By James Ojok Onono
The scars of the 20-year Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency still run deep in northern Uganda. Despite peace returning, the region remains among the poorest in the country.
Billions of shillings in reconstruction efforts have yielded little, with funds often lost in bureaucracy. Investors have since moved in, targeting land and trees, while local communities have resorted to leasing or selling their land—their primary asset—to stay economically active.
Now, a new push for coffee farming, spearheaded by the Ugandan government through Operation Wealth Creation and the Office of the Prime Minister, offers fresh hope. In partnership with Gurre Me Pondwongo, an Acholi development initiative co-chaired by Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo, the campaign seeks to overturn the long-standing belief that the region is unsuitable for coffee.
Historically, northern Uganda was encouraged to grow cotton rather than coffee, a colonial-era narrative that this initiative seeks to change.
For 71-year-old Oola Gaudensio Lakana, a farmer in Bobi Sub-County, Omoro District, this coffee revolution is a return to his roots.
“My father was a proud coffee farmer in the 1960s, but the war destroyed everything. When peace returned, I restarted in 2008,” he recalls.
Oola, who chairs the Bobi Paidong Coffee Growers Society, now leads a cooperative with over a million coffee seedlings ready for planting. Some farmers have already expanded to as much as 27 acres.
“The market is no longer a problem,” he says. “Buyers call us, eager for coffee beans. Right now, coffee is going for Shs 7,000 per kilo, and I am planning to expand my farm when the rains come.”
The push for coffee in Acoli has received strong backing from Operation Wealth Creation’s chief coordinator, Gen. Salim Saleh. In his recent Tarehe Sita message, he reassured farmers that the initiative is not just about growing coffee but about long-term value addition.
“I’m a disciple of Musevenomics, not a messiah. Northern Uganda has land, markets, and soon, mechanization. This economic bush revolution will happen,” he declared.
Veteran public servants have also set an example, with the late Opio Lukone planting 15 acres in Palenga, Omoro, and Gulu City Mayor Alfred Okwonga embracing coffee farming.
Their participation is inspiring many locals to take up the crop, seeing its potential to provide school fees and household stability.
With coffee fetching good prices and the government investing in logistics—such as the Gulu-Pakwach railway and the planned Gulu logistics hub—farmers are hopeful.
If every household can grow at least an acre, the future of the Acoli region could be transformed, lifting thousands out of poverty.
Mr James Ojok Onono is a Ugandan citizen