Recently, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) which was charged with promoting and overseeing coffee in Uganda was dissolved and its duties absorbed into the Ministry of Agriculture (MAAIF).
The bill and its subsequent passing brought MPs in parliament to literal blows. Prior to that, there were rumours about who would win and who would lose, leaving many of us confused. There was also little to no mention of the farmers on the ground and what the bill would actually mean for them.
To help us understand, Gerald Katabazi of Volcano coffee answers some questions.
Uganda follows Ethiopia as the 2nd largest exporter of Coffee in Africa.
- There was only one amendment to the coffee act and that was to dissolve the Coffee Development Authority and transfer its functions to the Ministry of Agriculture. This was passed into law. What will this translate to on the ground, especially for farmers?
It doesn’t change much on the ground. Farmers will grow and export coffee regardless of MAAIF or UCDA. What a farmer/exporter would need from MAAIF is a phytosanitary certificate while UCDA would come in to perform a final inspection.
The job of both these agencies was to support and boost the coffee sector, however, when UCDA came into operation in 1991, we were producing less than 2 million bags of coffee. Today, 30 years later, we produce about 9 million bags. If they are doing their jobs, can you tell me why that number is not much higher? And why the top exporters from Uganda are foreign owned companies? (Note: When we read that Uganda earns a billion dollars from its coffee, it’s important to put into context where the chunk of that goes.)
Last year I was in Portland for an exhibition and Ethiopia had 7 women selling coffee in their stall and several others directing traffic to them, Rwanda had LED screens showcasing Gorillas, Burundi had something similar, Kenya had the same, Uganda had nothing. However, UCDA had 6 staff present.
If (they) do not have budget for such activities, they should team up with private sector players and we can make a plan to sell the country as a team.
It hurts to see us being outcompeted yet we have a better product. The debate in parliament had nothing to do with coffee.
2. What do you credit for this marginal growth in coffee exports?
Well Ministry of Defence came in heavily and so did the Buganda kingdom. I give them credit.
So the discussions in parliament trying to politicise and draw tribal lines…
You know 2026 is around the corner…
(Hinting at the fact that parliamentarians are looking for votes)
3. There are new EU export rules banning deforestation related products, what does this mean for coffee farmers in Uganda?
Why should we dance to their tune? We’ve been growing Coffee since the 1900s. I’ll give you an example, Ethiopia who is regarded as a coffee powerhouse refused those policies, Kenya did the same, Tanzania is still negotiating. Why do we very quickly jump to accept whatever is suggested?
Of course the policies to go green and mitigate climate change are good but we have been doing this by planting mituba (ficus natalenisis) alongside coffee trees. There are many green ways to farm coffee including shade grown practices that we already know of.
And if the EU rejects our coffee?
There will always be a market for coffee. Think of Asia, South Korea, Japan, China.
4. Should coffee drinkers in Uganda be concerned about these developments?
No, do not get concerned. These policies do not affect consumption. As a player, all I need to do is to get the right type of coffee, bring it to the milling station, add value, roast it, grind it and serve it to you. These policies will not come with a percentage increase tag for the consumer.
5. Finally, we hear a lot about “value addition” and it being the key to Ugandan farmers unlocking better prices. Can’t farmers be offered a better price for simply growing great beans?
Farmers do get competitive prices but the public is not aware. But when we talk of value addition, we are not only talking about consumable products, like roasted beans and the café latte in your cup. Value addition means to keep improving.
This starts with the planting materials, the soil, where you plant, what size of hole, the distance between each plantlet, how you harvest, etc. All this is value addition. It stretches across the value chain, from the crop to the cup.
Volcano coffee supports 145 start-ups, young people doing different activities; some are adding value via grinding, creating facial creams, others opening café’s.
As a sector player, I look at value addition in a broad way. It includes branding, marketing, image improvement, communicating, what we are doing now, you and I talking. Mentioning ‘Specialty coffee from Uganda’ is value addition. This is coffee that has really been taken care of.
For centuries, we’ve been known as a commercial destination, its time to rebrand and be known as a specialty destination. This will increase the price. That’s how you sell a commodity, this is how you sell a nation.