Stakeholders in the coffee production value chain have been urged to generate strategies that will promote domestic coffee consumption. This is aimed at increasing the coffee market and ensure sustainable coffee production in Uganda.

Coffee Famers, coffee shops, buyers among others have particularly been tasked to remove barriers to the consumption potential of coffee which according to The National Coffee Platform members, has more advantages in adding value, demand, market and good prices for farmers.

During a recent virtual meeting to discuss the recently passed National Coffee Bill, 2018,  Carlos H. Brando, a member of the National Coffee Platform and a Partner at P& A, Brazil, said that to boost the coffee value chain, stakeholders need to look at the advantages of domestic coffee consumption compared to green coffee export.

He said if value is added to the green coffee along the value chain, it will create a big market locally.

“The advantages of domestic coffee consumption with popularise coffee shops through increased demand, and a captive market while giving opportunity to add value and protecting against exchange rates (fluctuations). This will result into better prices,” he said.

In a statement from the Global Coffee Platform, members have called upon urgent global collective action to overcome the low international price crisis which they say is threatening the lives of millions of smallholder coffee farmers, the environment and the coffee industry itself.

The over 140 members of  Global Coffee Platform stated, “current and persistent low international coffee prices have caused severe damages to the viability of sustainable coffee production and are harming coffee farming families.”

The group has joined other sustainability-focused organizations, producer representatives, trade associations and other NGOs in calling for immediate and collective action regarding the price crisis.

Parliament of Uganda recently passed the National Coffee Bill, 2018 that provides for registration of coffee farmers by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).

The registration of farmers will entail capturing details of the size of land, number of coffee trees, particulars of a farmer, coffee buyers, sellers and nursery bed operators.

The Bill repeals and replaces the Uganda Coffee Development Authority Act, Cap. 325, which was enacted in 1991 and only covered off-farm activities of marketing and processing, leaving on-farm activities like planting materials, nurseries, harvesting and post-harvesting handling outside the scope of the law.

According to the Bill, registration of farmers will be free and each registered farmer will be given an identification number.

The Bill provides that for a person to be registered, “he or she shall either be growing coffee at the time of registration or shall have proof of his or her intention to commence growing coffee within a period of six months, from the date of registration.”

The Bill aims at reforming the law to provide for Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) to regulate, promote and oversee the coffee sub-sector and to regulate all on-farm and off-farm activities in the coffee value chain.

The Bill will help in comprehensive planning for coffee farmers when it comes to linking buyers and farmers, setting up irrigation systems, provision of planting materials and extension services.

By Drake Nyamugabwa