Coffee farming improves livelihoods of PDM beneficiaries in Masaka City

MASAKA CITY, July 10, 2026 — The Parish Development Model [PDM] has significantly improved the livelihoods of thousands of households in Masaka City over the past three financial years.

The PDM is a government initiative launched in February 2022, to move 35 million households in Uganda from subsistence farming to the money economy, with the beneficiaries of the programme receiving a soft loan of Shs 1 million from the Parish Revolving Fund [PRF] to invest in enterprises such as coffee, piggery, dairy, and fish farming among others.

Masaka City is among the 176 local governments across Uganda that have benefited from the PDM. Since the programme’s rollout, the government has disbursed to the city about Shs 8.67 billion in the financial years 2023/2024, 2024/2025 and 2025/2026, to support 8,662 households in the city.

During Thursday’s inspection of PDM enterprises in Kibisi Parish, Nyendo-Mukungwe Division, the Masaka City PDM Focal Person, Sheila Akello, told theCooperator News that the programme has greatly improved household welfare and increased incomes, particularly among beneficiaries engaged in coffee farming, whose prices remain favourable globally.

Akello said that 20 of the city’s 25 parishes have so far received PDM funds to finance viable enterprises, with coffee farming emerging as the most popular investment. She noted that the strong international demand for coffee has enabled many beneficiary households in the city to earn higher incomes during the current season.

“As the PDM Focal Person for Masaka City, I encouraged households to invest in coffee growing because of its high market value. Many previously subsistence households have since transitioned into the money economy,” she said.

Akello added that about 500 rural households in the semi-urban areas of Nyendo-Mukungwe and Kimanya-Kabonera divisions opted for coffee farming despite facing the challenge of inadequate land.

She explained that although Masaka City covers an estimated 89,554 acres, limited land ownership has compelled many households to maximise the use of small plots around their homes. “As a result, PDM beneficiaries have also invested in enterprises such as piggery, goat rearing, dairy farming with Friesian cows, poultry keeping, fish farming, and the cultivation of vegetables, tomatoes, maize, passion fruits and bananas,” she said.

Masaka City Town Clerk Daniel Kaweesa said the city authority has fully integrated the PDM into its development plans, with particular emphasis on strengthening the capacity of beneficiary households.

He said parish chiefs oversee the implementation of the programme and work alongside agricultural extension officers to train beneficiaries on proper enterprise management, prudent utilisation of PDM funds and effective marketing strategies.

Meanwhile, the Masaka Resident City Commissioner, Ahamada Washaki, urged beneficiaries to repay the PDM funds, noting that the programme operates as a revolving fund intended to benefit other households.

Washaki said his office has been monitoring PDM enterprises across the city since the programme began in 2022 and has found that many beneficiaries have utilised the funds productively.

“Continuous monitoring by my office has encouraged many beneficiary households to manage the funds responsibly and begin repaying them,” he said.

However, Akello acknowledged that despite the progress made, some beneficiaries are yet to repay the funds disbursed under the programme.

“We are confident that all the funds will eventually be recovered. So far, Shs 103 million has been recovered from the first batch of beneficiaries, while only three parishes are yet to begin repayments,” she said.

One of the beneficiaries, Moses Kabugo of Kitengeesa village, said he received Shs 1 million under the PDM in 2024, which he invested in coffee seedlings on his one-acre piece of land.

“I thank the government for supporting me through the PDM. This season I harvested 10 bags of coffee from my garden. My household income has increased, and I have even bought a three-wheeled motorcycle to support my farming activities,” he said.

Speaking to theCooperator News in a telephone interview on Thursday, the National PDM Coordinator, Dennis Galabuzi, said the programme has substantially improved the living standards of people at parish level since its launch in 2022.

He said the government is steadily achieving its objective of reducing poverty in communities through increased household incomes and sustainable enterprise development.

Galabuzi also revealed that the government has so far recovered Shs 9.34 billion from about 18,000 beneficiaries across the country, describing the repayments as an indication that the revolving fund is functioning and enabling more households to benefit from the programme.

https://thecooperator.news/masaka-farmers-receive-coffee-seedlings-to-boost-household-incomes/

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