Farmers have highly embraced Coffee growing in Luwero and adding value to attract high prices
By Arnest Tumwesige
LUWERO: The expansion of coffee value addition infrastructure in Luwero District is steadily transforming farmer incomes, even as local exporters call for increased financial support to remain competitive in a liberalised market.
District records indicate that more than 140 coffee hulling machines are operational across Luwero, with about 25 concentrated in Luwero Town Council alone. The machines are enabling farmers to transition from selling kiboko (unprocessed) coffee to Fairly Average Quality (FAQ), significantly improving earnings.
Kiboko coffee currently sells at approximately UGX 7,000 per kilogram, while FAQ fetches up to UGX 13,000 per kilogram nearly doubling farm-gate prices.
Semigga Wilberforce, the Luwero District Principal Agriculture Officer, said hulling machines are now present in all the district’s 18 lower local governments, comprising 10 sub-counties and eight town councils. He noted that farmers have increasingly adopted value addition as a standard practice due to the price advantage.
“As a result, most farmers no longer sell coffee with husks. Value addition has become a necessary step before accessing the market,” Semigga explained.
The ongoing construction of the Luwero Coffee Park in Luwero Town Council is expected to further strengthen the district’s position in the coffee value chain. The USD 160 million facility will include advanced grading systems, high-volume storage, and quality management infrastructure to ensure consistency with international standards.
The park is also expected to support processing into ready-to-consume coffee products and provide a packaging line capable of handling multiple coffee varieties produced within the district.
At the production level, the cost of coffee seedlings ranges between UGX 1,500 and UGX 2,500 depending on size. According to district authorities, more than half of the estimated 167,441 households based on the 2024 National Housing and Population Census have embraced coffee farming, driven by improved price incentives.
At the processing stage, Naluggo Margret, manager of a hulling machine in the Kasana Industrial Area, said the facility charges UGX 100 per kilogram and processes approximately 800 kilograms daily.
She noted that farmers often sell their processed coffee directly at the hulling points, where buyers are readily available, while others opt to store their produce until favourable market conditions arise.
“In the past, farmers brought raw coffee seeds, but with improved enforcement of post-harvest handling standards and community vigilance systems, compliance has improved and theft cases have reduced,” Naluggo said.
Among households that have benefited from Coffee is Nakityo Annet’s home found in Bututumula sub county. Nakityo a mother of three has five acres of coffee that have persistently provided a fairly stable income towards the needs of her children.
“I’m glad that after harvesting, I take the coffee to my neighbor who owns a hulling machine. As such, I sell a kilogram at 12,000 to 14,000 UGX depending on the availability in the market,” she told this publication in a phone interview.
Coffee Liberalization bring better income
Despite the gains at the farm level, local coffee exporters say they are struggling to compete with multinational firms that dominate Uganda’s export market.
Katende Edward, Executive Director of the Uganda Development Forum (UDF), said the liberalisation of the coffee sector opened opportunities for farmers but created structural disadvantages for local exporters.
In an interview with GLNA, Katende explained that while farmers now earn up to 85 percent of international coffee prices, local exporters are left competing within a narrow margin of about 15 percent of the market share.
“The liberalisation was beneficial to farmers, and returns have significantly improved. However, local exporters lack the financial capacity to compete with multinational firms,” Katende said.
Uganda currently has more than 95 licensed coffee exporters, with the top 10 largely multinational companies controlling over 75 percent of export volumes.
Local exporters are now lobbying for at least UGX 3.7 billion in immediate financial support, with a long-term target of UGX 18.5 billion in working capital to scale operations and strengthen their market position.
Kakande Aloysious, a former secretary of the defunct Uganda National Coffee Association (UNCA), said the absence of protective measures during the 1996 liberalisation reforms led to the collapse of indigenous export structures.
“UNCA managed only two export cycles before exiting the market. We produce large volumes of coffee, but lack structured marketing systems to sustain local participation in exports,” Kakande said.
He emphasised the need for deliberate policy and financial interventions to ensure that local exporters benefit more equitably from Uganda’s growing coffee sector.
