HOIMA, July 31, 2026 — Leaders of Kigorobya Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited in Hoima district have called on the Government of Uganda to provide coffee seedlings to the cooperative’s members ahead of the forthcoming planting season.
The leaders say many coffee farmers are struggling to access quality seedlings, a challenge they say is hindering efforts to engage in production of Uganda’s top cash crop, and one of the leading foreign exchange earners for the country.
Speaking to theCooperator News on Monday, Patrick Isingoma, the cooperative’s Secretary, said obtaining quality coffee seedlings remains both difficult and expensive.
“There are very few certified suppliers of coffee seedlings. One supplier in our area charges Shs 2,000 per seedling,” he said.
He explained that a farmer intending to plant 400 seedlings would have to spend about Shs 800,000, an amount that many smallholder farmers cannot afford.
“As a result, some farmers are forced to transplant seedlings that germinate naturally in their coffee gardens,” Isingoma added.
He said many farmers had responded to President Yoweri Museveni’s call to embrace commercial agriculture, but lacked the financial capacity to purchase quality planting materials.
“We appeal to the government to reconsider supporting farmers with coffee seedlings so that we can increase production,” he said.
Jimmy Tibagwa, a coffee farmer and mobiliser for the Kyabisagazi Coffee Farmers Group, said he had prepared three acres of land for coffee cultivation but had been unable to secure seedlings.
He said he had already spent more than Shs 1 million on land preparation and digging planting holes, but fears the August–October planting season could pass without him planting because of the shortage of quality coffee seedlings.
According to Tibagwa, farmers previously obtained coffee seedlings through the former Uganda Coffee Development Authority [UCDA].
He said that after UCDA stopped distributing seedlings, farmers turned to local suppliers, many of whom were later barred from supplying planting materials because they had not been certified by the government.
David Karubanga, the former Kigorobya County Member of Parliament and a member of Kigorobya Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited, confirmed the farmers’ concerns.
He said many farmers had already prepared land for coffee plantations but had nowhere to obtain quality seedlings.
“Farmers are eager to grow coffee, but they cannot access seedlings. In the past, farmers planted elite coffee varieties, but today they are encouraged to grow cloned coffee seedlings that are resistant to coffee wilt disease. Unfortunately, these seedlings are scarce,” Karubanga said.
Hoima District Senior Production Officer Charles Kajura said the government no longer funds the distribution of coffee seedlings.
Instead, he urged farmers to utilise the Parish Development Model [PDM] to access funds that can help them purchase certified coffee seedlings.
Uganda’s coffee sector continues to benefit from targeted investments in farmer capacity building, extension support, planting material distribution, and regulatory enforcement aimed at enhancing productivity, quality and sustainability across the value chain
According to the latest Coffee Market Report released by the Agriculture ministry, coffee exports for twelve months [June 2025-May 2026] totaled 8.6 million 60-kg bags worth US$ 2.3 billion Shs 8.3 trillion] compared to 7.4 million 60-kg bags worth US$ 2.1 billion [Shs 7.7trn] in the previous year [June 2024 – May 2025], an increase of 16 percent and 11 percent in quantity and value respectively.
https://thecooperator.news/hoima-pdm-saccos-to-repeat-elections-over-transparency-biodata-concerns/
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