Coffee Plantation in Buhirigi Village in Hoima District. Farmers in Hoima have been tasked to esnure quality coffee production. Photo by Emmanuel Okello.
Farmers in Hoima district have
been cautioned against compromising the quality of their coffee by ensuring that
they do not harvest unripe coffee.
Rosemary Mukonyezi, the regional
coffee extension officer for Hoima sub-region said harvesting raw coffee not only affects the quality of the
final product but also compromises the natural growth cycle of the coffee plants.
Mukonyezi was speaking at a training workshop organized by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) for Kigorobya
Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited in
Hoima district.
Mukonyezi said some farmers engage in unethical practices by adding
coffee husks and pebbles to the beans which compromises the quality of
coffee at local and international markets.
She said some farmers have gone to the extent of mixing both Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties and passing it as Arabica coffee.
Mukonyezi advised the farmers to
grow drought-resistant but high-yielding coffee types provided by researchers.
She notes that everyone involved in the coffee production chain has to register with
the Uganda Coffee Development Authority in line with the new Coffee Law and the recent EUDR.
Mukonyezi warned that they are to
start making spot inspections in stores and processing plants and whoever will
be found dealing in mixed coffee will be penalized accordingly.
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She has also cautioned farmers against
drying their harvested coffee on bare ground as the practice compromises the
quality and the marketability of Uganda’s coffee on the global market.
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David Karubanga, the Kigorobya
county Member of parliament urged all those engaged in coffee
production to register and form cooperatives to help them acquire soft loans to boost their farming businesses.
He noted that joining the
cooperatives, will help the farmers to maintain and promote the quality of
coffee for local and international markets.
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Karubanga demanded that the government through
Uganda Coffee Development Authority-UCDAallocates free coffee seedlings to farmers
in the sub-county.
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Farmers during the meeting too decried
the shortage of coffee seedlings in the area and appealed to the government
through the Uganda Coffee Development Authority-UCDA to avail them with free seedlings.
Robert Mugisa, the secretary of Kigorobya
Coffee farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited explains that the shortage of seedlings
is a major setback to coffee farmers in the area.
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Antonina Nyamagenyi, a coffee
farmer in Kigorobya town council says, the demand for coffee seedlings is too
high in the area yet most farmers cant afford to buy the seedlings on their
own.
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The one-day training attracted coffee
farmers, buyers, hullers, farmer inspectors, and those involved in value
addition at the various levels.
