Leaders and coffee specialists in Bugisu sub- region have attributed low coffee production to old coffee trees that are yielding less and are easily attacked by pests and diseases.
Among the locals in Bugisu, who live around Mt Elgon in the eastern region, Arabica coffee, which stands out as a top tier in the global market, is the most valued cash crop that feeds them, but currently most of the coffee trees have lasted for over 70 years and are yielding less.
According to coffee specialists interviewed by Monitor Publication, the Bugisu sub-region produces approximately 700,000 bags of 60kg each of specialty Arabica coffee, translating to about 42,000,000kg per annum in a good season, yet it can produce more.
This current output accounts for roughly 10 percent of Uganda’s total coffee production and represents about 43 percent of the country’s national Arabica exports.
Mr Alex Kamali, the Director of Gahoyaa Group Investment Ltd, said the region has the capacity to produce up to 1.2million bags provided the smallholder farmers replace the ageing trees with young, high-yielding varieties that are more disease-resistant and able to fight off pests and other coffee illnesses.
‘The new trees are more disease-resistant and able to fight off pests and other coffee illnesses. They also produce higher-quality beans with a unique cup taste, higher outturn and their shorter stature and flexibility make harvesting easier, allowing workers to hand-pick more efficiently and quickly without endangering the plants,’ he said.
Mr Kamali explains that cutting down old coffee trees of over 70 years and replacing them with young ones is necessary because yield and production capacity begin dropping consistently from around 30 years of age.
‘By 50 years, depending on several factors like weather, nutrient supply, and the general care given, many trees barely fruit at all at this age; therefore, replacing these ageing trees with young, high-yielding varieties is extremely essential for several reasons,’ he said.
He says farmers can also renew old, low-yielding coffee trees by cutting them back (stump them) to about 30 to 50 centimetres above the ground at a 45-degree angle.
This process, he says, triggers strong new shoots from the base, allowing the farmer to rejuvenate the plantation without completely replanting.
Arabica coffee is grown on the high-altitude, fertile volcanic slopes of Mount Elgon in the Bugisu sub-region, which consists of 7 districts.
The districts include: Mbale district, Mbale city, Bulambuli, Sironko, Manafa, Bududa and Namisindwa districts, with a total population of 1,8m, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). The subregion is dominated by subsistence farming, and the poverty rate is approximately 28 percent.
Mr Kamali said promoting coffee production by holding smallholder farmer trainings on sustainable farming, post-harvest handling, and flavour profiling will help to increase production, thus fighting poverty.
‘In regard to improving income and value to farmers, we need to emphasise quality, full traceability of coffee and circularity by utilising coffee waste like coffee peelings into organic fertilisers and coffee husks converted into eco-friendly cocking briquettes, creating an alternative income to farmers,’ he said.
The push for the regional campaign to replace old coffee trees to increase production is also one of the priorities highlighted in the document codenamed Bugisu development agenda authored by Bugisu Parliamentary Caucus led by Godfrey Matembu, who is also the MP for Butiru County in Manafwa district.
The district chairperson of Sironko district, Mr Alex Nabende, said farmers are losing money because of reliance on unproductive coffee trees.
‘We need to have a coffee replanting programme. It should be a government policy since this is an initiative that can go a long way to fight household poverty,’ he said.
The recent Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) market information showed that Arabica parchment was going for Shs 16,000 to Shs17,000 per kilogram, yet two years ago it was costing about Shs10,000 to Shs11,000 per kilogram.
Ms Meridah Nandudu, the founder and team lead at Bayaaya Specialty Coffee Ltd, said their survey revealed that in Bugisu, most of the farmers are still maintaining very old coffee trees and are hesitant to cut them.
‘Replacing very old or unproductive trees with healthy, improved planting material is important because younger, well-managed trees can give farmers better yields and improve the overall productivity of their gardens,’ she said.
She said this also allows farmers to introduce varieties that are better adapted to changing climatic conditions and resistant to some pests and diseases.
She, however, says tree age is not the only reason for low production. ‘Low yields are also associated with declining soil fertility, inadequate pruning and stumping, pests and diseases, drought and changing rainfall patterns, poor farm management, and limited access to improved planting materials,’ she said.
She said as a company, they are focusing on women, supporting them to improve coffee quality and understand the value of good agricultural and post-harvest practices.
‘We also promote different processing methods, including washed, natural and honey processing, because Bugisu coffee has the potential to produce distinctive specialty profiles,’ she said.
Mr Godfrey Matembu, MP for Butiru County in Manafwa District, said among the issues they have listed for action from government as MPs from the region is to push the government to support coffee farmers to earn more.
‘This time, we have agreed that Bugisu’s development agenda should rise above political differences. We are working together in advancing shared regional priorities,’ he said.
He said that among other priorities are issues of resettlement of landslide victims, conflicts between Uganda Wildlife Authority and locals, service delivery, infrastructure, education and health-related issues, among others.