How Lwevuze is minting money from coffee

The recent acquisition of a solar-powered irrigation system and a high-horse power generator to enhance irrigation on his 10-acre coffee farm are a result of resilience, hard work, and favourable coffee market prices.

Mr Lwevuze counts himself among the beneficiaries of the coffee boom after harvesting and selling more than 50 bags and earning more than Shs50 million this year.

“The coffee sale prices are so far the best in a span of more than 20 years of the coffee farming business. I started with six acres but now cultivate 10 acres of the coffee crop. I wanted to upgrade my farming to have a good irrigation system for the coffee gardens, I have now installed a better system backed up by a high-horsepower generator,” he says.

He says he sells a kilogramme of processed coffee at between Shs12,500 and Shs13,500.

Mr Lwevuze believes that coffee has many advantages and cannot be substituted for many of the other commercial crops . 

He says he has coffee plants that are more than 15 years old and are still productive, unlike the other crops that hardly survive after five years.

Mr Lwevuze’s farm has become a model learning centre, attracting an average of 300 farmers who visit to learn improved farming techniques. 

The organic manure produced from his poultry project has allowed him to reduce the use of synthetic inputs, including chemicals and fertilisers.

A keen follower of the coffee markets and farming trends, Mr Lwevuze attributes his success to learning new ideas each day.

“The ongoing coffee boom is for the lucky farmers that have acknowledged the fact that farming is a good job that competes favourably with the paying jobs. Four years ago, the coffee prices were not good but a coffee farmer still earned something from his sweat. Because I had hoped for better prices in the future, I jealously took care of the coffee plants. The boom is for the real farmers,” he says.

Mr Lwevuze’s farm is located in the cattle corridor, a semi-arid area where crops need additional water beyond seasonal rains for survival. 

In 2019, he implemented an irrigation programme to help the soil retain moisture during dry spells.

An average irrigation system to irrigate a 10-acre garden can go for more than Shs30m at open market price.

“I bought a small irrigation pump to secure the hard work at the coffee gardens. I felt some relief from using a jerry can and plastic bottles to the pump. My heart still craved an average water pump and irrigation system that could cover the entire coffee garden in a shorter time. My prayers were answered after 2024 coffee sales,” he says.

Mr Lwevuze says the proceeds from the coffee sales enabled him to build a house and improve on several other money-generating projects in Ntangala Village.

Other projects

From the coffee proceeds, he has set up a poultry project, which currently has 2,800 chicks on top of the older project that had 3,000 birds.

He collects an average of 25 trays of eggs per day and employs five workers.

“We also earn some money from the sale of bananas and the eggs at the farm. These particular projects are a result of the coffee gardens that enabled me to navigate the loans that farmers acquire from money lenders and commercial banks. I borrow from the coffee account to fund the poultry project but ensure that the money is paid back,” he says.

Mr Lwevuze says he was inspired to join coffee farming by his parents who had a coffee garden from which they earned money to send their children to school.

“My first labour force at the garden was my children and my wife. We worked tirelessly but always ensured that we benefited from the garden sweat. My parents sustained us and paid our school fees from the coffee proceeds. I was not new to coffee farming,” he says.

Mr Lwevuze says many farmers do not see the value in coffee farming. To overcome this, he invites his colleagues to learn effective farming practices from him and has led efforts to make Ntangala Village in Luweero District a model for successful coffee farming.

“A big number of my neighbouring community are coffee farmers and practice some of the modern farming aspects that I have taught them. You can only be a good farmer, safe from community criticism if you share knowledge and help your neighbours realise the hidden treasure in the farming World,” he says.

The St Joseph Ntagala Rural Farmer Training Centre, owned by Mr Lwevuze, is open to the community for skill-building opportunities. 

But farmers outside the immediate community pay a fee for the Centre's training services.

The St Joseph Ntagala Rural Farmer Training Centre owned by Mr Lwevuze is open to the community to gain skills but farmers outside his immediate community pay some money for the training services at the Centre.

“We have never failed to sell the coffee beans in any one single season. As a result of the coffee fluctuating prices, a coffee farmer is at liberty to store his coffee in anticipation of good price sales. The opportunity with the coffee farmers is that of being able to get the market at any time of the year,” he says.

Unlike many coffee farmers who sell the raw beans, Mr Lwevuze dries and processes the coffee beans before selling them.

“I don’t sell my coffee in kiboko form. This is where most of our farmers belong and are unable to realise extra money generated from sale of the dry and processed beans,” he says.

Mr Lwevuze says the ongoing coffee farmer registration process is meant to professionalise the coffee industry to meet the export market standards.

“We should register for the good of our coffee industry. We cannot consume our own coffee but depend on the European markets. We should embrace the registration process,” he says.

“Many people fear and are afraid to transport their coffee beans for processing. They deny themselves the chance of earning more and making a good bargain before the dealers,” he says.

Mr Lwevuze is struggling with coffee diseases, including Coffee Wilt, which poses a serious threat to coffee growers.

He urges the government to establish specialised financial institutions that provide accessible credit to farmers. 

Additionally, he notes that farmers often lack information about the coffee value chain and face land ownership issues that lead to illegal evictions and the loss of their farms.

The Luweero District Agriculture Officer, Mr Wilberforce Ssemigga, says the fair market prices have left a smile on the faces of farmers and give a chance for others in Luweero to improve farming practices for better output.

COFFEE FARMING IN LUWEERO

Luweero District is home to more than 13,000 coffee farmers, many of whom are now part of cooperative societies and individual farming households, according to statistics from the District Production Office.

Uganda recently reported an increase in coffee export volume and value, with the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) noting that the country earned $221.63 million in August, up from $210 million in July 2024.

Globally, Uganda ranks as the seventh largest coffee producer and is the second largest in Africa, with around 1.8 million smallholder farmers cultivating coffee on 353,907 hectares.