North has best coffee - UCDA

THE war-ravaged north has the best coffee in the country, according to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).

“Coffee from northern Uganda emerged as the best coffee during the 2006 quality test carried out by UCDA. Coffee beans from the area are bigger in size and clean,” Winfred Oyella, the Lango sub-region coffee coordinator, said.

She was speaking during an agricultural trade show at Pece Stadium in Gulu last week. Oyella added that the coffee in the north is not adulterated.

Adulteration is when a farmer pours water and mixes the coffee beans with stones so that it can weigh heavily. Oyella stated that UCDA had started rehabilitating coffee plantations in the region that were destroyed during the 20-year LRA war.

She added that the authority was buying coffee seedlings from the farmers and distributing them free of charge to promote coffee growing in the area. Oyella said last season the 400 coffee farmers in Lango sub-region produced 55 tonnes of coffee, adding that they expected the production to go up in the coming season.