Police’s Exodus SACCO has urged its members to continue growing coffee amidst a recent move by the government to take Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) back to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF).
Exodus SACCO has a membership of over 30,000. These comprise police officers, their spouses, and children.
According to Superintendent of Police Eddy Ssekanjako, the Board Treasurer of the SACCO, a portion of the SACCO membership are coffee farmers.
“With our vision of being the leading SACCO by improving the livelihood of police officers, their spouses, and children, we thank His Excellency, the President of Uganda, for spearheading coffee farming, which is currently one of the strong drivers towards the economic empowerment of our members,” said SP Ssekanjako. SP Ssekanjako made this appeal on the sidelines of the FiRe Awards 2024 at Serena Hotel in Kampala. Exodus SACCO was recognized as 2nd Runner Up under the category of Cooperatives Society.
It is estimated that Uganda has over 2.5 million coffee growers. Last year, coffee exports earned Uganda US$1.14 billion dollars.
Therefore, SP Ssekanjako said, “We ask our members to continue growing coffee. We also appeal to members to join the coffee value chain as a farmer, exporter, roaster, or buyer. The numbers in coffee don’t lie.”
SP Ssekanjako appealed to the government “to support coffee farmers with disease-resistant seedlings.”
“Our members are ready to take up this opportunity in a bid to grow household income and improve the welfare of our members in line with our strategic plan,” he added.
As Exodus SACCO, SP Ssekanjako said, “We are ready to walk this journey with the government, and we thank His Excellency (Emwanyi Terimba) as we plan for enjoying financial freedom after retirement.”
