Govt switches from Elite to Clonal Robusta in Northern Uganda

Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is gradually phasing out the growing of the Elite Robusta coffee varieties in Northern Uganda, opting instead to promote the cultivation of Clonal Robusta coffee varieties.

The strategic shift started in 2021, aims at boosting the production of coffee as the government targets to achieve production of 20 million bags of coffee per year by 2030.

Winifred Janny Oyella, the Regional Agricultural Officer in the Coffee Department at MAAIF, told Uganda Radio Network that the shift follows research that shows Clonal Robusta coffee has a higher rate of yield compared to Elite Robusta.

According to Oyella ,Clonal Robusta coffee varieties have also been proven to be resistant to coffee wilt disease, making it an ideal cash crop for the Northern region.

“The reason we are shifting from elite to CWDR is because it’s fairly high yielding, and the government wants us to achieve the national target of 20 million bags by 2030. We cannot do that if we are producing coffee through elite seedlings,” said Oyella.

Oyella noted that nearly 90 percent of the coffee grown in Northern Uganda is from the original Elite Robusta varieties.

She, however, said since 2021, the government has made a bold shift to only distribute Clonal Robusta coffee seedlings starting commercial farmers and gradually to smallholder farmers. At the same time, she noted that the government started setting up mother gardens in the region to help in the multiplication of the seedlings through propagation.

Robusta Coffee is preferably propagated by vegetative means rather than through seeds when the plant has matured in the third year.

Sylvia Owori, the Director of Operations at Operation Wealth Creation, in an early interview, said the government has so far earmarked 5.5 billion shillings for the supply of 20 million coffee seedlings to 50,000 farmers in Northern Uganda. Some 10,000 registered farmers in the Acholi sub-region are expected to benefit from the seedlings.

Owori noted that while there have been perceptions that coffee cannot grow in Northern Uganda, it has been proven that coffee grows well in the region and encouraged farmers to join the lucrative sector.

She said due to the high demand for coffee seedlings from farmers, OWC has tendered in request to the Finance Ministry to consider more inputs for coffee seedlings for Northern Uganda in its supplementary budget.

To farmers like John Lakony, who owns five acres of a coffee farm in Amola village, in Pamin Yai Sub-county, Nwoya district, the gradual shift to clonal coffee variety is expected to pay him off this season. Lokony noted that he initially planted Elite Robusta on a three-acre piece of land three years ago, but he only managed to harvest 1,000 kg.

Two years ago, Lakony said he shifted to clonal coffee and planted the variety on a two-acre piece of land and anticipates he will make a bumper harvest.

“The way the coffee plants are flowering is giving me the impression that the harvest will be well. The plant has also matured fast enough, an indication that it’s much better than the elite,” Lakony told URN on Friday.

Early this week, MAAIF, in partnership with OWC and the Office of the Prime Minister, launched a practical training program targeting agricultural officers in the Acholi sub-region aimed at building their capacities on modern coffee growing techniques. Through the trainings, the government expects them to cascade the knowledge and skills gained to thousands of coffee farmers in the sub-region.

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