Uganda is one of the few countries in the world with indigenous coffee, with Robusta growing wild around Lake Victoria. Coffee is an enormous part of the Ugandan export economy, and the country is one of the largest producers of coffee in the world. However, as most of that coffee is Robusta, Uganda has struggled to achieve a reputation for quality.
Although the indigenous Robusta crops had been part of Ugandan culture for hundreds of years, coffee wasn’t originally part of the country’s agricultural industry. In the early 1900s, Arabica was introduced, probably from Malawi and Ethiopia. This crop didn’t do well and struggled against disease. However, around the same time there was an increase in the farming of Robusta and the more disease-resistant variety seemed to flourish.
In 1925 coffee made up only one per cent of the country’s exports, but was considered an important crop and well-suited to the increasing number of smallholder farmers. In 1929 the Coffee Industry Board was established. Cooperative farming acted as a catalyst for the industry’s growth and in the 1940s coffee became the country’s principle export. Following independence, the government passed a Coffee Act in 1969 that gave the Coffee Industry Board full control over pricing.
Coffee remained a strong industry through Idi Amin’s regime, buoyed for a time by the global increase in prices caused by the frost in Brazil in 1975. In the 1980s it was still the strongest cash crop, and production grew. However, an increasing amount of coffee was smuggled over borders into neighbouring countries to be sold at a higher price than that mandated by the government.
In 1988 the Coffee Industry Board increased the prices it paid to farmers, but by the end of the year it was deeply in debt, and had to be bailed out by the government. The collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989 caused a dramatic drop in prices, and the government devalued the Ugandan shilling in an effort to make coffee exports more appealing globally. In 1990 production dropped by twenty per cent, not only because of prices but also because of drought and a shift away from coffee towards other subsistence crops.
In the early 1990s the industry became increasingly liberalized, with the government only playing a supporting role in marketing and development. From here we can draw a fairly straight line to today’s coffee industry. The Ugandan Coffee Development Authority has continued to relax rules, allowing better traceability and easier access to Ugandan coffee. Producer groups are increasingly building their own brands and reputations.
Robusta remains the primary coffee export, and Uganda is building a reputation for good-quality Robusta. Arabica production remains relatively small, but quality is increasing. In the coming years, Ugandan coffees will probably play a bigger and bigger role in the speciality world.
Some regions of Uganda have the right combination of soil, altitude and climate to produce excellent coffee.
TRACEABILITY
The best coffees from Uganda generally come from producer groups or cooperatives. There are two terms unique to Ugandan coffees: Wugar (washed Ugandan Arabica) and Drugar (dried Ugandan Arabica). The country produces coffee nearly all year round, with most areas having a main crop and a second, smaller crop known as a ‘fly crop’.
A coffee farmer in the Kamuli region, where an NGO-run agricultural training programme helps people improve their livelihoods.
TASTE PROFILE
Exceptional coffee from Uganda is still relatively rare, but the best cups are sweet, full of dark fruits and have a clean finish.
GROWING REGIONS
Population: 41,490,000
Number of 60kg (132lb) bags in 2016: 4,900,000
Growing regions in Uganda are not always well or clearly defined and agreed upon.
BUGISU
This area has the best reputation for quality, in particular the area around Mount Elgon close to the border with Kenya. Farms are on steep slopes here, and the lack of infrastructure can prove challenging. The area has the soil, altitude and climate to produce excellent coffee.
| Altitude: | 1,500–2,300m (4,900–7,550ft) |
| Harvest: | October–March (main crop), May–July (fly crop) |
| Varieties: | Kent, Typica, SL-14, SL-28 |
WEST NILE
More Arabica coffee grows in the northwest of the country, to the north of Lake Albert, up against the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Arabicas grow closer to the lake, with more Robusta further to the north.
| Altitude: | 1,450–1,800m (4,760–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | October–January (main crop), April–June (fly crop) |
| Varieties: | Kent, Typica, SL-14, SL-28, native Robusta |
WESTERN UGANDA
The highest coffee production is in the Rwenzori mountains, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is common to see naturally processed coffees (the Drugars) produced in this region.
| Altitude: | 1,200–2,200m (3,900–7,200ft) |
| Harvest: | April–July (main crop), October–January (fly crop) |
| Varieties: | Kent, Typica, SL-14, SL-28, native Robusta |
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
Robusta grows throughout much of the country, all the way down to the Lake Victoria Basin. Altitudes are much lower and crops are dependent on good rainfall. Tuzza is a modern Catimor variety grown in lower regions, and is disease resistant.
| Altitude: | 1,200–1,500m (3,900–4,900ft) |
| Harvest: | November–February (main crop), May–August (fly crop) |
| Varieties: | native Robusta, some Tuzza |