Coffee farmers in the Acholi sub -region have been advised to priotize irrigation if they are to reap more from coffee growing
Lillian Wanican, a coffee trainer and nursery bed operator says that many coffee plants end up dying in Acholi sub region because farmers do not plan for water for their coffee plants during the dry season.
“Coffee is not like any other crops such as soya beans or cassava that you are used to. Coffee requires regular attention especially in the first year.
You should therefore, plan early enough for manure, mulching and irrigation,” says Wanican.
Wanican, who was speaking during the Annual Agroecology Coffee Conference at Elephante common in Gulu City organized by Ribbo Coffee a social enterprise, asked farmers to start small instead of competing with their neighbors.
“Donot plant 10 acres of Coffee because your neighbour planted 10 acres. Plant what you can manage. In case you want to have 5 acres of coffee, you can plant an acre every year and achieve that goal in five years. Coffee requires dedication, so assess your capacity before starting
She says that due to the Sandy, loamy nature of soils in the Acholi sub region, the soils don’t hold water for long and therefore dry faster when it’s hot.
Wanican explains that “Three weeks of sunshine is enough for the soils in Acholi to be dry up. we also have high temperatures; they make the soil compact very fast and that is the reason we are seeing coffee plants drying up.
Coffee farmers should make plans with water and manure by October when rains are winding down, she said the hot weather and high temperature should, however not be an excuse for farmers not to grow quality coffee as farmers in Sembabule and Bukomansimbi District in the dry cattle corridor, are leading in coffee produce.
“Some farmers think that they can avoid irrigation by planting coffee does not like stagnant water. We should stop being lazy. if we can fetch water to lay bricks and build our houses, we can also provide water for our coffee plants,” she says.
Derrick Komakech an agronomist with Ribbo coffee urged farmers to observe good soil health and water conservation through reducing tillage of land where coffee has been planted, integrating agro forestry by planting shade trees and using organic manure such as biochar.
Komakech said plan for irrigation because of the irregular rainfall patterns and prolonged dry season being experienced in sub -region
“Practice climate – smart farming, plan for rainwater harvesting by digging holes, trenches and dams or buy water tanks if you can afford to harvest water. Irrigating your coffee plants increase flowering by 48 percent to 57 percent ana increase your yields by 85-95 percent during the dry season.
Micheal Ochora a coffee farmer from Omoro district said that his coffee plants had dried up because of lack of attention and irrigation.
“I planted about half an acre of coffee but have not benefitted from them. l had given up. I thought my soil was not appropriate for coffee, but l now know what I was doing wrong, I will do better and utilize my 20 acres of land to grow coffee says,” Ochora.
Innocent Piloya, the Chief Executive Officer of Ribbo Coffee conference, which has been held in Gulu for two years will be decentralized to all the districts in the Acholi sub region that are growing coffee to ensure that they are more accessible to farmers who are growing the perennial crop.
