Over 2m coffee seedlings up for grabs for farmers in Acholi

________________

Farmers in the Acholi Sub-Region have an opportunity to receive free coffee seedlings this planting season—March, April, and May—with at least 2.5 million seedlings up for distribution. 

The initiative, spearheaded by Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), is in partnership with the National Coffee Resources Research Institute (NaCORI), the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), the Ministry of Water and Environment, and the Roco Pace Initiative, co-chaired by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo and Ambassador Olara Otunu, among others.

The initiative, which began in September last year, followed research confirming that coffee thrives in the Acholi sub-region. The findings also revealed that the area currently has 193 coffee farmers, with the largest plantation—spanning 500 acres—located in Nwoya district.

Eligibility criteria for farmers

Sylvia Damalie Owori, director of operations at OWC, outlined the conditions farmers must meet to qualify for the free seedlings. Each applicant must have dug 450 pits (2x2 metres) for coffee, 120 pits for bananas (for shade), and 30 pits for trees (for shade) per acre of land.

“As the coffee grows, the bananas will provide food, and the trees will offer shade,” she explained.

Owori further revealed that every coffee plantation would be mapped and integrated into a Global Positioning System (GPS).

This will help project harvests, plan for market access and processing facilities, and ensure compliance with the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which bans imports of coffee and other products from land deforested after December 31, 2020.

“We are doing this in partnership with the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance,” she told New Vision, adding, “this time, it is not business as usual.”

The government aims to generate over $10 million from coffee grown in Acholi alone, with plans to expand the initiative to Lango, West Nile, and Karamoja in the next planting season. Farmers are currently registering with local government officials and OWC coordinators.

Northern Uganda, like many regions, is experiencing erratic weather patterns, including prolonged dry spells that threaten crops.

To mitigate these effects, Owori revealed that the Ministry of Water and Environment has allocated sh14 billion to provide underground water for irrigation in the Acholi sub-region.

No seedlings for unserious farmers

Speaking to local leaders in Acholi on February 28, 2025, in Gulu city, Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo emphasised that only serious and hardworking farmers should receive the seedlings.

“The coffee seedlings should only be distributed to genuine farmers, not opportunists who may not commit to proper cultivation practices,” he said.

He also urged local leaders, including district chairpersons, to actively promote coffee farming.

“Use your airtime on local radio stations to educate the masses about this initiative, with the help of technical personnel in your districts,” he appealed.

Nwoya district chairman Emmanuel Orach noted that the district had enacted a malnutrition ordinance that includes coffee and tree planting as strategies for improving household incomes.

He added that many farmers in the district had embraced coffee farming, with their plantations already thriving.

Encourage youth to grow coffee

Oyaro Koyo, 80, a coffee farmer in Layibi Centre A and B, Laroo-Peace Division, Gulu city, urged stakeholders to encourage youth to take up coffee farming rather than labelling them as lazy.

He suggested that exposing young people to successful coffee farmers could inspire them to join the sector.

“I started planting coffee in 2001 after visiting my friend’s farm. That experience motivated me,” he shared.

Daniel Comboni, general secretary of patriotic clubs in Acholi, noted that several schools with arable land had introduced coffee farming training programmes. Institutions such as Sir Samuel Baker School, Pece SS, Favor High School, Sacred Heart SS, and Gulu War-Affected Training Centre are among those already participating.

He recommended that exposure visits be organised for youth in the region to further encourage their involvement in coffee farming.