee production is bound to grow even without UCDA.
All coffee farmers should participate in the ongoing registration exercise without any fear that it is solely intended to impose taxes on them. The Coffee Act 2021 requires all coffee farmers to be registered as a measure of streamlining the coffee production and marketing strategy.
The main buyers of our crop live far away, but they are interested in following how it is produced. Registration is one of their ways of traceability.
