The campaign was launched in Katakwi District by Vice President Jessica Alupo, who said the initiative is aimed at revitalising Teso's agricultural economy and helping thousands of households transition from subsistence farming to commercial production.
Alupo said the government now considers coffee, cocoa and bananas strategic national crops capable of creating wealth, increasing export earnings and generating employment opportunities across the country.
"Teso has the potential to become one of Uganda's leading coffee producing regions. What has limited us is not the climate but organisation, investment and mobilisation," she said.
The government has set a target of planting more than 80 million coffee and cocoa seedlings across the 12 districts of Teso as part of the national strategy to increase coffee production and export earnings by 2030.
The initiative also aims to attract coffee processing industries to the region to enable farmers to earn more through value addition.
Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Frank Tumwebaze said the government is reviewing its strategy of relying solely on the Parish Development Model (PDM) to finance coffee production after recognising the need for direct intervention in the distribution of coffee and cocoa seedlings.
"We are going to strategically intervene again. Government will either provide the seedlings free of charge or at a highly subsidised cost so that every farmer willing to grow coffee can access quality planting materials," Tumwebaze said.
The minister also criticised some agricultural extension workers for failing to adequately guide farmers, saying poor service delivery was undermining government efforts to modernise agriculture.
He directed district leaders to strengthen extension services and identify areas lacking extension personnel and motorcycles to improve support to farmers.
Leaders from across Teso welcomed the initiative, describing it as an opportunity to restore the region's cash crop economy following the decline of cotton production.
Among those who backed the programme were Soroti East Division MP Moses Attan Okia, Joan Alobo, Calvin Echodu and other leaders, who said the initiative could significantly improve household incomes within the next five years if the government addresses water shortages for irrigation.
"We must protect these seedlings from drought because their survival will determine whether farmers embrace coffee on a larger scale. Investment in water for production is critical," one of the leaders said.
Members of Parliament also pledged to mobilise communities to embrace coffee growing while encouraging farmers to continue cultivating food crops to safeguard household food security.
They further cautioned against continued land fragmentation, warning that commercial coffee farming requires adequately sized and well-managed gardens to generate meaningful returns.
The launch concluded with Vice President Alupo handing over a tractor procured through the Microfinance Support Centre under the Local Economic Growth Support Project to a local SACCO to promote mechanised farming, underscoring the government's broader commitment to increasing agricultural productivity alongside the commercial farming campaign.