Twenty districts in Uganda will benefit from a sh1.5 billion ($885,000) campaign to increase coffee production from about 2.3 million bags of 60kg in 2006 to about 4.5 million bags in 2015.
The campaign is spearheaded by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), scientists and organisations dealing in coffee.
The districts will acquire clean planting materials, tips on seedling multiplication, better farming practices and post-harvest handling. Farmers would also receive credit.
"With yields currently running between 0.25 to 0.40kg of clean coffee per tree, the first target for the campaign is to increase productivity to between 0.75 to 1.00kg per tree," said Henry Ngabirano, the managing director of UCDA. He said they would empower farmers in negotiating for input purchases, coffee sales and information transfer.
Gerald Ssendaula, the former finance minister, asked UCDA to draft laws to help farmers get rid of middlemen, who adulterate the quality of coffee. He warned farmers against buying seedlings from roadside nurseries, saying such plants take long to mature.
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