Improving Institutional Capacity:
Strengthening Farmer Organizations in the OIC Member Countries
38
3.1. Uganda: Kitenge Agali Awamu Coffee Company, Member of the
Ugandan Coffee Farmers Alliance (UCFA)
This FO has a unique, three-level structure and a single commodity focus: coffee. The UCFA is a
national-scale or apex marketing organization made up of regional member-owned marketing
organizations (called Depot Committees, or DCs) and in turn village-level primary producer
organizations. This case examines the UCFA as well as one of its subsidiary member
organizations, the district-level Kitenge Agali Awamu Coffee Co (Kitenge DC); the culminating
scoring analysis focuses on Kitenge DC.
The UCFA/Kitenge DC case, summarized in below, highlights a successful model of a
donor-funded FO that grew to become independent and largely sustainable while significantly
expanding its reach. It also illustrates the full range of services and activities an FO needs to
take on to ensure its farmers can participate and prosper in a liberalized, open economy with
limited government involvement.
Table 9: Summary of the UCFA and Kitenge DC58
UCFA
(Apex body)
Kitenge DC
(District-level member organization)
Type National-scale; Commodity Organization;
Mixed-gender, smallholder focused
Sub-national scale; Producer group;
Mixed-gender, smallholder focused
Origin Founded in 2005 as an EU project,
developed over time into independent,
largely self-sustaining organization
One of the first DCs within the UCFA, first
set up as a community-based organization
in 2006 and then transitioned to a
registered company in 2008 after
expanding and becoming self-sufficient
Purpose Serves as an apex body for coffee farmers
across Uganda, with the aim of providing
training, market access, and financial
inclusion to smallholders across the country
while simultaneously investing in
additional services (e.g. processing &
transport) that help farmers capture a
greater portion of final value
Serves as a district-level organization under
the UCFA that provides training, market
access, and financial inclusion / skills
development for coffee farmers in its
catchment area. Ensures that coffee
farmers’ interests are communicated
upwards through the UCFA to the
government and wider industry
Footprint Consists of 82 district-level Depot
Committees, which in turn consist of a total
1,660 village-level Producer
Organizations representing 54,000
farmers across Uganda
Expanded from 35,000 farmers in 2012 to
54,000 today and aims for 100,000 in the
next 5 years
One of the 82 DCs making up the UCFA.
Consists of 21 Producer Organizations in
villages surrounding Mubende in Eastern
Uganda
Service
provision
Provides the following services for
members:
 Coordinates and develops training and
TA through monthly “Farmer Field
Schools” at the village level
 Provides regional staff agronomists to
supplement DC training efforts
Provides the following services for
members:
 Trains and TA through monthly
“Farmer Field Schools” at the village
level
 Advises and instructs on credit
applications and financial
58 This table is based on interviews with UCFA leadership and Kitenge DC local leadership in Uganda in October 2014.