Coffee farmers in the Acholi Sub-region have appealed to the government for the supply of affordable irrigation equipment to tackle drought amidst climate change effects on the environment.
Coffee growing has significantly increased in the Acholi sub region over the past years, with more than 5,000 farmers reportedly engaged in the venture.
Alfred Ojok, a coffee farmer in Pamin Yai Sub-county in Nwoya District says while the region experiences rainfall, the season from November until April is much drier and greatly impacts coffee growing.
Ojok notes that the majority of the coffee trees in the sub-region flower around November when the rains are already ceasing leaving most farmers who rely on rain-fed agriculture in dilemma.
He says that despite some farmers’ attempts to rely on tree shade, mulching, and intercropping with bananas, these efforts are not sustainable. Ojok urged the government to consider supplying affordable irrigation systems such as drip irrigation to support smallholder coffee farmers in the region and combat the long dry spell.
Night Alanyo, another coffee farmer and member of the Pamin-Yai Coffee Growing group in the district equally shares similar concerns. Alanyo says due to the high temperatures experienced in the sub-region, the survival rate of young coffee is always low since most farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture.
She says the extension of an affordable irrigation system coupled with seedlings would solve the challenges of drought affecting farmers in the sub-region.
Okino says the extreme temperatures experienced in the region, account for the low survival rates of young coffee plants and flower abortion in mature coffee trees leading to poor yields and losses.
According to Okino, UCDA has however been helping farmers by offering technical support and supplying banana suckers and shade trees to provide cover for the coffee plants.
He notes that while UCDA has catered for coffee seedlings to farmers, issues of drought remain a big problem that hasn’t been addressed and called for urgent government intervention if the coffee sector in the region is to flourish.
State minister for Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Kenneth Omona during the World Coffee Day celebration held in Gulu City in October, called on the government to consider a special affirmative action for coffee growing in the region.
He also noted that there is a need for the government to expand the extension services to farmers in the region to boost coffee growing.
The government through UCDA intensified interventions on commercial coffee growing in the region especially mid-Northern Uganda in 2012 and has since provided over 30 million coffee seedlings. According to UCDA statistics, currently, 127,184 households in Northern Uganda are growing coffee and producing 962,278 60kg bags of coffee beans per year.
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