Lira, Uganda | The Government of Uganda has stepped up efforts to combat poverty in northern Uganda with the distribution of 20,000 Clonal Robusta coffee seedlings to 45 selected farmers in Lira City, as part of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s nationwide campaign to promote high-value perennial crops.
The seedlings, valued at UGX 40 million, were handed out on Wednesday at the Lira City Mayor’s Garden.
Farmers received allocations based on the size of their gardens and readiness, with some obtaining up to 700 seedlings each.
The intervention comes at a time when the government is encouraging a shift from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture to boost household incomes and accelerate regional development.
Lira City Deputy Town Clerk, Okol Patrick George, said the initiative followed a formal request to the central government after a shortage of coffee seedlings was experienced the previous year.
He explained that the government wanted citizens to cultivate crops that provide meaningful income and that coffee had been identified as one of the key drivers of this strategy.
He also noted that one ton of fertiliser would soon be delivered to support the newly registered coffee farmers.
Lira City Resident City Commissioner, Egole Lawrence, called on farmers in Lango subregion to transition away from low-income seasonal crops and instead focus on long-term, profitable ventures such as coffee farming.
He pointed out that although Uganda produces some of the best quality coffee globally, its output remained far below international demand.
Egole credited the growing global recognition of Ugandan coffee to the efforts of President Museveni and stated that, with proper care, coffee farming had the potential to lift households out of poverty and build generational wealth.
He said that coffee could earn over UGX 8,000 per kilo and emphasized that it was more beneficial than crops like maize or soya.
Agricultural Regional Officer Okello Andrew Awany, representing the Ministry of Agriculture, explained that Cloned Robusta Coffee is a modern and recommended variety known for its resistance to disease and high yield.
He said the species, if managed well, could generate more than UGX 10 million per acre.
He clarified that although it differs from the elite variety previously supplied, its cultivation practices remain the same.
Awany added that farmers had been inspected to ensure they had prepared holes for planting, one of the key criteria used to determine eligibility.
Col. (Rtd) Charles Obeny, the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) Coordinator for both Lira City and Lira District, explained that his office was currently focused on two main areas: supporting effective disbursement of the Parish Development Model and promoting coffee cultivation.
He stressed that the move was part of the government’s economic transformation agenda, especially for the Lango sub-region.
Col. Obeny added that coffee was significantly more profitable than the crops commonly grown in the region and explained that the required planting method involved digging a hole three feet deep and three feet wide.
He also noted that Lango, along with West Nile, Acholi, and Karamoja, still faced high poverty levels, though national poverty had dropped from 39% to 29%.
He said the northern regions remained a focus of government anti-poverty efforts.
George Ojwang Opota, Minister of Education and Sports under the Lango Cultural Institution and one of the beneficiaries, commended the government for bringing to northern Uganda the cultivation of crops that had historically been overlooked.
He reflected on the colonial period, saying that crop distribution across regions had been uneven, with the north disadvantaged by being limited to non-perennial crops.
He encouraged residents of Lango to embrace crops like coffee rather than maize, sunflower, or soya, and suggested that doing so could help families pay school fees and create self-employment for those without access to government jobs.
According to Col. Obeny, the demand for coffee seedlings across the Lango subregion currently stands at 10 million, yet the available supply remains at 5 million.
He said that within the current distribution programme, Lira City had received 20,000 seedlings, Lira District 60,000, Alebtong 80,000, Oyam 80,000, and Otuke 60,000, among others.
He concluded that if coffee cultivation was embraced and properly maintained, Lango subregion and other historically marginalised areas could experience significant economic transformation within the next three to four years.
The coffee distribution initiative is seen as a critical step in implementing Uganda’s agricultural transformation agenda, centred on sustainability, regional equity, and wealth creation.
