Bukonzo Joint Coffee Cooperative Union

This is a joint association of arabic coffee growers from mbale near mountain elgon.

Growers of robusta coffee, sweet potatoes,
maize, vegetables, seedling nursery and rearing
of piggery, poultry and dairy cattle.

This association roasts coffee

Bunjakko CFA was formed in 2008, and later registered by the Registrar of Companies in 2009. Since it’s a newly formed association its membership is still at a minimal, in that it has only 11 groups but still expanding in growth.
Bunjakko CFA is at one point very unique in such a way that, the coffee here is 100% organic, though not certified, the soils in this region are rich in nutrients, a low prevalence of pests and diseases easily managed with local and traditional herbs. The quality of the coffee is excellent where by the grades are excellent because the coffee is grown largely under forest cover of shade, giving the beans an extra time to mature, and attain intrinsic characteristics that cannot be found anywhere in the country. Bunjakko CFA through the support of DANIDA -ASPS through NUCAFE have acquired and established a self-sustaining coffee capable of producing One Hundred thousand (100000) coffee seedlings per year or more. Seedlings are marketed to members of the association at reduced prices to drive an increase on the quantity of coffee in the association and also on the quality of the beans that are produced by the members. Shade tree seedlings are supplied cost-free to whoever has purchased coffee seedlings in order to boost shade grown coffee, and also to increase soil fertility and nutrient recycling with minimum use of artificial fertilizers.
The Gender Equality Program has boosted family income to great heights in Bunjakko; in particular, over eight (8) households have managed to purchase themselves motorcycles that aid in transportation and mobilization of farmers during trainings.

The Association is located in Masaka district, 2 Km from Masaka town, just below Bwala Hill covering the whole of Buwunga Sub County. The location of the association puts it in a precarious situation, the soils are rocky, and others are highly sandy, making the soils really unfavorable for agricultural production, despite these challenges the farmers in this area have tamed the soils, through the use of organic manures and good agricultural practices. It was the chairman Mr. Waswa Batte who had the idea of promoting Buwunga CFA, as he overheard a conversation about a union of coffee farmers while he was travelling on a minibus directed to Kampala. He got information from fellow travelers, gathered the farmers, all of them met NUCAFE’s executive director and successfully started the association.

Due to high water loses as a result of low water retention capacity of the soils, Buwunga CFA manages an ongoing program to train farmers to practice water harvesting and water conservation practices. A replanting program with two coffee nurseries is intended to reinstate the area among the most important producers in the district. In addition, the gender equality program by NUCAFE appears to have worked extremely well in the improvement of the livelihoods of coffee farm families, with more and more women going with their men during the bulking of coffee.

Established by the late Jack Bigirwa, former NUCAFE’ chairman, and currently run by his son Sonny, Mountain View Farm is one among the few producers of washed robusta coffee in Uganda. It will process the coffee both of its own plantation and of the neighbouring small farmers.

The farmers around Mount View Farm, contract the services of the wet mill to process and dry their coffee, there after the farmers pay the mill for the services rendered. The mill also acts as a bulking place for those farmers who have wet processed their coffee. Those farmers who are in need immediate cash for their coffee, the farm usually buys their coffee, both wet ready and sorted red cherries and also the dry wet processed beans. The farm does this so that the farmer is not cheated or mix his or her quality coffee with the other coffees from the neighbouring coffee mill, and also ensure that the farmer is not cheated by the middleman in terms of price. Those who can hold on their coffee usually bulk their coffee with the farm and then its sold in bulk and uniform quality with quantifiable volumes to an exporter who is usually select by NUCAFE’s Production and Marketing Manager who is willing to pay a premium, above the prevailing wet processed robusta prices.

The farm also acts as a training point for the neighbouring associations like Kyangyenyi and Kigarama, where farmers come and get trained in good agricultural, harvesting and post harvesting handling practices. It also has a demonstration plot, a mother garden and coffee nursery where farmers in the vicinity come and buy coffee seedlings at reduced prices. The Manager says that this also helps to ensure that the wet mill will continue to have quality coffee for processing for the farmers in the future, with traceable quality.

Mount View Farm Robusta Screen 15

Mount View Farm Robusta Screen 18

The Uganda Coffee Federation (UCF) is registered as a non-profit company, limited by guarantee. Its membership include coffee exporters, coffee processors, farmers, companies that supply equipment and supplies to coffee exporters and processors, clearing and forwarding companies, insurance companies, banks and international coffee trading houses in Europe

Omukwano, “friendship” in Luganda, is the name given to the partnership between Caffè River (EU) and NUCAFE (Uganda) and, at the same time, of the coffee produced under such an agreement.

Omukwano represents the effort of people in different countries to overcome the hurdles that create a heavy burden to the weaker link of the chain, the farmers, and at the same time to produce a much better quality of coffee.