Young people at the London Coffee Fest
By Dr. Ian Clarke
I have come to the London Coffee Fest once again this year, this time with a bunch of lovely Ugandan young people involved in the coffee industry. The trip is sponsored by the UK International Trade Centre whom we have been working with to develop the coffee trade between Uganda and the United Kingdom. Some of us came last year to promote Ugandan coffee, and this year the program has been expanded.
As those who read this column regularly will know, I am a passionate exponent for Ugandan coffee, not only because I grow it myself, but because of what it can do for Uganda in the development of the economy. The stated government goal of growing our coffee exports to 20,000,000 bags may seem rather ambitious, but we have already made giant strides in increasing the value of our coffee exports, due to a dramatic increase in the price. Hence, we simply need to continue growing our volumes, and our export earnings from coffee production will be significant. There has also been good progress in developing value addition products, such as liquid coffee, and there has been an increase in the volume of coffee roasted within Uganda itself.
The purpose of participating in the London Coffee Fest is to showcase Ugandan coffee in order that it becomes a known brand. Hence we have come with samples of green bean and roast coffee branded with the Ugandan logo in order that the public can sample the fine coffee that originates from Uganda. The London Coffee Fest is geared towards coffee shop businesses so we have brought coffee from various cooperatives, farms and exporters so that people in the UK can sample the rich array of coffees we produce in Uganda. This year it is not just the old coffee hands who have attended, but young Ugandans who are involved in the trade. Mimi and Jonathan, a Ugandan couple, have come with their nine-month-old baby because they founded a company called Dream Coffee, exporting coffee and cocoa to Europe.
There are also some large Ugandan companies represented, such as Kyagalani Coffee, and some small Ugandan companies like Kwezi Coffee, owned and run by Barbara Mugeni. The large-scale coffee farmers (LSCFA) is being represented by another young woman, Patricia Namatovu, who has become an expert on the logistics of consolidation and export of coffee from Uganda. We also have Kenneth Barigye from Mountain Harvest Coffee which has won many prizes for high Arabica quality coffee.
Before leaving for this trip, I attended a seminar run by Stanbic Bank and MAAIF, highlighting the importance of Agribusiness to the development of the Ugandan economy, with speakers from the sugar sector, the milk industry, fisheries and coffee. It was pointed out that the production of sugarcane could be doubled simply by paying more attention to the quality of the sugar cane produced by the farmers. Apparently, a Sugar Council is being set up to bring some more regulation to the industry. (This has been passed through Parliament and is currently awaiting assent from the President). If it provides sensible measures for regulation and quality control across the industry, it will be a step in the right direction.
Although the initiatives being developed around value addition in coffee, such as the production of liquid coffee and instant coffee, are good, we could make more gains for the farmers themselves if we developed measures to ensure quality through improved training in agronomy and coffee management. Improved quality results in higher quality and improved yields, giving more money to the farmers.
Recently we have had a spate of thefts on my farm in which gangs of thieves armed with machetes have come to strip and steal the unripe coffee. We have engaged the RDC, the police and the Local Council Chairmen and have had excellent cooperation to stamp out this practice. But as long as there are Ugandan middlemen prepared to buy such coffee, there will be thieves prepared to steal it. This is the dark side of the coffee business, but the bright side is that young Ugandans are in London promoting Ugandan coffee and building businesses. These businesses are branding and publicising our coffee, paying premium prices and thus providing livelihoods for thousands of rural farmers.
The writer is an entrepreneur in Uganda.
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