Bukedi Region Urged to Embrace Coffee and Cocoa Farming for Poverty Eradication

Vice President Jessica Alupo has called upon the residents of the Bukedi sub-region to pivot towards coffee and cocoa cultivation, urging them to shift their focus from traditional, low-margin annual crops to these more profitable commodities. Speaking at the launch of the Bukedi Coffee and Cocoa Initiative in Tororo, Ms. Alupo highlighted coffee’s significant contribution to Uganda’s foreign exchange earnings and its potential to uplift smallholder farmers from poverty.

“If you can plant flowers around your compound, what is wrong with you replacing the compound flowers with coffee?” Ms. Alupo challenged, emphasizing that coffee or cocoa would provide tangible income that ornamental plants cannot. She noted that historical reliance on crops like cotton, millet, and cassava has made the region susceptible to market volatility and declining soil fertility.

The Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oboth-Oboth, echoed the Vice President’s sentiments, urging Bukedi to emulate other regions that have successfully commercialized coffee farming. He suggested even planting coffee along roadsides to replace grass, with the ultimate goal of enhancing household incomes and contributing to national export growth.

The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, commended early adopters and pointed to government incentives, including subsidized seedlings and training programs, available to support new growers. He stated that Bukedi possesses significant untapped potential in coffee farming that could lift thousands out of poverty.

However, local leaders raised concerns about structural challenges. Tororo North County MP Simon Nicholas Owino appealed to the government to fund decentralized multiplication centers for seedlings, ensuring genetic uniformity and pest resistance, which remains a key challenge for farmers despite their keen interest.

This push for a coffee and cocoa revolution in Bukedi aims to revitalize the region’s agricultural economy and eradicate poverty through strategic, high-value crop adoption. For more details on this initiative, please refer to the Daily Monitor.