USAID sets aside investment pot for Ugandan coffee

Earlier this month the National Coffee Policy for Uganda received a substantial boost when The United States Agency of International Development (commonly known as USAID) provisionally set aside nearly $500,000 which could eventually be utilised to develop and rejuvenate Uganda’s coffee industry.

There are a number of steps which need to be undertaken first, but this is clearly some welcome news.

According to reports published in the Ugandan press, it is assumed that this money will be initially handled by the National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises, NUCAFE.

Speaking on the tentative agreement, Joseph Nkandu, NUCAFE’s Executive Director, showed his support for the potentially revolutionary deal.

“USAID was instrumental,” he said in a pre-prepared statement to the press.

“Supporting its implementation is a big step forward in creating awareness about it for farmers who influenced its formulation.”

The tone then shifted to not only improving the coffee sector, but expanding it too. He added that more people needed to become involved in all stages of production in order to kick start production of the lucrative cash crop.

It is believed that NUCAFE has been asked to canvass support for new projects that would be implemented by this external funding and would reshape how all areas of the sector work, from the farmers through to the exporters.

“There is a need for a new generation of coffee farmers who are more integrated in the coffee value chain and are able to make better returns on their investments,” Nkandu continued.

“This will help us create many jobs for the majority of youths [in] this country.”

The news comes at a time when Uganda’s domestic coffee market appears to be in decline.

Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.