Matsiko’s Well Managed 50-Acre Coffee Farm Earns Him ‘National Best Coffee Farmer Award’

Bwino Kyakulaga (Right), Minister for State for Agriculture hands over the Best Coffee Award to Topher Matsiko a farmer from Gomba at the International Coffee Day Celebrations held in Jinja  

Topher Matsiko, a coffee farmer from Gomba district and a beneficiary of a Matching Grant Scheme under the Coffee and Cocoa Development (COCODEV) Project was crowned best coffee farmer at the International Coffee Day Celebrations held yesterday at the Agricultural Show Grounds in Jinja City.

Matsiko, who was supported by COCODEV to establish a 50-acre coffee farm in Maddu sub county in Gomba district emerged best coffee farmer in Uganda following a countrywide search conducted by officials from the Coffee Department in Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) ahead of International Coffee Day.

The State Minister for Agriculture Kyakulaga Bwiino, handed over the Best Farmer Award to Matsiko during the Coffee Day Celebrations in Jinja.

Rauben Keimusya, the Assistant Commissioner, Division of Crop Production at MAAIF, who headed the verification committee noted that Matsiko’s farm stood out in comparison to the rest because of adherence to good agronomic practices, proper spacing and good shade management.

“Every year we celebrate the International Coffee Day and we award different categories of performers in the coffee value chain, beginning with farmers, processors, exporters and the people who have contributed a lot in the coffee industry,” said Keimusya.

Selection criteria of the best coffee farmer

“In the best farmer category, this year, we based on three major things. One was good agronomic practices on the farm. Second was how are you mitigating the impacts of climate change in coffee. And third we looked at stumping and rehabilitation of coffee as a way of productivity enhancement,” Keimusya explained.

He added that in the whole country, the vetting team selected the best farmers from seven coffee growing regions and thereafter selected the overall winner.

“We award all the seven, then we also have the outstanding one who becomes the coffee farmer of the year. So, this year, Masiko Topher of Masiko Agro Tourism Farm emerged the best,” Keimusya said.

Centre of Excellence

The Judges were impressed by the agronomic practices on the farm and scored him highly.

“He was the best in the first criteria, that is good agronomic practices. His farm is grown under shade and intercropped the coffee with bananas. There are no weeds in the plantation. The spacing is perfect, the spacing for Robusta which is 10 feet by 10 feet. He has put soil and water conservation structures in his farm, so he conserves water as part of climate change mitigation and he has practiced irrigation to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Then his coffee, when you look at it, is green,” Keimusya noted.

The judges were also impressed to see Topher’s farm is open for learning to other farmers, students and the general public, which is very, very good for the sector.

“If you are practicing good agricultural practices, you are doing irrigation, you are doing good spacing, you are growing and you need other people to come and learn. So that one made him as outstanding because he has even made it an agricultural and training farm for people to come and learn from there.”

COCODEV support

Speaking at the event, Matsiko thanked the Ministry of Agriculture for this honour and attributed his win to the unwavering support extended to him through the COCODEV Project. This support enabled him to successfully establish 50 acres of coffee in Gomba District — a milestone that has set him apart as a model farmer in the Greater Mpigi Region.

“I am deeply honored by this recognition from the Ministry of Agriculture. This achievement is a result of collective effort, technical support, and the empowering programs like COCODEV that continue to transform agriculture in Uganda,” said Mr. Matsiko.

Sandra Kamenya, project officer, COCODEV says the win of one of their grantees shows a positive impact and the results that CoCoDev is going to achieve.

“With farmers such as Topher who have been funded to reach this level of national recognition is a plus to COCODEV’s work and commitment to cocoa and coffee production and productivity enhancement, which is one of the result areas of the project,” Kamenya added.

The Coffee and Cocoa Value Chain Development Project (CoCoDev) is an EU funded project boosting production, productivity, post-harvest quality, marketing, and export of coffee and cocoa.

Under Result Area 2, the project focuses on enhancing commercial production and productivity of coffee and cocoa. This involves establishing and implementing a matching grant scheme for commercial producers to promote sustainable production and productivity in targeted Coffee and Cocoa value chains.

Other winners of the International Coffee Day Awards