The coffee boom: New millionaires

Coffee farmers in Bukomansimbi District are reaping big and savouring the fruits of labour from growing the brown beans.
The farmers are now happy owners of gleaming houses and sleek cars while their children have guaranteed access to good schools that were once out of reach for most of them.
Their good fortune is a slice of the boom in Uganda’s coffee exports between September 2023 and August 2024, which earned the country $1.35 billion (Shs4.9t) reaped from 6.39 million of 60-kilogramme coffee bags.
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In Misanvu Village, a predominantly farmer community, mushrooming construction projects at household level and newly-acquired cars define a stark shift from traditional rural lifestyles.
Franca Nanjeru, 72, who lives with her grandchildren, and owns a one-acre coffee garden and has recently renovated her house. 
Despite her age and declining health, Nanjeru continues to oversee coffee production with the help of a hired worker.
“I have been able to renovate my house after earning some good money from the coffee sales. The coffee price per kilogramme is surprising and inspiring to the farmer after a very long period of low earnings,” she says.
Nanjeru, a member of the Kibinge Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society, credits her upgraded home and new piggery project to the better market rates. 
Her reluctance to disclose their exact earnings reflects the community’s concerns about security, as farmers fear robberies targeting their coffee profits and dry coffee beans.
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Mr Joseph Ssegawa, a 51-year-old farmer and resident at Misanvu Village, recently acquired a long-dreamed-of family car and expanded his household with improved amenities. 
“The good coffee prices have finally made this dream a reality,” he remarks.
Between December 2023 and May 2024, Ssegawa harvested 32 bags of dry coffee beans from his approximately five-acre coffee garden.
“I have a car and my home has a new shade after the handsome coffee market prices,” he says.
The success of these farmers is largely supported by the Kibinge Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society, chaired by Haji Sowedi Sserwadda. The cooperative, with 2,439 members, has been instrumental in driving the community’s transition from subsistence-based to commercial-based farming. 
A man displays robusta coffee in central Uganda. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Hajj Sserwadda believes the sudden shift in the farmer's lifestyle from poverty to comfort and even affluence, is a mark of hard work.
“Our coffee farmers have recently constructed new houses while many have acquired many other moveable assets as a result of the coffee boom. We are no longer old-fashioned farmers. The farmers now drive cars and own posh homes. Kibinge Sub-county in Bukomansimbi is a good example of the new coffee revolution,” he says.
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Mr Rogers Sserubombwe, the cooperative’s general manager, adds that while coffee production volumes have remained stable, high market prices have significantly boosted household wealth. 
“You can see the rising number of newly constructed houses and the cars that the coffee farmers now drive. The coffee price sales are fairly good. Kibinge Sub-county is fast improving in terms of household welfare as the farmers earn from their farm sweat. 
"The good side for the members under Kibinge Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society includes the additional training in farm practices, including the financial literacy where the members plan for their finances after the coffee sales,” he adds.
Boosting productivity
Under the Kibinge Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society, promotion of best farming practices, enhancing coffee quality has improved the coffee value chain, including the financial literacy component extended to the members.
“A farmer who has attained financial literacy skills may not run mad because of the big cash got from the good coffee sales. We are very sure that several of our members that are beneficiaries of the coffee boom have acquired tangible assets and are investing the money in the best way,” Sserubombwe says.
A section of the office block of Kibinge Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society in Bukomansimbi District. PHOTO/DAN WANDERA
A chain of coffee processing plants and the hive of activity at the respective plants is spread through Kibinge Sub-county and the entire Bukomansimbi District.
Mr Fred Nyenje Kayiira, the Bukomansimbi District Council chairperson, says coffee production has now become the flagship activity of Bukomansimbi District.
“We are proud of the fact that our farmers have now realised the importance of the coffee crop and the need to work hard for a better living. Bukomasimbi is heavily contributing to the big volumes of the coffee beans exported by Uganda,” he says.
Mr Amiisi Kakomo, the Buganda Kingdom minister for Agriculture, Cooperatives, Commerce and Fisheries, reaffirms the need for Bukomansimbi farmers and Buganda as a region to maintain the coffee standards from their farms.
“Our people in Bukomansimbi District are getting some good money from the coffee sales as a result of the good prices. We have other areas that are equally doing well in coffee production. We want our farmers to adapt to the modern farming systems for increased productivity,” he says.
Coffee cash 
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) says coffee farm prices during September 2024 ranged between Shs6,500 and Shs7,000 for Kiboko or unprocessed coffee beans per kilogramme (Robusta) and Shs12,500 to 13,000 for the Fair Average Quality (FAQ) or processed coffee per kilogramme.
The statement posted on the UCDA website for October also shows that coffee market trends has also projected coffee exports at 500,000 per 60kg bag after the reduced and end to the harvest season in the Greater Masaka and South-Western regions of Uganda.