By Darlington Mabonga
Women coffee farmers under the International Women in Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Uganda chapter have asked the government to increase financial and technical support to help them raise production, improve household incomes and compete in local and international markets.
The women, who took part in the three-day Uganda Coffee and Cocoa Expo 2026 at Serena Hotel in Kampala, said they continue to face challenges both on their farms and in accessing reliable markets for their produce.
They said government support is needed in areas such as irrigation, access to quality planting materials, extension services, storage facilities, affordable farm inputs and market linkages.
Shakirah Buhura, 44, the founding managing director of Mugamba Coffee Farm Ltd in Mugamba Village, Nyantaboma Parish, Harugongo Sub-county in Kabarole District, said coffee farmers are also struggling with the rising cost of running their farms.
Buhura said her family’s 400-acre coffee farm has been affected by technical and production challenges, including unreliable rainfall.
“We are appealing for government intervention, especially in providing irrigation systems to help us deal with drought, which has caused some coffee trees to dry up,” she said.
She also cited the lack of centralised storage facilities, limited access to agricultural extension services and difficulties in finding reliable markets as some of the major challenges facing farmers.
Buhura said improving access to such services would enable farmers to reduce post-harvest losses, improve the quality of their coffee and earn better returns.
Similar concerns were raised by Monica Nantume, the founding director of Mona Coffee Farm Ltd in Buzibwera Village, Wabusana Parish, Kikyusa Sub-county in Luwero District.
Nantume, who farms coffee on two acres, said smallholder farmers face difficulties accessing quality coffee seedlings, pesticides, and other farm inputs.
She also pointed to low domestic coffee consumption and unreliable market access as challenges affecting farmers’ earnings.
Nantume called for more technical and logistical support to help smallholder women farmers improve productivity and remain competitive as the coffee industry develops.
Martha Wandera, founder and managing director of Kimco Coffee Farm Ltd, also joined other women farmers in calling for stronger support for women participating in the coffee value chain.
The farmers said such support would be particularly important as Uganda seeks to increase coffee production and improve the value earned from agricultural exports.
Jackie Kemirembe, chairperson of the Uganda Coffee and Cocoa Expo and Conference organising committee, commended the women under the IWCA Uganda chapter for participating actively in the event.
Kemirembe said the strong participation of women demonstrated their growing involvement in agriculture and the coffee and cocoa value chains.
She said women were among the most active participants at the expo, where they exhibited coffee and cocoa products and took part in discussions on issues affecting the sector.
“More female experts in technology, geodata, entrepreneurship, agribusiness and agricultural insurance, among other areas, participated in panel discussions and individual presentations,” Kemirembe said.
She said their participation helped broaden discussions at the conference, which brought together more than 100 delegates from different parts of the global coffee and cocoa industry.
The women farmers said forums such as the expo also allow them to share experiences, identify potential business partners, and learn about new technologies and practices that can improve farm productivity.
They urged the government and other stakeholders to build on such engagements by providing practical support that reaches farmers at the community level.
