UGANDA: Enjoy Arabica Coffee From The Slopes Of Mount Elgon

Coffee is Uganda's top-earning export crop. In 1989 Uganda's coffee production capacity exceeded its quota of 2.3 million bags, but export volumes were still diminished by economic and security problems, and large amounts of coffee were still being smuggled out of Uganda for sale in neighbouring countries.

Some coffee farmers cultivated cocoa trees on land already producing robusta coffee. Cocoa production declined in the 1970s and 1980s, however, and market conditions discouraged international investors from viewing it as a potential counterweight to Uganda's reliance on coffee exports.

Locally produced cocoa was of high quality, however, and the government continued to seek ways to rehabilitate the industry. Production remained low during the late 1980s, rising from 1,000 tons in 1986 to only 5,000 tons in 1989.

The Uganda Coffee Development Authority was formed in 1991 by government decree, in line with the liberalization of the coffee industry.

Robusta coffee grows natively in the Kibale forest area. From 1999 to 2002 an effort was made to commercialize this coffee as a premium consumer brand, emulating and extending the success of shade grown in Central America. Revenue from the coffee production was intended to finance conservation management activities.

Arabica coffee grows around the slopes of Mount Elgon.The coffee was introduced to Uganda from Ethiopia and naturalised along the slopes of Mount Elgon.

Coffee continued to be Uganda's most important cash crop throughout the 1980s. The government estimated that farmers planted approximately 191,700 hectares of robusta coffee, most of this in south-eastern Uganda, and about 33,000 hectares of arabica coffee in high-altitude areas of south-eastern and south western Uganda.

Most gourmet coffee lovers will tell you that the best coffees are all Arabica beans, that Arabica coffee is smoother and richer, has more flavor and is of higher quality. Robusta beans, grown at lower altitudes and in much higher volume than most Arabica plants, tend to be lower in quality and are most often used for commercial coffees.

Vietnam, one of the world’s largest producers of coffee, trades almost exclusively in the Robusta variety. Uganda, one of the largest African coffee producers, sells mostly Robusta as well—and the country may be about to put Robusta coffee on the gourmet coffee map.

Created in 1991, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority’s mission is to promote high quality standards for all coffees grown in Uganda. The country’s best coffees are grown in the eastern Bugisu region of the country, a mountainous area that supports the growing of Arabica coffee beans. Over the past few years, Bugisu coffee has started to attract the notice of some well-known coffee roasters.

In 2009, for instance, Josh at Sweet Maria’s noted in a blog post that the lot of Uganda Organic Bugisu he had just cupped had a nice lemony character, and predicted that in the next few years he expects to see micro-lots of coffee coming out of Uganda, much as they do from Rwanda and Burundi, two other African countries that focus on improving the quality and reputation of their coffees.

But that’s the Arabica, a far cry from the typical Robusta strains. Uganda’s mainstay, Robusta, accounts for nearly 85% of its annual coffee production, and has a reputation for delivering exceptionally high quality coffee beans for Robusta. The UCDA has been enforcing strict production and quality standards, as well as grading and screening the coffee beans from the various regions it covers, and the effort appears to be paying off as the price for Uganda’s highest grade of Robusta coffee commands better prices than some low quality Arabica beans from other areas.

This should be no real surprise to anyone familiar with coffee history. While Ethiopia, also in Eastern Africa, is thought to be the birthplace of coffee, Uganda is regarded as the home of the Robusta bean. A large percentage of the Robusta sourced from Uganda is still harvested from wild strains of coffee that are believed to be among the rarest in the world.

Currently, the market is suffering after a long drought that affected the development of the coffee cherries last year. The UDCA projects a reduced amount of Robusta coffee available in the 2010 season, but is attempting to increase harvest in the next few years by buying coffee seedlings from farmers and distributing them free to farmers who have lost plants to the drought.

These figures remained almost constant throughout the decade, although a substantial portion of the nation's coffee output was smuggled into neighbouring countries to sell at higher prices. Between 1984 and 1986, the European Economic Community (EEC) financed a coffee rehabilitation program that gave improved coffee production a high priority.

This program also supported research, extension work, and training programs to upgrade coffee farmers' skills and understanding of their role in the economy. Some funds were also used to rehabilitate coffee factories.

To accomplish these goals, in keeping with the second phase of the coffee rehabilitation program, the government raised coffee prices paid to producers in May 1986 and February 1987, claiming that the new prices more accurately reflected world market prices and local factors, such as inflation.

The 1987 increase came after the Coffee Marketing Board launched an aggressive program to increase export volumes. Parchment dried but unhulled robusta producer prices rose from USh24 to USh29 per kilogram. Clean hulled robusta prices rose from USh44.40 to USh53.70 per kilogram.

Prices for parchment arabica, grown primarily in the Bugisu district of south-eastern Uganda, reached USh62.50 a kilogram, up from USh50. Then in July 1988, the government again raised coffee prices from USh50 per kilogram to USh111 per kilogram for robusta, and from USh62 to USh125 per kilogram for arabica.

By December 1988, the Coffee Marketing Board was unable to pay farmers for new deliveries of coffee or to repay loans for previous purchases. The board owed USh1,000 million to its suppliers and USh2,500 million to the commercial banks, and although the government agreed to provide the funds to meet these obligations, some of them remained unpaid for another year.

Uganda was a member of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), a consortium of coffee-producing nations that set international production quotas and prices. The ICO set Uganda's annual export quota at only 4 percent of worldwide coffee exports. During December 1988, a wave of coffee buying pushed the ICO price up and triggered two increases of 1 million (60- kilogram) bags each in worldwide coffee production limits.

The rising demand and rising price resulted in a 1989 global quota increase to 58 million bags. Uganda's export quota rose only by about 3,013 bags, however, bringing it to just over 2.3 million bags. Moreover, Uganda's entire quota increase was allocated to arabica coffee, which was grown primarily in the small southeastern region of Bugisu.

In revenue terms, Uganda's overall benefit from the world price increase was small, as prices for robusta coffee—the major export—remained depressed.

In 1989 Uganda's coffee production capacity exceeded its quota of 2.3 million bags, but export volumes were still diminished by economic and security problems, and large amounts of coffee were still being smuggled out of Uganda for sale in neighbouring countries.

Then in July 1989, the ICO agreement collapsed, as its members failed to agree on production quotas and prices, and they decided to allow market conditions to determine world coffee prices for two years. Coffee prices plummeted, and Uganda was unable to make up the lost revenues by increasing export volumes.

In October 1989, the government devalued the shilling, making Uganda's coffee exports more competitive worldwide, but Ugandan officials still viewed the collapse of the ICO agreement as a devastating blow to the local economy. Fears that 1989 earnings for coffee exports would be substantially less than the US$264 million earned the previous year proved unfounded.

Production in 1990, however, declined more than 20 percent to an estimated 133,000 tons valued at US$142 million because of drought, management problems, low prices, and a shift from coffee production to crops for local consumption.

Some coffee farmers cultivated cocoa plants on land already producing robusta coffee. Cocoa production declined in the 1970s and 1980s, however, and market conditions discouraged international investors from viewing it as a potential counterweight to Uganda's reliance on coffee exports.

Locally produced cocoa was of high quality, however, and the government continued to seek ways to rehabilitate the industry. Production remained low during the late 1980s, rising from 1,000 tons in 1986 to only 5,000 tons in 1989.

The Uganda Coffee Development Authority was formed in 1991 by government decree, in line with the liberalization of the coffee industry.

Arabica Coffee production

Arabica coffee is usually grown in mixed farms with food crops for home consumption like beans, peanuts and bananas. It is mainly grown under shade trees that ensure sustainable coffee production. The leaves that fall from the shade trees provide manure for the coffee plants.

In Mbale the planting season for Arabica coffee is between March and April and harvesting is between August and November. The coffee trees are pruned from December to February before the planting season. The trees flower during the dry season.

Arabica coffee initially goes through wet processing, which involves pulping,removal of pulp and mucilage and washing the coffee beans Pulping is the removal of the outer skin of the harvested red coffee berries. After pulping the mucilage around the bean is removed by use of water.The coffee beans are washed in a sisal made basket known as a washing basket.

The farmer then has two options for drying his coffee beans. Either he dries them under the sun until they reach the required moisture content or pays to have them dried at a coffee factory. The remaining process involves removing the coffee husks, sorting of the different coffee bean sizes, roasting, grinding and packaging.

Kibale Wild Coffee Project
Robusta coffee grows natively in the Kibale forest area. From 1999 to 2002 an effort was made to commercialize this coffee as a premium consumer brand, emulating and extending the success of shade grown in Central America. Revenue from the coffee production was intended to finance conservation management activities.

Initial funding for project development came from USAID.The project was implemented with funding from the Ford Foundation and $750,000 from the World Bank Global Environment Facility. The project had initial success in setting up local production standards and procedures and control infrastructure.

Initially it was led by the Uganda Coffee Trade Federation, until the independent US-based non-profit Kibale Forest Foundation was created to take over the project. Sustainable annual yield was estimated at 1,500 pounds (680 kg). Organic certification was delivered by the Swedish KRAV labeling firm.

It was subsequently discovered that there was no demand for the product, as the robusta variety is perceived as inferior to arabica coffee typically demanded by the premium market. Various blending schemes were turned down by coffee distributors. Project leaders estimated that $800000 in marketing expenditure would be required to create demand.

UGANDA: Visit The Rare Mountain Gorillas

Gorilla tracking in Mgahinga National Park or the chimp tracking in Kibale Forest National park is one of the beautiful escapes and experiences for the discerning traveler.

Uganda is looking at mountain gorilla tracking as a source of tourist attraction with numbers set to shoot up to 20 million visitors annually by the year 2020.

Gorillas are naturally afraid of humans and will flee or aggressively charge if people get too close to them. Gorillas that are visited by people have undergone ‘habituation’. A process by which through daily peaceful contact with humans, the gorillas lose fear of humans. Habituating a group of gorillas usually takes about two years according to Pontious Ezuma the Conservation Area Manager Mgahinga.

Ezuma explains that it is for this reason that guidelines have been developed for trackers to be respected as the gorillas let us mingle with them in their wild. During my encounter with the gorillas at Mgahinga National park, I realized that gorillas are very social and live in groups cohesively coordinating their daily activities. Gorilla tracking is rather expensive, ($600- ugx2.1m) for Non Foreign residents, and $500 (ugx1.8m for foreign residents), while Ugandans or East Africans part with Ugx250,000 for an hour of tracking. Uganda Wildlife Authority publicist Gessa Simplicious however says that April, May and November are promotional months that go with discounts as low $450, $400 and Ugx 150,000 respectively.

However if you want to experience the gorilla habituation experience, you will have to part with $1500, $1000 and Ugx 750,000 for Foreign non residents, foreign residents and East Africans respectively. These rates according to Gessa include guide fees, park entrance for the day and community development fee. Ezuma says the reasons tracking are so expensive is to deter more interactions with them. At Mgahinga and Bwindi, I realized that interaction with individual gorillas is peaceful. Okoth Yona, the guide of the day explains that conflicts usually arise due to feeding spots, dominancy by the Silver backs over others.

Males may compete intensively for access to females. According to Okoth, intergroup encounters occur about monthly giving the females the opportunity to transfer between social units and allow the males time to out-compete their opponents and appear impressive to attract females.

It was some serious bush-whacking as we navigated through the thicket. It is a rare chance to see these mountain gorillas, some of the worlds’ only remaining species. They are few because the size of their habitat, Bwindi just about 330 square Kilometers and Virunga that is 450km2 are too small. The gorillas are also heavily threatened by the destruction of their habitat by the increasing population around the parks.

Though the people around Virunga and Bwindi don’t eat primates, poachers set snares to trap other wild animals and these gorillas get trapped too. No wonder they estimate just about 700 mountain gorillas in two small populations in Virunga Volcanoes of Rwanda, Uganda and DRC. While in Bwindi, the figures are estimated to be around 300. According to Ezuma, the gorillas are monitored as they move during a census that is conducted every 5 years

Feeding

Gorillas are so huge because they spend most of the hours eating. Surprisingly though, they are vegetarians. They feed on leaves, fruits and stems. Okoth Yona, the guide at Mgahinga says one gorilla has the energy of 8 gigantic men combined together not with the 5-6 hours of salad eating. This explains their huge presence in Ruhija and Buhoma areas in Bwindi, where there is heavy presence of the fruits. Gorillas travel at least 1 km a day in Bwindi depending on availability of food.

They also travel long distances when they sense danger from other groups, but usually each group occupies a home range of between 10-30 km2 .Bwindi has 10 habituated gorilla groups giving daily maximum of 80 permits. The gorilla families include: Nshongi Gorilla Family, Mishaya, and Oruzogo family located in Ruhija, Bitukura, Rushegura, Kahororo, as well as the Mubare and Habinyanja Gorilla families located in Buhoma in the southern sector of Bwindi.

Batwa Trail experience

Mgahinga also offers a unique Batwa forest experience that includes discovery of the cave and traditional home of the Batwa king complimentary with cave cultural dances and mimicking of wild hunt. There is nothing dull about this luxurious award-wining establishment. Here you will experience how these Batwa’s light fire without matches.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

This is so far one of Africa’s richest forests with over 350 bird species, 200 trees, over 300 butterflies, 50 reptiles and over 100 mammals, hundreds of primates including the rare black and white colobus and Blue monkeys. Outside the forest, community walks provide an insight into the lives of the Batwa and Bakiga living beside the forest.

After the hectic gorilla tracking in Mgahinga, Bwindi or chimpanzee tracking in Kibale forest, you can then experience the best classical and contemporary cuisines and rare wine vintages amidst spectacular breath taking views among the various lodges spread within and outside these parks.

n Mgahinga, you will wake up each morning to an exquisite blanket of mist bright sunshine.

There’s something extremely romantic about a stay on a remote park, but the real luxury is being able to connect with yourself in a place where time’ of no consequence.

Profligacy is the word that comes in mind when you go gorilla tracking.

A holiday or weekend break is becoming a luxury for many Ugandans. If you are a foreigner, a self drive to one of Uganda’s parks will offer an excellent value for money and if you’re a local, these self-catering destinations won’t break the bank.

Located some 400km southwest of Kampala, Uganda’s capital lies a picturesque valley nestled in a myriad of magnificent mountains and lush greenery. With quaint, quiet accommodation set amidst the thickets, there are few holiday destinations as conducive as Bwindi.

Mubare Gorilla Group

When in Bwindi as a guide for the Mubare gorilla group, one of the oldest habituated gorilla family in Uganda that was opened for tourism in 1993. The name was derived from the Mubare Hill where the gorillas were first sighted by trackers. This group had 18 individuals, led by the dominant Silverback Ruhondeza. Sadly though, over the years the family lost many members leaving just five in 2012.

Earlier in 2012, the family was attacked by a wild gorilla group who broke Ruhondeza’s leadership and took away some of the females. Ruhondeza took refuge in a nearby community forest were it later died aged over 50 years on 27 June 2012. Ruhondeza was buried in Buhoma.

But the good news is that Ruhondeza’s successor Kanyonyi managed to expand the family again and increased it to nine members now.