Uganda trains coffee stakeholders ahead of first ever auction

By Esther Nakkazi

Ahead of the annual coffee 'Taste of Harvest' competition and Uganda's first ever coffee auction to be held 22 to 26 January 2018, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, (UCDA) in partnership with the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) will provide specialty coffee training.

A three-day training for 20  coffee producers, exporters, processors and roasters in Uganda at Hotel Africana beginning tomorrow, August 22, and will be conducted by UCDA’s highly skilled quality and promotions staff in collaboration with AFCA. 

The training will provide participants with the skills to prepare and process high quality specialty coffee beans and enable them to prepare to participate in the Taste of Harvest (TOH) competition, said Mr. Edmund Kananura, Director Quality and Regulatory Services.

The training will highlight the benefits of the 'Taste of Harvest' competition and Auction as well as provide skills on how to prepare and process high quality specialty coffee beans. As well it will include improved coffee processing practices and proper use and handling of coffee equipment and drying materials, as well as quality management to ensure efficiency and consistency of coffee, said a statement from UCDA.

The training will be conducted with grant support from the American people through the USAID/East Africa Trade and Investment Hub. The USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub works to boost trade and investment with and within East Africa.

The 'Taste of Harvest' annual competition will be held alongside the first ever coffee Auction Uganda, at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority Quality Lab in Lugogo, Kampala, under the theme, “Accessing specialty coffee markets through the new Taste of Harvest Coffee Auction System” from 22nd to 26th January 2018.

At the competition, interested farmers submit their best coffee samples for grading. The grading of coffee is determined by specialists known as Q and R graders.

Coffee that scores above 80 is considered to be a specialty coffee and automatically attract good market and even better prices. The competition therefore serves to show that good practices can benefit farmers, said a UCDA statement.

As part of its mandate, UCDA regularly trains farmers across the country to produce quality coffee through good handling practices. As a result there are areas which do produce high quality coffees such as in Kanungu, Sipi, Iganga and Luwero.

Ugandan coffee in general has great taste. It is just a matter of handling it the right way. Farmers must work hard to get more and better quality coffee across the board.

UCDA is excited about the opportunities that the auction and competition will bring to Uganda’s coffee industry, said a statement from UCDA. "Through these two events, producers of high quality coffees, including smallholder coffee farmers, will access new markets and create an international brand for their coffees. UCDA is pleased to be working with AFCA to achieve this reality for Ugandan farmers."

Uganda Coffee Development Authority is mandated to promote and oversee the coffee industry through supporting research, promoting production, controlling coffee quality and improving the marketing of coffee in order to optimize foreign exchange earnings for the country and payments to the farmers.

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