Lamwo: 1,000 acres ready to pilot coffee growing

Lamwo district local government has started mobilising and recruiting farmers to take up coffee growing. One of the intentions is to make Lamwo a coffee-growing district.

Muhenda Patrick Agaba, the District Production and Marketing Officer told tndNews that over 400 farmers have already been recruited, and 1,000 acres are ready for the pilot phase.

“This is a carefully designed intervention,” Agaba said. “We are combining science, farmer knowledge, and government investment to ensure Lamwo doesn’t just grow coffee, we grow quality coffee for export.”

For many farmers, the project represents more than a new crop, it’s a chance at economic stability. Margaret Lamwaka, a farmer from Lokung sub county, recalls years of selling maize at unstable prices.

“With maize, the market changes every week. Coffee stays for many years and gives you money every season once it starts producing,” she says, adding that she is going plant acres as her trial plot depending on the seedlings.

Rose Aber, a widow from Lamwo town council, said the government’s backing gave her confidence. She has already prepared two acres for a coffee plantation because the expert told them that even if prices drop, they will help them find buyers.

“I see this as a long-term plan, not a one season gamble,”Aber added.

Okot Denis, a farmer in Padibe town council, views the project as a job creator. “When coffee starts producing, we will need people for harvesting, drying, grading, and transporting,” he said.

“It will keep young people busy and earning here in Lamwo instead of migrating to towns.”

There are also talks with private sector players to set up a Lamwo Coffee Cooperative Union to strengthen bargaining power and ensure fair prices once the project commences.

Agaba stated that this vision could place Lamwo on the same footing as coffee-famous districts like Bugisu and Kasese.

“We want ‘Lamwo Coffee’ to become a brand. In a few years, buyers in Europe and Asia should be asking for it by name,” he said.

As the rains continue in the region, farmers across the district are advised to be busy preparing fields, marking rows, and wait for planting seedlings once it reaches the district.

According to the district production and marketing department, this is not just another planting season, it is the start of what could be Lamwo’s most important agricultural transformation in decades.