Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has called for cooperation with Vietnam to develop the country’s coffee value chain for the benefit of farmers.
In a meeting with Vietnam’s Ambassador-Designate to Uganda, H.E. Nguyen Nam Tien, on Monday, 22 August 2022, the Deputy Speaker said mutual cooperation in coffee will unlock the two countries’ potential in the trade.
“We expect Vietnam’s support in areas of agricultural value addition, especially on coffee. Vietnam is very good in coffee processing and Uganda is Africa’s leading coffee producer,” said Tayebwa.
He added: “…we would like to learn from you, especially the development of varieties that are resistant to drought, varieties that are resistant to disease but also give farmers very high yields,” Tayebwa said.
The meeting was also attended by the Honorary Consul of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Uganda, King Caesar Mulenga.
Tien praised Uganda’s weather and said he seeks stronger cooperation between the governments of the two countries.
He said the two countries will soon be celebrating 50 years of cooperation and it will be a great opportunity to revitalise the relations between two nations.
Tayebwa said the international coffee industry needs an overhaul to ensure farmers and coffee producing countries benefit the most from the product.
“Records show that the coffee producing countries do not share more than 25 per cent of the income that comes from the coffee industry. The countries which do not produce coffee are the ones benefiting most; we need to work and strengthen our relations as producers of coffee so that we can demand for more for the sake of our farmers and also developing our economies,” he said.
The renewed cooperation between Uganda and Vietnam will focus on areas of investment, finance and institutional reforms, according to Tien.
