NARO launches three new disease resistant coffee varieties
National Agricultural Research organisation (NARO) has launched three new coffee varieties that are resistant to any diseases.
This was revealed on Saturday during a farm clinic at the National Coffee Research Institute (NaCoRI) in Kituuza, Mukono district.
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Speaking at the function, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority Executive Director, Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye Niyibigira said in the 1990s, farmers throughout the country faced a problem of coffee wilt but noted that this was overcome through the introduction of new disease-resistant varieties.
“We introduced seven new varieties, and today, we have added three more varieties which are resistant to the coffee wilt,” Dr. Iyamulemye said.
According to Dr.Pascal Musoori, chief breeder at NaCoRI, the three new varieties are named Kituuza 8 to Kituuza 10 each with unique attributes that will benefit farmers and exporters.
“Kituuza 8 gets you high yields with good management that can go to about six tons per hectare and 5.6 kilograms per tree,” the chief breeder at NaCoRI said.
He noted that Kituuza 9 yields eight tons per hectare which translates into nine kilograms per tree whereas Kituuza 10, which is the best of all the three varieties gives a farmer 10 tons per hectare which translates into 10 kilograms per tree.
“These varieties are all resistant to the coffee wilt, leaf thrust and all other diseases but farmers can only benefit if they manage them well.”
The NARO Deputy Director-General in charge of Agricultural Technology, Promotion, DrImelda Kashaija said they will always have the best solutions for farmers' problems
"If you don’t have good varieties of crops, even if you put in fertilizers and pesticides you will be wasting time. These new varieties will benefit you a lot as farmers but also exporters," she noted.
Dr.Godfrey Kagezi, a senior research officer at NaCoRI said the new varieties are line with President Museveni’s directive that saw the introduction of a coffee roadmap aimed at increasing coffee production from four million bags per year to 20 million bags per year by 2025.
“In the past, we faced a problem of the coffee wilt that almost wiped out all the coffee trees but introduced new resistant varieties. The ones we have just launched are also resistant to drought and will benefit farmers a lot,” Kagezi said.
“We shall give them to nursery farmers and operators so that they are spread out to farmers.”
He noted that in order to attain the coffee roadmap, there is a need to have at least 60 million seedlings per year.
“Our work is to come up with initial stock and give it to nursery operators who will multiply it.”
Uganda is the leading exporter of coffee on the African continent ahead of Ethiopia.
Coffee is also the third most important national income earner.
