Uganda is ready to host the 16th African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition in Kampala on February 14-16, 2018, organisers have said.
The event, a trade platform of the African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA) that brings over 2000 regional and international coffee roasters, traders, producers, professionals and connoisseurs under one roof, will be held at the Kampala Serena Hotel will be held under the theme, ‘Sustainable Coffee Industry for Social Economic Transformation’.
Uganda is one of Africa’s specialty coffee producing countries, leading in the export of the crop, statistics show and dealers here are expected to participate in the conference and exhibition which is also expected to host participants from countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Cameroon, DRC, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“The event will have a line-up of international and regional internationally acclaimed speakers, spouse programs, coffee field visits and recreational activities,” says the latest AFCA statement.
The AFCA conference comes at the time when Uganda has launched an ambitious Coffee Roadmap whereby government hopes the country will be able to export 20 million bags of coffee and an additional US$1.5 billion in export earnings per year in the period 2025-2030. Currently the country exports just about four million bags per year.
The coffee road is to be supported by the Coffee Policy in place and the Coffee Law, whose bill awaits parliamentary approval. All the initiatives are expected to boost coffee production in Uganda.
Organisers at the AFCA Secretariat, say the exhibition area has increasingly been regarded as pivotal in providing a unique opportunity to exhibitors showcasing the best coffees and affiliated services providing ample opportunity to network with coffee luminaries from all over the world.
“This will be the perfect platform for gathering valuable coffee information, building trade relations and buyer and seller interaction,” organisers add.
There will be a full program of exciting social activities including spouse programs, Coffee Field Visits and recreational activities such as golf to be played at the Uganda Golf Club.
There will also be an organized pre-conference Uganda coffee field visit trips from February 11-13 to both the eastern (Arabica coffee growing region) and western routes (Robusta coffee growing region).
Coffee production in Uganda is managed by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) which has created over 100,000 high quality, high disposable income jobs along the coffee value chain, contributed more than $500 million a year in exports and raised the image of Uganda by earning many laurels abroad.
“It has trained the value chain actors including farmers, nursery operators, processors, traders, quality controllers, Q and R graders, roasters, baristas and café operators,” UCDA officials note.
The coffee sector has generated approximately 20-30% of our foreign exchange over the past years and contributes to the income of millions of rural households. Currently coffee is the third most important income earner after tourism and remittances from abroad and over 1.7 million families derive their livelihood from coffee.
The UCDA, in its report for October, indicates that a total of 109,789,863 coffee seedlings have so far been planted in 102 coffee growing districts compared to 157,063,064 available coffee seedlings in the nurseries.
Nonetheless, the coffee subsector has faced many challenges including the volatility of the international market and the outbreak of pests and diseases notably the coffee wilt disease which nearly decimated the coffee industry, severely affecting coffee production and exports.
