Farmers in Hoima district have been cautioned against compromising the quality of their coffee by ensuring that they do not harvest unripe coffee.
Rosemary Mukonyezi, the regional coffee extension officer for Hoima sub-region said harvesting raw coffee not only affects the quality of the final product but also compromises the natural growth cycle of the coffee plants.
Mukonyezi was speaking at a training workshop organized by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) for Kigorobya Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited in Hoima district.
Mukonyezi said some farmers engage in unethical practices by adding coffee husks and pebbles to the beans which compromises the quality of coffee at local and international markets.
She said some farmers have gone to the extent of mixing both Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties and passing it as Arabica coffee.
Mukonyezi advised the farmers to grow drought-resistant but high-yielding coffee types provided by researchers. She notes that everyone involved in the coffee production chain has to register with the Uganda Coffee Development Authority in line with the new Coffee Law and the recent EUDR.
Mukonyezi warned that they are to start making spot inspections in stores and processing plants and whoever will be found dealing in mixed coffee will be penalized accordingly.
She has also cautioned farmers against drying their harvested coffee on bare ground as the practice compromises the quality and the marketability of Uganda’s coffee on the global market.
David Karubanga, the Kigorobya county Member of parliament urged all those engaged in coffee production to register and form cooperatives to help them acquire soft loans to boost their farming businesses.
He noted that joining the cooperatives, will help the farmers to maintain and promote the quality of coffee for local and international markets.
Karubanga demanded that the government through Uganda Coffee Development Authority-UCDAallocates free coffee seedlings to farmers in the sub-county.
Farmers during the meeting too decried the shortage of coffee seedlings in the area and appealed to the government through the Uganda Coffee Development Authority-UCDA to avail them with free seedlings.
Robert Mugisa, the secretary of Kigorobya Coffee farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited explains that the shortage of seedlings is a major setback to coffee farmers in the area.
Antonina Nyamagenyi, a coffee farmer in Kigorobya town council says, the demand for coffee seedlings is too high in the area yet most farmers cant afford to buy the seedlings on their own.
The one-day training attracted coffee farmers, buyers, hullers, farmer inspectors, and those involved in value addition at the various levels.
-URN
