WEALTH CREATION: Hongera Sana Uganda Donates 10,000 Coffee Seedlings to Alur Kingdom

WEALTH CREATION: Hongera Sana Uganda Donates 10,000 Coffee Seedlings to Alur Kingdom 

By Mike Rwothomio

ZOMBO, Uganda: In a significant stride toward agricultural development, the Alur Kingdom received a donation of 10,000 clonal coffee seedlings from Hongera Sana Uganda, a non-governmental organization collaborating with Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) under the Office of the President. 

This initiative, implemented on April 12, 2025, aims to advance agro-based socio-economic transformation through community empowerment and sustainable agricultural practices.

The donation was formally received by Alur Kingdom officials, led by Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Orach Ocaya, at the Kingdom’s palace in Kal Atyak Winam, Atyak Sub-County, Zombo District. 

The distribution of the seedlings is being coordinated by Deputy Prime Minister and Executive Director Prince Ochaya Vincent, in partnership with the Minister for Production and Natural Resources, John Pascal Wapokra.

The effort to secure this donation was spearheaded by the Kingdom’s Minister for Security, Hon. Maj. Stephen Cwinya-ai Obimo, whose proactive advocacy serves as a model for other officials to leverage opportunities for community development.

During a brief ceremony to mark the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Orach Ocaya praised Hongera Sana Uganda for the initiative, describing it as a pivotal step in combating poverty through agricultural intensification.

 “Agriculture is one of the most effective pathways to eradicate poverty, offering substantial rewards for farming communities,” Orach stated in an interview.

Hongera Sana Uganda, launched in April 2025 by the Office of the President, is a presidential mobilization body focused on peace and development. Its mission is to empower citizens, foster partnerships, and coordinate national efforts to promote peace, stability, and socio-economic progress.

 The organization’s coordinator, Ashraf Mugomba, emphasized the donation as a milestone in their partnership with the Alur Kingdom.

 “This marks the beginning of a collaborative journey to empower our people, particularly the youth, by integrating them into the agricultural production sector,” Mugomba said.

The initiative builds on the Alur community’s long-standing history of coffee cultivation, particularly in Zombo and parts of Nebbi, including Errusi and Dhew Sub-Counties.

 Despite decades of coffee production, many local farmers have not fully reaped the economic benefits, with widespread poverty persisting. 

This donation aims to revitalize the coffee sector by introducing high-yielding clonal varieties to enhance productivity and profitability.

John Pascal Wapokra, the Alur Kingdom’s Minister of Lands and Production, expressed gratitude to Operation Wealth Creation and Hongera Sana Uganda for their support.

Coffee cultivation offers transformative benefits for Ugandan farmers, particularly smallholders, by enhancing economic resilience, environmental sustainability, and social empowerment:

 Wapokra highlighted the potential of the initiative to strengthen the coffee value chain and improve livelihoods in the region.

Coffee is grown across five regions: Central (2.83 million bags), Western (1.99 million bags), Eastern (1.8 million bags), South-Western (1.05 million bags), and Northern (0.45 million bags). Northern Uganda, including Zombo, is emerging as a hub for high-altitude Arabica production.

Uganda is a global leader in coffee production, ranking as Africa’s largest coffee exporter and among the top 10 coffee producers worldwide. Coffee is the country’s leading agricultural export, contributing significantly to foreign exchange earnings and rural livelihoods. In the 2024/2025 marketing year, Uganda produced approximately 6.7 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee, a 4.69% increase from the previous year, driven by improved agronomic practices, favorable weather, and the maturation of high-yielding seedlings. Forecasts for 2025/2026 project production to reach 6.88 million bags, a 2.61% increase.

Government Support: 

The government has distributed over 300 million coffee seedlings through OWC and the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) in recent years, aiming to boost production to 20 million bags by 2025. Free seedlings are provided to farmers, with clonal varieties priced at UGX 300–1,500 for purchase.