Bishop urges Bunyoro residents to embrace coffee and cocoa farming
HOIMA, January 26, 2026 — The Bishop of Bunyoro Kitara Diocese, Rt. Rev. Jacob Ateirweho, has called on Christians and residents of the Bunyoro Sub-region to embrace coffee and cocoa farming as a pathway to socio-economic transformation.
Bishop Ateirweho said there was a need for Christians and the wider community to actively participate in efforts to fight poverty in order to improve their livelihoods and take better care of their families.
He noted that as government continues to implement poverty-alleviation programmes such as the Parish Development Model, Emyooga, the Youth Livelihood Programme, Operation Wealth Creation and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme [UWEP], beneficiaries should wisely utilise the funds to invest in productive ventures, particularly coffee and cocoa farming.
According to the bishop, the two crops are easy to manage and do not require heavy financial investment, yet they offer reliable returns that can significantly boost household incomes.
He pointed out that coffee, in particular, offers more stable and attractive prices compared to crops such as beans, maize and sugarcane. “I encourage you to invest in coffee growing because the prices are good and relatively stable. Unlike beans or maize, well-maintained coffee can yield up to Shs20 million per acre annually,” he said.
Bishop Ateirweho revealed that the diocese has already launched a coffee and cocoa growing campaign, with plans to expand cultivation to more than 200 acres of coffee and over 50 acres of cocoa within the next five years.
He added that the church was taking the message directly to Christians to ensure they engage in coffee and cocoa production as a means of improving household incomes.
The bishop made the remarks during a recent confirmation service at All Saints’ Church in Hoima City, where he confirmed 152 Christians into the Anglican faith.
He also urged residents of Bunyoro and Ugandans at large to forgive and forget the divisions and wrongs that occurred during the presidential and parliamentary elections in order to promote peace and national unity.
Bishop Ateirweho said incidents of insults, provocation and malice during political campaigns and on election day had left many people emotionally wounded, and called on citizens to reconcile and work together to move the country forward.
The Vicar of All Saints’ Church, Joshua Wabyona, commended the bishop for preaching messages of peace and wealth creation. He said the parish had acquired more than 10 acres of land and planned to begin planting coffee and cocoa later this year.
Coffee growing in the Bunyoro subregion is a vital, expanding, and heavily promoted agricultural activity, particularly in districts like Kakumiro and Kikuube, focusing on Robusta coffee to boost household incomes. The region benefits from favorable, fertile tropical conditions, with active rehabilitation programmes from the National Agricultural Organisation under the Agriculture ministry which distributes fertilisers and high-yielding, wilt-resistant seedlings.
https://thecooperator.news/uganda-fetches-shs-8-8trn-from-coffee-exports-in-one-year-report/
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