Ensuring coffee quality will boost returns – stakeholders

Mr Fredie Sekyewa (C), the founder of Hope Coffee explains different coffee processes at his coffee semi-processing plant in Kyotera District. PHOTOS BY ISMAIL MUSA LADU  

In Summary

• Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde, said in a message delivered by Ms Hadijah Nakakande, the ministry’s senior public relation officer, farmers should be reminded of the importance of maintaining high coffee standards because it is what makes the difference in the market.

By ISMAIL MUSA LADU

Kampala. Just like the other 24 districts in the central region, the predominant cash crop in Kyotera is Robusta coffee.
Therefore, there has been growing efforts to improve its quality with the leadership of the district banning drying coffee beans on bare ground.

While presiding over the 7th Annual Coffee Farmers’ Day, Mr Patrick Kintu Kisekulo, the Kyotera District chairman, said drying coffee beans on bare ground compromises quality, which in turn affects returns.
“To ensure quality of our coffee we must be prepared to do basics right,” he said.

Post-harvest coffee handling continues to be a challenge in the value chain across the country.
Instead of using tarpaulins, many farmers just spread out coffee beans on bare ground thus compromising quality.

Speaking at the same function, Mr Joseph Nkandu, the National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises executive director, told Daily Monitor on the sidelines that drying coffee is a crucial step which must be emphasised in the value chain.

“Quality can easily be lost if the drying process is not appropriate. It is basic things such as inappropriate drying that brings down the prices of an otherwise competitive product,” he said.

Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde, said in a message delivered by Ms Hadijah Nakakande, the ministry’s senior public relation officer, farmers should be reminded of the importance of maintaining high coffee standards because it is what makes the difference in the market.