Coffee farming: Amuru district official urges farmers to form associations

AMURU– Amuru district agricultural office is rallying coffee farmers in the district to form associations, saying they would help in the economic transformation of the farmers’ households.

Currently, the district has about 100 lead farmers as plans to popularise coffee farming take centre stage.

Simon Komakech, the Amuru district agricultural officer says the plan is to form associations in all the areas where coffee grows well.

So far, a group of farmers totaling 30 in Owadi village, Otici Parish in Guru guru Sub-county have formed the Otici Coffee Growers Association.

Komakech says the lead farmers spread across the various sub-counties in the district will be the model farmers for the good coffee farming practices.

According to Komakech, they have so far mapped out areas with the best soils for the growth of Robusta coffee.

“So far we have tested and found out that Guru guru, Lamogi, Layima, Lakang and Amuru sub-counties are the most suitable for coffee farming unlike other areas like in Elegu, Atiak and parts of Pabo, which have a relatively higher temperature,” Komakech says.

Vincent Loum, the Chairperson of the association says by next year, each member must have at least five acres of coffee. He also plans to plant an additional two acres next year.

“From the few years I have engaged myself in coffee farming, I have achieved some reasonable expectations.  For example, I have noted that from 900 square metre piece of land, one can get about Shs 1.5 million from the sale of coffee beans,” Loum said.

Access to seedlings

Christopher Omoya,  a coffee farmer in Lakang Sub-county says whereas the district wants farmers to form groups,  there’s a need to intensify information and sensitisation campaigns as well improving access to seedlings.

Currently, the farmers in the district have to travel Gulu city to buy seedlings, this Omoya says is costly given the extra costs of transportation among others. A seedling of coffee costs between Shs 300 and Shs 500.

Nixon Oloya, a resident and farmer in Bana, Lakang Sub-county, says there’s a need for the agricultural department to establish coffee seedbeds within the district to save them from incurring extra costs to travel to Gulu city to access seedlings.

“We need the district to help decentralise seed beddings to areas within to boost accessibility.  In these seedbeds, we could as well be taught with management and other required information,” Oloya said.

Recently,  the agricultural department commenced the “coffee days” to sensitise and give more knowledge to farmers who are engaged in coffee farming.

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