Uganda is on a mission to cement its place among the world’s top coffee-producing nations by achieving an ambitious target of 20 million export bags in the next five years.
Coffee has remained Uganda’s second-leading export after gold. In the last two years, Uganda has experienced unprecedented earnings from coffee of more than $1.4b (about sh5 trillion) annually, arising from increased production volumes and increased global coffee prices.
While traditional coffee growing regions like Buganda, Elgon, Rwenzori and southwestern Uganda continue to play a vital role, experts say northern Uganda, strategically anchored by the Gulu Logistics Hub, emerges as a new frontier with enormous potential.
During a thanksgiving ceremony in Gulu on January 14, celebrating his 65th birthday, Gen. Salim Saleh promised that northern Uganda would soon plant more coffee than any other region of Uganda.
In the latest changes in the 2025/2026 national budget presented to Parliament last week by the finance ministry, the Government has earmarked sh60b to fund massive coffee planting in northern as one of the necessary undertakings for improving the economic welfare of the people of the region.
In a comprehensive proposal to President Yoweri Museveni, the Devoted Coffee Farmers Initiative Uganda (DCOFU) have detailed a transformative vision to integrate the fertile lands of the north into the national coffee roadmap.
Their proposal positions the Gulu Logistics Hub not only as a pivotal export infrastructure but also as the nerve centre for northern Uganda’s rise as a commercial coffee powerhouse.
“With 1.5 million acres needed to bridge the deficit to reach 20 million bags, northern Uganda presents a compelling opportunity. The region has large, fertile tracts of land ideal for mechanisation and commercialisation,” reads the proposal submitted through Gen. Salim Saleh, the chief co-ordinator of Operation Wealth Creation.
Northern Uganda as a new frontier The second Coffee Sub-Sector Strategy (2020/21-2024/25) developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries targets production of 20 million 60kg bags of coffee by 2025. This is expected to generate export revenues of $1.5b (sh5.5 trillion) by 2025. The target has, however, been revised to 2030 for its realisation.
“We are working collaboratively and have clear estimates,” Dr Geoffrey Arinaitwe, the director of the National Agricultural Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI), said. “Part of our plan involves introducing coffee to non-traditional, non-coffee-producing regions, which we are currently implementing,” Arinaitwe noted.
In addition, he said the ministry was focusing on revitalising old plantations by promoting the use of fertilisers and improved agronomic practices to enhance productivity.
“However, if we establish plantations in northern Uganda, it will take about four to five years before we begin to see red coffee cherries. So realistically, it may take at least five years for northern Uganda to fully integrate into the national coffee production value chain,” Arinaitwe said.
President Museveni, while speaking at the Presidential CEO Forum last September, underscored the strategic role of Gulu in opening up commercial agriculture in the north.
“This hub will not only streamline the export of Uganda’s coffee, but also serve as a critical link between production zones and international markets,” the President said.
Bridging gaps To support this transformation, DCOFU advocates a dual-track intervention: scaling up the Coffee and Cocoa Value Chains Development (COCODEV) grant matching scheme for commercial farmers while maintaining free seedling distribution for smallholders.
The COCODEV model, crafted after Vietnam’s successful coffee revolution, would incentivise commercial farmers to co-finance large plantations under strict agronomic standards according to DCOFU.
“Government is committed to promoting coffee cultivation in northern Uganda,” Dr Gerald Kyalo, the commissioner of coffee development at the agriculture ministry, said.
“We are planning to distribute more seedlings in the next financial year. From 2018 to 2023, the former Uganda Coffee Development Authority actively supplied seedlings to districts such as Gulu, Oyam, Apac, Arua and Lira. We currently have extension staff stationed across all northern districts to support this effort,” Kyalo said. According to projections, 750 million seedlings will be needed to meet planting targets. This level of investment and co-ordination demands a robust institutional framework anchored by private sector participation and public oversight.
Institutional collaboration As the umbrella body of nursery operators, DCOFU said it will self-regulate members, procure mother garden materials directly from NaCORI, and act as an information hub in rural communities.
DCOFU stated that Operation Wealth Creation would play a critical role in monitoring and verifying the seed distribution chain, ensuring compliance with quality standards and bridging implementation gaps.
Unlocking $4b opportunity
At current benchmarks, the 6.85 million bags fetch Uganda $1.14b in annual export revenue.
Achieving 20 million bags could bring Uganda closer to the projected $4b annually, propelling Uganda towards President Museveni’s vision of a tenfold ($500b) economy growth.
“The opportunity is historic. By leveraging northern Uganda and the Gulu Logistics Hub, we are not just growing coffee, we are transforming Uganda’s economy,” Dr Michael Mugabira, a seasoned coffee farmer and agribusiness analyst, said.
A call for presidential action
DCOFU’s proposal calls upon the President to champion northern Uganda’s integration into the coffee roadmap, expand funding to the COCODEV grant scheme, support institutional realignment for efficiency, and endorse Gulu as the anchor of Uganda’s coffee export strategy.
Mugabira said the vision is fast becoming a reality, with northern Uganda rising to the occasion and backed by a logistics hub of continental significance.
“And by involving both large-scale commercial actors and grassroots smallholders, the nation will benefit from efficiency, quality, and inclusivity,” he added.
Uganda coffee performance
Uganda has made impressive strides on the global stage, climbing from 3.5 million export bags in 2014 to over 6.85 million by the end of 2024.
Current data from the agriculture ministry indicates that Uganda exported a total of 642,981 60kg bags of coffee in March 2025, generating $198.62m (about sh726b).
Hellen Acam Ketty, the DCOFU chairperson, said this performance is largely credited to grassroots nursery operators, over 1,675 of them across 117 districts, who have been instrumental in propagating seedlings and clone cuttings developed by NaCORI, Uganda’s national coffee research institute.
Acam said the Gulu Logistics Hub will be an intermodal facility at the heart of this vision, capable of handling large-scale agricultural exports.
Meanwhile, in a robust initiative aimed at elevating coffee production in the Acholi sub-region, more than 200 dedicated trainers of trainees from the West Acholi area immersed themselves in an intensive training programme centred on advanced coffee farming techniques.
This two-day workshop, which transpired three weeks ago, was expertly facilitated by Operational Wealth Creation and took place at the serene offices of the Diocese of Northern Uganda in the Badege-Layibi division of Gulu city.
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