May 1, 2025 (Uganda Radio Network) –
The program which commenced on Tuesday in Gulu city, Pader and Lamwo districts involves a strategic training of trainers intended to equip agricultural officers and lead farmers with practical knowledge and skills in coffee growing, marketing, post harvest handling and pest and disease control.
The training held in Gulu city at the
Sylvia Owori, the Director Operation Wealth Creation told Uganda Radio Network that the training which will be conducted routinely will help the farmers to continuously get support from agricultural specialists in coffee growing.
According to Owori, the training is part of a broader initiative the government has derived to improve the coffee production sector in the Acholi sub-region where demands for coffee seedlings are rising. She noted that in the past, some farmers received inputs but due to limited skills, they failed to follow the right procedures in coffee growing which ultimately affected their ventures.
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Owori noted that whereas the government has embarked on popularizing coffee growing in the sub-region, in the few years to come, it plans to establishing processing facilities for value addition.
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Owori said at the moment due to the high demand for coffee from farmers in
Winnifred Janny Oyella, the Regional Agricultural Coffee Officer in the
She noted that between 2021/22 Financial year, the demand in greater
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Oyella noted that the government is currently encouraging farmers to adopt clonal coffee which has higher yield that the elite coffee which the government had introduced on the region. The government embarked on the distribution of clonal coffee seedlings in 2021 through the former Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and OWC.
Sarah Kataika, the Director for Policy and Planning at the OWC however appealed to farmers in the sub-region to start coffee growing on a scale they can manage with their financial resources.
“Don’t do too much at ago if you don’t have capacity. Put quarter an acre with manure, next season you add... Go slow but sure,” said Kataika.
She also encouraged the farmers to prioritize shade trees and irrigation to support coffee growing arguing that coffee doesn’t grow well in drought conditions.
In Acholi Sub-region alone, an estimated 5,000 acres of land is currently being used for coffee growing according to data from the OWC. Sylvia Owori on training of trainers Winifred Oyella MAAIF Owori on value addition
Agricultural officers undergo practical training on coffee growing at the
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