Coffee, cocoa farmers in Ibanda receive free govt fertilisers
Andrew Mugabe, the regional agriculture officer attached to Ibanda district, said 736 coffee farmers and 63 cocoa growers from across the district received the free fertilisers.
Coffee farmers from Bisheshe Division in Ibanda Municipality collect their fertiliser at the district offices on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Stephen Nuwagira)
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Coffee and cocoa farmers in Ibanda district have called for more government support, saying the two sectors need targeted interventions to boost productivity and competitiveness.
The call came as the Government distributed free fertilisers to farmers in the two sectors to boost crop production and encourage the use of fertilisers.
Andrew Mugabe, the regional agriculture officer attached to Ibanda district, said 736 coffee farmers and 63 cocoa growers from across the district received the free fertilisers.
Mugabe said the beneficiaries mainly included Parish Development Model (PDM) beneficiaries, cooperative societies and demonstration farmers. He was speaking on October 2, 2026, during the distribution exercise at the district offices in Ibanda town.
Ibanda received 900 50kg bags of organic fertilisers from the Ministry of Agriculture for distribution to farmers as part of a nationwide Government intervention to support the two sectors.
Subsidies
Patience Katungye Akampa of Bisheshe Coffee Producers Association (BICOPA) thanked the government for the support, but said most cooperative members did not receive the free fertilisers because the group was allocated only 50 bags.
“The cooperative has over 300 members, so those that didn’t get it are not happy,” said Akampa.
She urged the government to consider supplying subsidised organic fertilisers to farmer cooperatives, explaining that most coffee farmers cannot afford the high prices of fertilisers on the open market.
She added that farmers prefer organic fertilisers, saying inorganic fertilisers were destroying soils.
Januario Katungwensi, the chairperson of Kashangura Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative, voiced similar sentiments, adding that the intervention was timely and would boost coffee production and quality.
Ibanda produces about 15,000 tonnes of coffee annually, generating more than sh178bn in revenue, according to the story.
Coffee is one of the enterprises the district is promoting to fight poverty among households. Other promoted enterprises include banana growing, dairy farming and piggery.
The acreage under coffee production totals more than 28,000 acres.
Although coffee is largely grown by smallholder farmers, Mugabe said many farmers had been expanding their plantations.
“So, we expect the production will have more than doubled in three years compared to current volumes," said Mugabe.
Rose Atusasire, the assistant district agriculture officer in charge of the district coffee cooperative, urged coffee farmers to join cooperatives to ease access to inputs at subsidised rates.