Gov’t faulted as coffee seedlings in Kalaki wither amid prolonged dry spell

KALAKI, September 9, 2026 — The leadership of Otuboi Subcounty in Kalaki district has raised concern over millions of coffee seedlings that have dried up in farmers’ gardens, blaming the losses on poor timing of the government distribution and a prolonged dry spell.

The concern was raised during a community baraza attended by hundreds of residents, local leaders and extension workers on Tuesday.

Julius Agiru, the Otuboi Sub-county LCIII Chairperson, said the government distributed millions of high-value coffee seedlings to farmers at the height of a harsh dry season without adequate preparation or guidance on how to keep the plants alive.

“Government brought these seedlings when the sun was already too hot. Farmers had no water and no means of irrigation. Now all the seedlings in the gardens have dried up,” Agiru said.

He said the losses had left many farmers frustrated, particularly those who had cleared large areas of land in anticipation of joining the coffee economy.

According to Agiru, the seedlings were supplied under the government’s wealth creation programme, which is aimed at boosting household incomes. However, he said poor timing had turned the initiative into a loss for farmers.

Agiru warned that failure to support farmers who had lost their seedlings could undermine efforts to promote coffee growing in the area.

“If we don’t support the farmers who have lost their seedlings, we shall kill the morale for coffee growing completely,” Agiru said.

Meanwhile, Francis Ochioma, the Kalaki District Production Officer, said the incident highlights a broader challenge facing smallholder farmers who depend almost entirely on rain-fed agriculture.

“Our farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture. They cannot afford modern irrigation systems, which are very expensive to install and maintain. When we distribute seedlings without aligning with the seasonal calendar, we set them up for failure,” Ochioma said.

He added that while the government was promoting wealth creation and commercial agriculture, poor coordination between seedling distribution schedules and weather patterns could result in public funds being wasted on plants that subsequently wither.

Farmers who attended the baraza urged the government not only to replace the lost seedlings but also to align future distributions with the onset of the rainy season and provide water-harvesting technologies.

“We borrowed money to prepare gardens. Now we have nothing to show,” said Rose Abeja, one of the farmers.

Daniel Okiror, another affected farmer, said he planted more than 300 seedlings supplied under the government programme and spent his savings preparing the garden, only to watch the seedlings dry up in less than three weeks.

“I cleared the land, bought manure and hired labour to plant. I watered them using jerrycans for the first few days, but the sun was too much. Now everything is gone,” Okiror said.

He said he was now left with a bare garden and debts, with no assurance that the seedlings would be replaced.

The local leaders are calling on the government to consider compensating affected farmers or replacing the seedlings during the next rainy season. They also want farmers to be trained in water harvesting and shade management to minimise losses in future.

Background

The Ugandan government launched a major campaign in June 2026 to distribute over 80 million coffee, cocoa, and banana seedlings across Teso Subregion, including Kalaki district, to shift the subregion from cotton and citrus farming to commercial coffee production. However, recent dry spells have caused many distributed seedlings to wither in gardens, prompting farmers to request better irrigation and timing.

In 2017 Uganda adopted the Uganda Coffee Roadmap, a national plan to increase coffee production to 20 million bags and export earnings to US$1.5-2.2 billion by 2030. A recent report from the Agriculture ministry shows the country’s coffee exports for twelve months [August 2025-July 2026] totaled 8.2 million 60-kilogramme bags worth US$ 2.13 billion Shs 7.7 trillion.

https://thecooperator.news/how-the-shs-15-trillion-plan-will-transform-drought-hit-karamoja/

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