By Our Reporter
Coffee farmers in Kitgum District are struggling to water their coffee plantations during prolonged dry spells, a challenge that is threatening a crop that many had pinned their hopes on for better livelihoods.
Over the past few years, hundreds of farmers across the Acholi sub-region have turned to coffee farming, encouraged by district authorities and agriculture extension officers, who saw the crop as a potential driver of income diversification.
But due to the erratic rainfall resulting from the effects of climate change, farmers have to rely on hand irrigation from shallow wells and streams to water hundreds of coffee trees per acre.
Joyce Layet, a coffee farmer in Kenya West village, Para parish in Omiya Anyima West, said she lost all the coffee seedlings she planted in the past two years due to drought.
“You know the coffee seedlings are many, so you can’t manually water them one after the other, and it is costly to employ people to water the plants,” Layet said.
Many farmers in northern Uganda are being told that coffee is the new gold, and hundreds are investing a lot of time and money in it, but without water, the young plants cannot survive.
Women farmers, who provide most of the labour in coffee gardens, say the drought has made their burden heavier as they spend hours fetching water for their plants, often at the expense of other household chores.
In 2024, Richard Komakec, a farmer in Burlela Village, Pachua parish, Mucwini West sub-county, planted more than 750 coffee seedlings, but because of drought, all dried up and he is left with only about 20 coffee trees standing.
Komakech said farmers in northern Uganda are used to rain-fed agriculture, and carrying water to irrigate acres of land is not only new but an uphill task for them.
Because the initial coffee garden was scorched by the sun’s heat, Komakech said he has decided to open another coffee farm, but nearer to a borehole, where he can fetch water and irrigate it in case of drought.
John Owoo, Otekayot, a farmer in Twonokun village, Akara parish in Mucwini Sub County, planted an acre in April, sowing 230 seedlings, and although they all look well, he is worried about the drying season.
“It is costly just like any project, but he rests on the assurance that in future I will reap the benefits,” Otekayot said.
Denish Ocira, the Kitgum district production officer, acknowledged seeing farmers struggling with irrigating their crops, with many relying on the drip method, which is time consuming.
Ocira revealed that the production and forestry department is considering introducing the use of indigenous trees to serve as shade trees.
He argued that many of the shade trees being suggested to coffee farmers are imported and do not grow well here to provide the desired results.
Currently, many farmers are being advised to plant matooke, a type of banana that does well in central and western Uganda, as well as Albizia Coriaria as shade trees.
However, Ocira explained that both matooke and coffee are relatively new crops in the region, and introducing them at once to farmers means more challenges to manoeuvre at once.
He said the department is exploring the use of trees that have already adapted, like the teak tree, to help, and other indigenous trees that are noninvasive or too shady.
Agronomists explain that tree shades in coffee farms help in regulating temperature, humidity and sunlight exposure, creating a more stable microclimate for coffee plants.
Besides, the shade trees prevent soil erosion by reducing the impact of rain and wind, while the leaf litter, which decomposes, improves soil organic matter. And by reducing evaporation and improving soil structure, shade trees help the garden to retain moisture, which is critical in drought-prone regions.
There are currently 145 registered coffee farmers in Kitgum district.
