Uganda’s small-scale industries association has pledged to strengthen its partnership with Africa Coffee Park in an effort to help farmers improve productivity, add value to their produce and access international markets.
The pledge was made by Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA) president Kasirye Peter during a tour of coffee and cocoa exhibition stalls at the three-day Uganda Coffee and Cocoa Expo at the Serena Hotel in Kampala on 13 August.
Kasirye said USSIA, which brings together more than 600 small-scale industries and farmer groups across the country, would work with Africa Coffee Park to strengthen research, training and market linkages for coffee farmers.
“We want to build a technical framework that can empower coffee farmers to improve their productivity and meet the standards required in global markets,” he said.
He also commended President Yoweri Museveni for providing technical and financial support to Africa Coffee Park, which he said had contributed to the establishment of a major coffee-processing facility in Ntungamo District.
The facility is equipped with modern machinery for processing and packaging coffee products, allowing the company to move beyond exporting raw beans.
Africa Coffee Park communications and brand manager Ronald Tayebwa said the company, formerly known as Inspire Africa Coffee, was pleased to showcase its products at the expo.
He said government support had enabled the company to invest in modern digital processing equipment and expand its value-addition activities.
“We have moved from exporting raw coffee beans to processing coffee into a range of products,” Tayebwa said.
These include blended and packaged Arabica coffee, body cosmetics, energy drinks and canned cold-brew coffee, some of which are exported to international markets.
Tayebwa said Africa Coffee Park would work with USSIA to train farmers in improved production and on-farm value addition, with the aim of increasing their incomes.
He also called for greater domestic consumption of coffee, saying Ugandans should view the crop not simply as an export commodity but as a source of a wider range of products and business opportunities.
“We have graduated from viewing coffee as raw beans for export and embraced it as a strategic beverage with different flavours and products that benefit consumers,” he said.
The State Minister for Trade, David Bahati, who opened the three-day expo, commended Africa Coffee Park for showcasing Ugandan coffee at international exhibitions and conferences.
He said such efforts were helping to raise the profile of Uganda’s coffee on the global market.
However, Bahati urged Africa Coffee Park and other players in the sector to deepen collaboration with key national institutions, including the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, USSIA, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Uganda Investment Authority and other agro-processors.
He said stronger partnerships would be critical to increasing investment, value addition and competitiveness across Uganda’s coffee sector.
With Uganda seeking to earn more from its agricultural exports, the push for greater local processing is expected to remain central to efforts to turn coffee into a higher-value industry benefiting farmers and businesses.
