By George Bukenya
In an effort to enhance cash crop production in Uganda, government move to start providing free fertilizers to small scale farmers for tea and coffee in the different parts of the country starting with this planting season.
This was revealed to the media by the Minister of Information Technology and National Guidance Justine Kasule Lumumba at Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday, August 25,2026.
Lumumba said this was a cabinet decision to promote such cash crops especially tea whose production had dwindled while targeting to reach 20 million bags of coffee production by 20230.
“ This initiative is geared towards enhancing the production of such crops so as to increase household incomes for the farmers as well as improving government foreign exchange earnings through exports,’’ Kasule explained.
“ Government is targeting to distribute these fertilizers in this rainy season because farmers are now ready to plant specifically the small scale farmers who cannot afford irrigation means,’’ she said.
She however said that the Ministry of Agriculture would later give the details on how the fertilizers will be distributed, the intended beneficiaries and when the exercise will commence.
Meanwhile, the Central Region Integrated Coffee and Cocoa Nursery Association (CRICCONA) has written to President Museveni seeking for government intervention certified and high-yielding coffee seedlings are becoming very scarce.
In this week’s press release, the chairperson Jamiru Ntale argued that the accessibility by farmers to quality planting materials is the foundation upon which Uganda’s coffee transformation agenda must hinge on.
The transformation roadmap estimates that about 68 million coffee seedlings will be required to help enhance expansion of coffee production.
Uganda is the second- largest producer and exporter of coffee after Ethiopia and remains one of the world’s leading producer of Robusta coffee with greatest aroma.
Her coffee exports as of May, 2026 were 8.6 million 60kg bags fetching US $ 2.3 billion (about UGX 8.5 trillion) representing 16% increment in export volume and 11% rise in earnings compared to the last financial year.
While the country’s export earnings from tea reduced from USD 56.1 million to 54.68 million and experts attributes this to the poor quality and limited value addition compared with other producers in the region.
This has now prompted government to announce full funding rollout to the sub-sector expected in the 2026/2027 financial year to rescue the sector targeting a major revival in 2026 with an estimated US $ 83 million revitalization plan aimed at overcoming the recent performance declines and boost export values.
