Coffee Revolution: 30 Years of UCDA lead Sector Transformation

Coffee is Uganda’s most valuable export crop and production has been rising as a result of UCDA’s interventions in the sector.

Coffee Revolution: 30 Years of UCDAled Sector Transformation

The coffee industry in Uganda has undergone a great transformation over the years. Uganda saw its biggest economic coffee boom in the mid-1970s when a massive frost destroyed a huge Brazilian crop where buyers had a much higher demand for coffee from the rest of the world and Uganda had the supply to meet it. From then, Coffee became the most valuable export and kept the country’s economy flowing for years after, only faltering when global coffee prices crashed in 1987.

riginally introduced in the

Oearly 20th century, Arabica coffee struggled to get embraced as disease ravaged its inception. The then native and undomesticated Robusta, healthier and more resistant to disease, slowly began to dominate the country as smallholder farmers realised its potential through the 1910s and into the 1920s.

The year 1991 was a special one for Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and the coffee sub sector. That was the year that the Authority came into existence through an Act of Parliament. Thirty years later, it is one of the vibrant statutory bodies in the country.

The road to 30 years has been full of tales featuring the coffee wilt disease that almost wiped out the entire crop from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s.

While the crop was almost decimated in the 1990s, with unwavering effort, production was able to bounce back, as acreage grew by 116 per cent to date. Many smallholder farmers, who had previously slashed their shambas in panic and fear, have since replanted and the crop is booming.

Currently, any farmer with 2.5 acres of coffee is able to send children to school, and provide all basic needs at home.

In her 30 years, UCDA has provided planting material, through which a multitude of houses have been financially impacted.

The President on the 31st August 2021, signed the Coffee Bill into law and on 13th September 2021, the National

Coffee Act was gazetted. Coffee is a leading cash crop and prominent Foreign Exchange earner for the country.

The impact of the National Coffee Research Center in Kituuza, Mukono, cannot be underscored. Through the National Coffee Policy, the centre was established, and in partnership with UCDA, has over the years come up with new coffee varieties.

Through UCDA, a state-of-the-art laboratory was set up in Kituuza and has proven to be relevant in detecting disease and multiplication of coffee materials.

A remarkable achievement over the last 30 years is the National Coffee Act. The Law is expected to turn around the coffee sub sector.

Another remarkable achievement was the launch and implementation of the National Coffee Roadmap.

In 2017, President Yoweri Museveni launched the Coffee Roadmap aimed at improving production and exports, boosting value addition and creating an enabling environment for investors.

A key target contained in the roadmap is the production of 20 million 60kg bags by 2025. Planting materials have since been distributed to achieve this with some results starting to register. The Government has distributed over 1.2 billion seedlings to farmers. It is also important to note that new coffee culture is developing steadily, especially among the youth, as domestic consumption shoots up. The quality has likewise improved, and now, the country is ranked number three in terms of quality, on a global scale. This is no mean achievement for the sub sector regulator.

UCDA has placed great emphasis on professionalism, to drive the Government agenda of poverty reduction through increasing household income.

Very importantly, however, there has been mass sensitization of farmers, processors and all stakeholders to guard the quality of their coffee.

UCDA has been at the forefront of training farmers on good agricultural, harvest and post-harvest practices and enforcement where necessary.

Good quality coffee increases incomes for stakeholders and helps Uganda to penetrate deeper markets and attract premium prices.

Going forward, the landscape looks promising. Exports in the FY2020/2021 were 6.08 million 60kg bags worth US$ 559.26 million, up from 5.11 million bags worth US$ 496.28 million the previous year.

Germinating embryo RITAs developing under optimised lighting conditions at NaCORI in, Kituza-Mukono. Basic seed of Coffee Wilt Resistant Robusta Coffee Varieties (CWD-r) under screen house

Coffee ready for export: The Coffee Roadmap is aimed at improving production and exports.

One other notable aid to the good result in the sector is the partnerships UCDA has with other organisations, especially the faith-based institutions, cooperatives, farmer organisations, and district local governments.

The regulator has supported religious institutions to plant coffee on their land, in Dioceses such as West Ankole, North West Ankole, Masaka, Busoga, Rwenzori, Hoima, Luwero and many others.

To stop the export of jobs, along with coffee, as the country’s youth population continues to surge, UCDA is now drumming for investors in the value-addition chain, with a plate of attractive incentives to lure them.

Already, discussions have been concluded with the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), which is the investment arm of the Government.

Seed capital will be provided, along with other incentives to attract people from the private sector to invest in soluble coffee plants.

A multitude of roasters have set up shop, as cottage roasteries dot the skyline of cities and towns, thus attracting Ugandans to drink coffee produced and processed locally. However, the export of value-added coffee requires deeper discussions with several stakeholders both private and public as some countries impose taxes on processed or valueadded products.

There are, however, countries with favourable terms that sub sector players can take advantage of. The Government should hold talks with “source market” governments to reach similar arrangements and increase the market for Uganda coffee.

China has opened up and is importing green beans and finished products. It is a good market, where coffee consumption is growing at 15 per cent compared to the global rate of 2 per cent per annum.

Going forward, the landscape looks promising. Exports in the FY2020/2021 were 6.08 million 60kg bags worth US$ 559.26 million, up from 5.11 million bags worth US$ 496.28 million the previous year.

The year 1991 was a special one for UCDA and the coffee sub sector. That was the year that the Authority came into existence through an Act of Parliament. Thirty years later, it is one of the vibrant statutory bodies in the country.

Uganda’s Coffee Sub sector at a Glance

Coffee is Uganda’s priority commodity and plays a leading role in the livelihoods of many Ugandans contributing on average 30% to the national economy. It supports over 1.8 million farming families in 126 districts. In 2017,Government of Uganda developed a Coffee Roadmap that seeks to accelerate coffee production to 20 million bags of green coffee by the year 2025. Below are some key highlights from the coffee sub sector.

17%

Currently, Uganda earns US$ 550m (UGX 2.1 trillion) from about 4.7 million bags of coffee, which is approximately 17% of the country’s GDP.

1.8m

Number of households involved in coffee production.

126 Districts

Current number coffeegrowing districts. Of these, 88 grow Robusta only, 15 Arabica only while nine districts grow both Robusta and Arabica.

COFFEE PRODUCTION

Quantity (60kg Bags) 8,000,000

7,000,000

6,000,000

5,000,000

4,000,000

3,000,000

2,000,000

3.25

2.89 3.26

3.11 3.91

3.65 3.64 4.55 5.39 5.66 6.95 7.75 8.14

1,000,000

0

FY2015/16FY2014/15FY2013/14FY2012/13FY2011/12FY2010/11FY2009/10FY2009/10 FY2016/17FY2017/18FY2018/19FY2019/20FY2020/21

VOLUME AND VALUE OF EXPORTS (60-KG BAGS AND US$ )

Quantity (60kg Bags) 6,000,000

5,000,000

4,000,000

3,000,000

2,000,000

3.6

3.2 3.6 4.2 4.5 4.2 5.1 6.1

1,000,000

0

FY2013/14 FY2014/15 FY2015/16 FY2016/17 FY2017/18 FY2018/19 FY2019/20 FY2020/21 6,000,000

5,000,000

4,000,000

3,000,000

2,000,000

1,000,000

0

Value (US$ Millions)

DOMESTIC COFFEE CONSUMPTION

One of UCDA’s key mandates is to promote domestic coffee consumption. Over the years, this has been done through training of primary processors, baristas and brewers, quality controllers and university students to equip them with the skills of promoting quality coffee for consumption.

Number of Trainings conducted over the years Category FY2016/17 FY2017/18 FY2018/19 FY2019/20

Primary Processing level 198 293 303 319 Barista 40 147 147 217 Quality Controllers 36 36 45 97 University Interns (students) 43 14 9 26

FY2018/19 FY2017/18 FY2016/17 FY2015/16 FY2014/15 FY2013/14 FY2012/13 FY2010/12 FY2010/11 FY2009/10

244,800

240,000

236,400

229,200

220,800

216,000

210,000

204,000

188,700 533,000

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

HEALTH BENEFITS OF COFFEE

Mental Alertness

Protective against type 2 diabetes

Impressive brain health benefits Protects against Alzheimer’s disease

Assist in management of asthma Lowers the risk of liver cancer by about 40%

Powerful antioxidant

Helps relieve headaches

533,000

Currently, Uganda domestic coffee consumption stands at 533,000 60 Kg Bags and the provisional per capita consumption is at 1.4 kg according to UCDA.

3rd

In 2021, Uganda coffee was ranked 3rd best in quality in the world behind Ethiopia and Kenya by professional coffee tasters in a survey of the top 16 coffee growing countries in the world.

8.1 million 60kg bags

Quantity of coffee production in Uganda in FY 2020/21.