The State Minister for Agriculture, Fred Bwino Kyakulaga (Right) is joined by UCDA MD, Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye (Centre) to hand over Espresso machines to Government MDAs and Universities
The State Minister for Agriculture, Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, has declared war against public offices serving non-Ugandan coffee.
“Whenever I go to government offices, I find [coffee] from abroad, being served to government officers. We [export] the green beans, they turn it into (ground) coffee, then they bring it back and all our offices are flooded with that foreign coffee,” Bwino said.
The Minister made the remarks Thursday afternoon while handing over coffee equipment to government institutions and 12 Universities in a move aimed at growing domestic coffee consumption.
The event was held at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) laboratory at UMA Show Grounds, Lugogo.
Bwino lauded UCDA for donating the equipment to the institutions and universities.
The Ministries of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Finance, the Office of the Prime Minister, the National Leadership Institute, Kyankwanzi, State House and the Hotel and Tourism Institute in Jinja are among the other beneficiaries.
The 12 higher institutions of learning that have benefited from the donation include Makerere University, Gulu University, Uganda Martyrs University, Uganda Christian University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Kampala International, Islamic University in Uganda, Kyambogo University, Mountains of the Moon University, Lira University, Muni University and Busitema University. They all have coffee clubs initiated by UCDA that are run by the university students.
Minister Bwino asked UCDA Managing Director, Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye, to consider extending the donation to other government institutions.
He however ordered that the coffee brewed on the donated equipment be Uganda coffee that is bought locally.
“Extend this kind of donation to government offices. I want them to start taking Ugandan coffee. The government institutions that have received these machines should ensure that they procure coffee from local processors so that their staff and stakeholders can appreciate the uniqueness and the richness of Ugandan coffee,” Bwino said.
Data shows that out of the 8 million bags of coffee Uganda produced last year, only 4% was consumed locally.
In the Financial Year 2021/2022, Uganda exported 6.26 million bags of green beans worth US$ 862 million.
As a country, Bwino says that “we can earn more and create employment for youth through promoting value addition to our green coffee beans and popularising domestic coffee consumption.”
“Coffee supports 1.8 million households and 12 million Ugandans derive their livelihood from coffee. However, the majority of the coffee farmers don’t consume what they produce. This leads to lost opportunities in value addition, job creation, and low incomes for farmers. The culture of coffee drinking is just picking up, especially in urban centres. As a sector, we need to scale up the efforts of UCDA and private sector players to grow our domestic market,” Bwino said.
He added: “We need to pick lessons from successful countries like Ethiopia which have a strong culture of coffee consumption. Globally, coffee has become popular among the young population. In the last decade, an increase in disposable income in developed nations and growth in emerging markets such as China has seen a sharp rise in coffee consumption.”
In Uganda, the Minister said there’s visible growth and opportunities in the domestic market should be harnessed.
“Domestic coffee consumption in Uganda stands at 300,000 60-kg bags which is 4% of production and 5% of exports in FY 2021/22. To grow this number further, we need to reach out to the youth and the growing middle class to promote the culture of coffee consumption. I am also aware that there are other coffee products that the National Coffee Research Institute has developed such as Coffee Scrubs, Coffee Oil, and wine that are gaining popularity in the market,” Bwino said.
According to Bwino, UCDA’s visionary leadership has come up with innovative ideas like setting up coffee clubs in Universities to promote domestic coffee consumption and skills development.
He said handing over Espresso machines to Universities is “a milestone we need to celebrate.”
“It will go a long way in bringing the right technology and making it accessible to students to get hands-on training. The cost of coffee equipment is one of the barriers to entry into the coffee business. I am proud to be part of this initiative to support Universities and other institutions with Espresso Machines,” he said.
In June 2022, UCDA gave out wet mills to Arabica processors.
“This kind of support to different value chain actors is critical in improving coffee quality and supporting domestic consumption,” Bwino said.
Drinking Coffee is healthy
He added: “Uganda is one of the few countries that grows both Arabica and Robusta coffee and our quality is the best in the world. I urge you all to make Uganda Coffee your beverage of choice. This is because Uganda coffee is not only the best coffee in the world, but you also get to enjoy its benefits. Health experts recommend 3 cups of coffee a day. This comes with several health benefits such as reducing the risk of diabetes, burning fats, reducing the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and Liver disease. Therefore, placing a coffee machine in government offices has tremendous health benefits for the well-being of our staff. We are exploring opportunities for rolling out this program to all government MDAs.”
UCDA efforts to grow domestic consumption
Speaking at the same event, UCDA boss Dr. Iyamulemye said the Authority is at the helm of inculcating the behaviour of coffee drinking in young people.
“We are telling the youth don’t drink waragi and instead drink coffee because it is healthy. We have coffee clubs in many public and private institutions, where we mobilize and sensitize them about the benefits of coffee but also as a way to make business out of coffee so that when they come out of those institutions, many of them are focused on joining the coffee sector,” he said.
He revealed that UCDA has trained 380 youth in basic quality control in the last 10 years to 2018/19.
“Many of them ended up working for companies exporting coffee. Others became buyers of coffee and exporters because they understood quality,” he said.
He added that 390 youth have been trained in coffee roasting.
He noted that UCDA has also trained several baristas (professional coffee brewers).
“Some end up in cafes and restaurants but others have set up their own companies to train youth in coffee brewing and value addition,” he said.
Dr. Iyamulemye noted that some of the above measures will no doubt increase domestic coffee consumption.
At the same event, UCDA also gave out equipment for coffee stumping including pruning saws and bow saws.
According to UCDA, the average productivity of old trees is 1.3 kg/tree for trees of 8-11 years and 1.0 kg/tree for trees of 12 years and above.
