Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, ANPPCAN Uganda Executive Director Ally Ignatius Nuwoha said the organisation had observed an increase in the use of children as cheap labour in coffee-growing districts, particularly in the Greater Masaka region.
"In Uganda, an estimated 6.2 million children, representing about 40 percent of children aged between five and 17 years, are engaged in child labour," Nuwoha said.
"Traditionally, child labour has been common in the sugarcane and rice sectors, but we are now witnessing an emerging trend of child labour in the coffee sector."
He attributed the trend to the sharp increase in global coffee prices over the past three years, saying higher returns from coffee farming have encouraged more Ugandans to expand production while relying on children for labour.
"The rising coffee prices on the world market have attracted many Ugandans to grow coffee," he said. "Over the last three years, coffee prices have risen from about $1.50 to $3. Unfortunately, some farmers are looking at children as a source of cheap labour."
According to Nuwoha, children are increasingly involved in nursery bed operations, transplanting seedlings and maintaining coffee gardens.
"One coffee seedling pot is paid at about Shs15, and a child can fill hundreds of pots in a day. Because of this, many children are leaving school or missing classes to work in coffee nurseries and plantations," he said.
Nuwoha identified the Greater Masaka districts of Rakai, Kyotera, Kalungu, Lwengo, Masaka, Bukomansimbi and Sembabule among the areas where the practice is becoming more prevalent.
"They are not only filling pots," he said. "They are also cutting coffee shoots, preparing seedlings and working in the gardens after transplanting."
He further linked climate change to the growing burden on children, explaining that prolonged dry spells have increased the need for manual watering of young coffee plants.
"Because of climate change, we are experiencing irregular rainfall," Nuwoha said. "The dry season is becoming longer, and children are being forced to fetch water to irrigate coffee seedlings after they are transplanted."
He warned that the increasing demand for child labour threatens children's education, health and overall well-being, and called for stronger enforcement of child protection laws throughout the coffee value chain.
Nuwoha urged government agencies, coffee exporters, farmers and development partners to work together to eliminate child labour and ensure that Uganda's growing coffee industry does not come at the expense of children's rights.
"Coffee remains one of Uganda's leading export commodities," he said. "But its growth should never be built on the exploitation of children."