Farmers in Kwania urged to embrace cocoa, coffee growing

Kwania, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kwania District leaders have implored smallholder farmers in the district to embrace cocoa and coffee growing to boost food security.

Geoffrey Eling Owera, Kwania District LCV Vice Chairman said cocoa is suitable in the Lango Sub-region because the region shares similar loamy soil, altitude and annual rainfall just like West African countries of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon which contributes about 70 percent of the World’s beans.

Eling made the call on Saturday while closing a five-day workshop, organized by the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) and Eight Tech Consult, a training conducted at Holy Trinity Church in Aduku Town Council to train farmers on Digital Skills and ICT.

He said cocoa having two peak seasons is an opportunity for farmers to reap big, adding that farmers should embrace cocoa and coffee growing for economic empowerment.

“The trend is changing especially on the demand on the world market. So, cocoa which is in high demand is one crop that reduces burdens on timely weeding and the prices are high in the world market. I am encouraging farmers in Kwania to grow cocoa for economic growth instead of relying on our usual crops like maize which has low prices season in and season out”.

George Johnson Ojok Ocen, Kwania District Production Coordinator, says farmers can potentially earn about 13 million shillings per acre of cocoa annually. He said cocoa can thrive anywhere in Northern Uganda if farmers provide adequate trees for it.

Farmers who spoke to Uganda Radio Network (URN) have welcomed the cocoa and coffee growing.

Joel Milton Omuno, a coffee farmer from Angolenyang village, Apire Parish in Aduku Sub County shared his testimonies with the farmers on how coffee and cocoa cultivation has changed his financial status.

“I started cultivating coffee and cocoa in 2000 when they started distributing the seedlings in Aduku Sub County. At the beginning, I was not familiar with how to grow it but I started earning. Cocoa does so well in Lango compared to other crops. For those interested we already have available forms because government is ready to give you seedlings free of charge.”

Another farmer Nancy Ongima, who hails from Luwero District, but married in Abongomola Sub County in the northern district of Kwania, says coffee does so well in Lango only if farmers provide adequate trees for it.

Ongima, who has been growing coffee and cocoa since childhood, encouraged farmers to grow coffee and cocoa to improve their household income and alleviate poverty in Lango.

Cocoa is a perennial crop that responds well in rainy tropical areas, with a maximum annual average of between 30 and 32’C; it thrives under shades and in areas with annual rainfall between 1,500mm and 2,000mm.

In Uganda, cocoa is grown in a number of districts where the conditions are suitable for its cultivation, mainly the central, Western, South-East and South West regions and some parts of the Eastern region mainly in the Busoga Subregions.

Cocoa is Uganda’s fourth-biggest commodity export, after coffee, tea and fish.

*****

URN