On August 21 and 22, 2026, I joined a group of about 30 enthusiastic coffee farmers for a benchmarking visit to Kalungu and Bukomasimbi — two key coffee-growing districts in Greater Masaka.
The delegation was led by Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda Ssubi, and our chief host was Hon. Aisha Ssekindi, the Woman MP for Kalungu and State Minister for Water and Environment.
I must commend Hon. Ssekindi and her husband, alongside all the farmers we visited, for their exceptional hospitality.
In total, we visited six commercial coffee farmers, including Hon. Ssekindi and her husband.
What struck me most as we traversed the two districts was the visible economic transformation. The beautiful permanent residential houses dotting Kalungu and Bukomasimbi are just one sign of the change coffee money has brought.
Top farmers here not only own trucks for farm operations but also personal vehicles. Many have diversified into the service sector, and once-small trading centres are rapidly growing into towns with storied buildings — all thanks to coffee.
Most of the farmers we interacted with grow old clones — about two to three varieties — which I find problematic because it can adversely affect cup quality for anyone looking to add value to their coffee. The more coffee varieties, the better as it also positively affects pollination. Old clones are also susceptible to Coffee Wilt Disease (CWD), which was noticeable in some plantations. Unfortunately, even the replacements being planted are old clones; farmers here are yet to largely embrace the Coffee Wilt Resistant Varieties commonly known as KR (Kituza Robusta) lines.
They also use varying spacing regimes. Despite these few weaknesses, there are critical lessons from their success worth embracing.
Nutrition is Key
Serious commercial farmers in Buddu heavily invest in both organic and inorganic fertilizers. They predominantly use cow dung — some applying as much as four basins per coffee tree every two years — supplemented with inorganic fertilizers twice every season, at the beginning and towards the end of the rains. This should be guided by soil analysis results.
While many farmers still apply fertilizers blindly, some of the top farmers conduct periodic soil tests. The results of the above interventions speak for themselves. One farmer, for instance, revealed he harvested 120 bags of dry cherries (kiboko) from just 2,000 bushes in the most recently concluded season.
Surviving Drought Without Irrigation
Kalungu and Bukomasimbi have endured a harsh dry spell that has left many plantations struggling. Videos of withered coffee have flooded social media, and the effects were visible as we travelled. However, the plantations of serious commercial farmers were thriving — and none of them were irrigating. What is their secret? Mulching and water conservation.
Farmers in Greater Masaka dominantly use coffee husks as mulch, with a few using maize stalks. The mulch is applied in a thick layer around the trees, retaining soil moisture and, upon decomposition, adding organic matter.
On hilly terrain, they dig deep trenches to control soil erosion and retain water. Those near roads harvest run-off water, channeling it into their gardens in a controlled manner — a practice perfected by Kalungi Miti, a young commercial farmer in Bukomasimbi.
Furthermore, while the standard planting hole across Uganda is 2ft by 2ft, farmers in this region dig 3ft by 3ft holes, giving roots more room and better water retention.
Through these Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) — mulching, trenches, cow dung, and fertilizer application — they harvest throughout the year even without irrigation. Their trees were at the tail end of the harvest season but were already flowering heavily and bearing young cherries.
This model is scalable. Most of the farmers we visited manage between 20 to 40 acres, but even those with 50 to 100 acres are excelling despite the drought.
Zero Tolerance for Weeds
Farmers in this area are allergic to weeds. You can walk through a 10-acre shamba and hardly spot any weed. They primarily use hand hoes and deliberately avoid herbicides. This ensures that all nutrients benefit only the coffee and the few intercropped bananas. The weed-free gardens are also largely free of pests and diseases.
They also do not have shade trees in their coffee plantations. For environmental reasons, I would encourage every farmer to at least plant trees along the boundaries of their shambas.
Coffee Can Grow on Any Soil Type
It is widely believed that coffee thrives only on fertile loamy soils, discouraging farmers with murram and stony soils from fully utilizing their land. Bukomasimbi, now Uganda’s leading coffee-producing district, disproves this notion. On the face of it, the district does not have the best soils, yet you will find lush, healthy, and high-yielding coffee thriving on hilly, murram and stony ground during a dry spell.
The lesson is clear: with GAPs, including periodic soil analysis, coffee can literally grow on any soil type.
Love Your Coffee and It Will Give You Money
The love and care commercial farmers in Greater Masaka give to their crop is unmatched. Despite being wealthy and busy with other businesses, they make time to inspect their plantations daily, even those located in different areas. As the saying goes, you get what you inspect.
Most of these commercial farmers started small and have expanded by buying more land using proceeds from coffee. For them, coffee remains the main business — and will be forever.
Conclusion
Farm visits remain crucial, especially in this era of information overload on social media. They offer an opportunity to learn, relearn, and unlearn — practically, on the farm. It is important to sieve through the information and make independent, informed decisions on which practices to adopt, rather than blindly copying what you have not deeply understood.
