LIRA CITY, July 9, 2025 –– Members of the Lira Youth Coffee Entrepreneurs Cooperative Society Limited have expressed concern that the lack of a coffee hulling machine is hindering their operations.
The cooperative, based in Lira City, purchases coffee cherries from farmers across the Lango Sub-region for value addition. However, according to the Chairperson, David Opio, they are currently using traditional methods, a local mortar and pestle, to remove the outer skin of the cherries. He described the process as both labor-intensive and time-consuming.
“We don’t have a coffee huller because it is too expensive,” Opio said. “At the moment, we manually remove the outer skin using local mortars. We pound the cherries, then grade them before roasting. This delays the entire grinding process.”
He explained that the slow pace of production causes them to lose both money and customers due to delayed deliveries.
“It takes us around two days to fulfil an order. Those buying for home consumption usually wait, but we lose customers who want larger quantities,” he added.
Opio also criticised local leaders for failing to operationalise a government-installed coffee hulling machine in Oyam district, which was intended to support coffee production across the Lango Sub-region.
“The government installed the coffee huller in Oyam to benefit the entire region, but it’s not functional. Leaders are now frustrating the development of the coffee sector,” he said.
Dorcus Alum, the Lira District Agricultural Officer, acknowledged that the lack of a processing facility has negatively affected the coffee market in Lango Subregion.
“In this region, we don’t have a coffee processing facility, which has also led to a disorganised market,” she noted. “In Oyam District, a coffee huller was established under the Agricultural Cluster Development Project [ACDP], but connecting it to electricity has been a challenge.”
Andrew Okello Awany, the Regional Agricultural Officer for Otuke, Lira, and Alebtong, confirmed that there is currently no functioning coffee hulling facility in the Lango Sub-region.
Since 2022, the Lira Youth Coffee Entrepreneurs Cooperative Society Limited has sold a total of 300 kilogrammes of coffee to local hotels, restaurants, and government offices within the sub-region.
Founded in 2019 with 100 youth members, the cooperative now has a total membership of 160.
https://thecooperator.news/nacori-embraces-art-to-boost-coffee-growing-in-northern-uganda/
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