Eronda
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- Dec 16, 2025
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Thousands of coffee seedlings distributed to farmers in Katakwi District have dried up after the government launched the programme during a prolonged dry spell, prompting farmers to demand better planning, irrigation and training before more seedlings are distributed.
The farmers say the coffee project, which is intended to promote commercial agriculture in Teso, was rolled out without adequate consideration of the region’s weather conditions, leaving many of them unable to keep the seedlings alive. In June, Vice President Jessica Alupo launched a campaign to distribute more than 80 million high-value coffee seedlings across the Teso Sub-region as part of efforts to shift farmers from traditional dependence on cotton and subsistence crops to more profitable commercial enterprises.
However, farmers in Katakwi say the timing of the distribution has undermined the programme, with many seedlings drying up before they could establish. Merio Anna, a farmer, said she collected more than 50 seedlings but could not plant all of them because of the intense heat. “I brought more than 50 seedlings, but I did not plant them all. I kept some under the shade since it was very hot. The ones I first planted dried, and even those which were in the shade dried up,” she said.
Source: The Independent