Lira City, July 15, 2024 – Within just one year of operation, Lango Coffee Traders Cooperative Society Limited in Lango Subregion is making millions of shillings from selling roasted coffee beans to the locals in the region.
The cooperative based in Angwet Angwet cell, Lira City East Division, in Lira City was formed in 2022 but started operations in 2023 after registering with the Registrar of Cooperatives in the Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives [MTIC].
The cooperative buys green coffee beans from farmers and sends it to Kampala for roasting since it doesn’t have a roaster machine and later, members do the packaging themselves from Lira City.
A kilogramme goes for Shs 40,000 while the cooperative intends to have smaller units delivered on the market as one of ensuring that the low-income earners also drink coffee.
Suwed Umar, Chairperson of the cooperative said profits made from selling roasted coffee beans continue to improve the livelihoods of members.
“We buy a kilo at Shs 5,000 from the farmers and then we roast at Shs 2,000 in Kampala because we don’t have our own coffee roaster. Dealing in coffee is a good business because it has created employment, and improved our livelihoods,” said Umar.
Umar said that their intention is to promote coffee growing and consumption in the Lango Subregion.
“Basically, we are aiming at promoting coffee in Lango Subregion by producing seedlings and giving to farmers, then buying coffee from the farmers and taking it for roasting,” added Umar.
According to Umar, the cooperative has so far produced 20,000 seedlings of Robusta coffee and distributed the same to farmers.
In a bid to mitigate the insufficiency of coffee for roasting, the cooperative plans to buy from other districts.
“We intend to buy coffee from other districts like Mbale. At the moment we get we can only manage to get from 200 kilogrammes and yet we need 200 tonnes,” added expressed
He also called upon the people of Lango to support the cooperative by buying the roast coffee as well as to embracing coffee growing, saying the latter activity would improve their livelihoods.
“We are urging the population to embrace coffee since it is a very lucrative business, adding value to it. We also urge the community to buy our products and support us,” said.
David Ojok, a barista at New Times Café at Lira University said he buys roast coffee from the cooperative, which he said has cut off transport costs he used to incur by transporting coffee from Kampala.
Ojok however stated that business at the café gets low when students go for holidays. I have very few university staff who place orders during the holiday period,” added Ojok.
Andrew Okello Awany, the UCDA Coffee Coordinator for Lira City, Lira District, Otuke, and Alebtong said that dealing in coffee has boosted people’s incomes and improved their standards of living.
“Lango Coffee Traders Cooperative Society have become the first cooperative to add value to coffee in Lango Subregion, with some cooperative members and farmers being able to pay school fees for their children. Coffee is reliable, and the farmers who have reaped the benefits are expanding their enterprises,” Okello said
Meanwhile, Richard Okello Odyek, Lira City Commercial Officer said add value brings in more profits than selling green beans.
Okello however called upon farmers to practice commercial farming as opposed to subsistence farming.
“There is need to transit from subsistence farming to commercial farming,” he said, adding that coffee, cocoa, bananas, and cashew nuts are good for commercial farming since they have market worldwide.
He appealed to various stakeholders to join hands in supporting Lango Coffee Traders Cooperative Society so that it can grow to serve more people.
The cooperative that started as a group with only seven members in 2022 now has a total of 46 fully registered members and it is still yearning for more to join, and hope to expand its business lines such coffee brewing.
https://thecooperator.news/ethiopias-coffee-exports-fetch-us-1-43bln-in-revenue/
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