LIRA, UGANDA – A high-level meeting convened at the former Canon Lawrence PTC has concluded with a powerful endorsement from cultural and religious leaders for a massive shift to coffee growing across the Lango sub-region.
The meeting, which brought together clan heads and religious leaders, was addressed by Hans de Heer, a director at Plutus Coffee Group Ltd, who shared his four-decade-long experience in the coffee trade to make a compelling case for the crop.
De Heer, who said he has been trading in coffee for the last 41 years, testified to the crop’s life-changing potential. “Coffee has helped me take good care of my family,” he told the gathering. He identified northern Uganda, and Lango in particular, as having ideal conditions for coffee cultivation, urging the community to adopt it as a primary cash crop.
To support this vision, de Heer announced that Plutus Coffee Group plans to train 8,000 farmers across five districts in Lango. “We plan to train 8,000 farmers in five districts of Lango so that coffee growing is developed,” he stated, outlining a clear roadmap for building local capacity and expertise.
The event was coordinated by Ambassador Dickson Ogwang Okul, the clan head for Palacol, who delivered a passionate call to action. He argued that the time for hesitation is over, declaring that it is “high time people of Lango embrace coffee growing.”
Ambassador Ogwang Okul laid out an ambitious target for household wealth creation, stating that every home should dedicate at least two acres to coffee. “At least every household must have two acres of coffee, and this will help to eradicate poverty and help send children to school,” he said.
He challenged both cultural and religious leaders to lead by example, noting that Bishop Professor Alfred Olwa of the Lango Diocese had already set a powerful precedent by planting coffee on his property. “Leaders both cultural and religious should spearhead the coffee planting ideas, and they should show good examples,” Ogwang Okul asserted.
The economic argument for shifting away from traditional crops was further reinforced by Eddy Morris Ogweng, a former contestant for the Lira City West Division Member of Parliament seat. Ogweng urged the community to transition from cash crops like maize to more lucrative perennial crops such as coffee, vanilla, or cocoa.
He presented stark figures to illustrate the potential for increased income, contrasting the low returns of maize with the high value of coffee and cocoa. “For 100kgs of maize, a farmer gets only 90,000, but for 100kgs of coffee, a farmer gets more than 900,000, and for 100kgs of cocoa, a farmer can get 2,600,000,” Ogweng calculated. He therefore urged the people of Lango to take the planting of these perennial crops seriously.
In a unified show of commitment, the leaders in attendance officially endorsed the coffee initiative and pledged to mobilize their communities to begin planting, signaling a potential agricultural transformation for the region.
