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GULU, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | Coffee farmers in the Acholi sub-region have been advised to prioritize irrigation if they are to reap more from coffee growing.
Lillian Wanican, a coffee trainer and nursery bed operator, says that many coffee plants end up dying in the Acholi sub-region because farmers do not plan for water for their coffee plants during the dry season.
“Coffee is not like any other crop such as soybeans or cassava that you are used to. Coffee requires regular attention, especially in the first year. You should, therefore, plan early enough for manure, mulching and irrigation,” says Wanican.
Wanican, who was speaking during the Annual Agroecology Coffee Conference at Elephante Commons in Gulu City organized by Ribbo Coffee, a social enterprise, asked farmers to start small instead of competing with their neighbors.
“Don’t plant 10 acres of coffee because your neighbor planted 10 acres. Plant what you can manage. In case you want to have 5 acres of coffee, you can plant an acre every year and achieve that goal in five years. Coffee requires dedication, so assess your capacity before starting.
She says that due to the sandy, loamy nature of soils in the Acholi sub-region, the soils do not hold water for long and therefore dry faster when it’s hot.
Wanican explains that “Three weeks of sunshine is enough for the soils in Acholi to dry up. We also have high temperatures. They make the soil compact very fast, and that is the reason we are seeing coffee plants drying up. Coffee farmers should make plans to support their plants with water and manure by October when rains are winding down.”
She said that the hot weather and high temperatures should, however, not be an excuse for farmers not to grow quality coffee as farmers in Sembabule and Bukomansimbi, districts in the dry cattle corridor, are leading in coffee production.
“Some farmers think that they can avoid irrigation by planting coffee alongside streams, but coffee does not like stagnant water. We should stop being lazy. If we can fetch water to lay bricks and build our houses, we can also provide water for our coffee plant,” she says.
Derrick Komakech, an agronomist with Ribbo coffee, urged farmers to observe good soil health and water conservation through reducing tillage of land where coffee has been planted, integrating agroforestry by planting shade trees and using organic manure such as biochar.
Komakech said coffee farmers should plan for irrigation because of the irregular rainfall patterns and prolonged dry seasons being experienced in the sub-region.
“Practice climate-smart farming. Plan for rainwater harvesting by digging holes, trenches, and dams or buy water tanks if you can afford to harvest water. Irrigating your coffee plants increases flowering by 48 percent to 57 percent and increases your yields by 85-95 percent during the dry season.
Michael Ochora, a coffee farmer from Omoro district, said that his coffee plants had dried up because of a lack of attention and irrigation.
“I planted about half an acre of coffee but have not benefitted from them. I had given up. I thought my soil was not appropriate for coffee, but I now know what I was doing wrong. I will do better and utilize my 20 acres of land to grow coffee,” says Ochora.
Innocent Piloya, the Chief Executive Officer of Ribbo Coffee, says the annual coffee conference, which has been held in Gulu for two years, will be decentralized to all the districts in the Acholi sub-region that are growing coffee to ensure that they are more accessible to farmers who are growing the perennial crop.
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