Women coffee farmers grouped under the International Women in Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Uganda Chapter, which brings together hundreds of small-, medium- and large-scale women farmers, have appealed for government funding support to enable them to improve their incomes through coffee earnings.
The members, who participated in the three-day Uganda Coffee and Cocoa Expo 2026 at Serena Hotel, told this website on August 14, 2026, that they are facing numerous on-farm and market-linkage challenges that require technical support from the government.
Buhura Shakirah, 44, the founding managing director of Mugamba Coffee Farm Ltd, based in Mugamba Village, Nyantaboma Parish, Harugongo Sub-county in Kabarole District, complained about the slow pace of growth in the coffee business.
She said their 400-acre family coffee farm is facing several technical challenges, including the high cost of doing business.
“We are appealing for government intervention in terms of support for irrigation systems to curb the drought, which has resulted in the drying of coffee trees,” she said.
Other challenges include a lack of centralised produce storage facilities, inadequate access to technical on-farm extension services and limited access to reliable market linkages.
The story is not different for Monica Nantume, the founding director of Mona Coffee Farm Ltd, located in Buzibwera Village, Wabusana Parish, Kikyusa Sub-county in Luwero District.
Nantume said that despite her farm occupying only two acres, she faces several technical challenges, including limited access to quality coffee seedlings and pesticides, low coffee consumption among ordinary citizens and unreliable market access, among others.
She wants the government to empower her by providing technical and logistical support to enable her to remain competitive in the future coffee market.
Martha Wandera, the founder and managing director of Kimco Coffee Farm Ltd, also shared similar concerns with her colleagues under the IWCA Uganda Chapter.
The chairperson of the Uganda Coffee and Cocoa Expo and Conference Organising Committee, Kemirembe Jackie, commended the women under the IWCA for turning up in large numbers, saying their participation was an indication that women are increasingly responding to the government’s call to take part in the agricultural sector.
Kemirembe observed that statistics from the expo and conference indicate that women were among the majority of participants who actively engaged in the event, exhibiting high-quality coffee and cocoa products.
She congratulated the women and said more female experts in technology, geodata, entrepreneurship, agribusiness and agricultural insurance, among other professional fields, participated in panel discussions and standalone presentations.
She said their participation enriched the conference, which brought together more than 100 delegates from across the global coffee and cocoa industry.
