The National Union of coffee Agribusinesses and farm Enterprises (NUCAFE) has launched the 1st Uganda national coffee festival and exhibition to promote youth and coffee innovations through facilitating increased exposure to opportunities and networking for increased job creation in the coffee value chain for the youth. This is aimed at promoting and building of strategic business partnerships and relationships for the youth through networking and collaboration in the value chain.
The 1st Uganda’s National coffee festival is scheduled for 6th November at UMA hall under the theme “youth and coffee innovations ,an avenue for job creation”. The executive director of the National Union of coffee Agribusinesses and farm Enterprises Joseph Nkandu said that though the consumption of coffee has increased from 2% to 5% in the country, there is still a need to increase on its production for local and foreign consumption. Nkandu said that there is a need for the youth to be involved in coffee entrepreneurship since there is an increased number of youth attaining higher education through access to university and they lack entrepreneurial skills and exposure to various opportunities which makes it hard for them to find meaningful jobs.
The deputy executive director NUCAFE David Muwonge said that the youth should be encouraged to join coffee farming and innovativeness to sustain the coffee production and export since the current coffee farmers are aging. The exhibition’s specific objectives are:
* To provide youth and coffee innovations for increased job creation through a well facilitated coffee festival in the coffee value chain.
** To foster promotion and building of strategic business partnerships and relationships for the youth through networking and collaborations in the value chain.
*** To create increased awareness about coffee business opportunities and healthy benefits for increased domestic coffee consumption.
The union called for the enactment of the national coffee law that will separate agencies which deal in development coffee and those in regulatory work to avoid them clashing at work. There is a demand for an agency that will be charged with ensuring quality laws and register all coffer actors.