KWANIA, October 30, 2024 — The Kwania District Woman Member of Parliament [MP], Kenny Auma Lapat has urged farmers in the Lango Subregion to embrace coffee farming, emphasising its potential to improve their livelihoods.
Speaking recently as the chief mourner at the funeral service of the late Jonan Omara in Amwanga A Village, Wigweng Parish, Atongtidi Subcounty, Auma highlighted the struggles many farmers face with low-income seasonal crops like maize and sunflower.
“Currently, many farmers in Lango rotate between maize, soya beans, and cassava, depending on seasonal profitability. I am frustrated by this lack of consistency. I want to encourage you to shift your focus to coffee as a key crop to revitalise our agricultural potential,” she said.
This call for increased coffee cultivation comes in light of ongoing concerns over the declining fortunes of cotton, a traditional cash crop that has long posed challenges for the farmers in Lango Subregion.
Coffee Growing Gains Traction in Lango
Alfred Oyo, Chairperson of the Kwania District Coffee Farmers’ Association, shared his success story, having started coffee farming on 10 acres in 2014 after retiring from civil service.
He noted that his coffee earnings have allowed him to pay school fees for his children and construct a permanent house.
“There is a lot of money in coffee. I have built a residential house, paid my children’s school fees, and I am living a good life. I am appealing to MP Kenny to help us acquire irrigation pumps, pesticides, and herbicides,” Oyo said.
Another farmer, Geoffrey Ogwang of Apyelamot Village in Atongtidi Subcounty, began growing coffee in 2012 after his group received 40,000 seedlings.
“Coffee is the most viable option for us. In 2023, I harvested 5.5 tonnes of coffee and earned Shs 18 million. This year, I hope to earn over Shs 30 million. I urge other farmers to grow coffee,” Ogwang stated.
Coffee was introduced to the Lango Subregion in 1997 under Operation Wealth Creation as an alternative perennial crop to cotton, aiming to combat widespread household poverty. However, its adoption faced setbacks due to perceptions, stemming from British colonialism, that the crop would not thrive in northern Uganda. Today, only a handful of farmers in Lango continue to cultivate coffee.
According to Uganda Coffee Development Authority [UCDA], coffee exports for twelve months [Coffee year 2023/2024] totaled 6.35 million bags worth US$ 1.4 billion compared to 6.14 million bags worth US$ 940.1 million in the previous year [Coffee year 2022/2023].
https://thecooperator.news/uganda-on-track-to-beat-december-deadline-on-coffee-exports-to-eu/
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